"Open marriages don't work": Jay Leno comments on the Will Smith x Chris Rock Oscars slap fiasco

On April 12, WPTV shared their interview with former Tonight Show host Jay Leno, who weighed in with his opinions about the infamous Will Smith controversy at last month's Oscars. While promoting his upcoming stand-up show at the Kravis Center, the comedian and host commented that open marriages, like that of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, do not work.

Leno also addressed the debate on whether Chris Rock and others should have known about Pinkett Smith's alopecia. He said:

"I didn't know, I'm sorry. I got my own problems. I didn't know I had alopecia."

While speaking about celebrities' health problems (including his own), Leno elaborated on how the general public would be oblivious to these facts. Moments later, the 71-year-old automotive collector commented on Smith's controversial marriage.

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What did Jay Leno say about Will Smith's marriage with Jada Pinkett Smith?

Jay Leno expressed his issues with the concept of an open marriage and how he does not believe in its success. While speaking to T.A. Walker of WPTV, Leno iterated:

"I'm sorry. You know, if you just want to screw around, just screw around, but let's not pretend that open marriages... and I've never, I've never seen one of those work out. Maybe there's people... that I again, I'm not-- I'm not forcing myself on anybody."

The New York native also disclosed that he was not bothered by Will Smith slapping Chris Rock. Leno justified the slap as a "reaction." However, as per Leno, Smith had a minute to clear his head after his altercation with Rock on stage, and despite having a brief period to calm himself down, the King Richard star hurled profanities at Rock twice.

While Smith's abuses were muted in some live telecasts, the cuss words were heard without any censorship in certain foreign countries. Making his point, Jay Leno said:

"Well, I mean, you had a minute to clear your head there. You should have taken it and it didn't clear. It didn't clear again and went, 'Oh, you know, there's some emotional thing going on here.'"

Jay Leno also added that he had known Will Smith for a long time and that he thought Smith was a "decent guy, model citizen, good role model." However, the former talk show host also spoke about an "emotional thing" that Smith might be facing currently. In the interview, Leno also expressed his hopes about Smith getting this emotional issue fixed.

Mirroring Jay Leno's point about Smith's emotional response, many celebrities have spoken about the Oscars 2022 altercation. Recently, Denzel Washington expressed that "the devil got ahold of [Will Smith] that night."