Jada Pinkett Smith Makes Her First Public Appearance Since Oscars

The actress stepped out in Los Angeles to support Shonda Rhimes.

Jada Pinkett Smith stepped out for her first public appearance since the 94 annual Academy Awards. On Saturday, the 50-year-old actress dazzled in a gold gown as she supported Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes at the grand opening of the Rhimes Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles. 

Pinkett Smith was all smiles as she stood next to Debbie Allen and Rhimes, and stunned in a gold haltered gown. In another picture, the women posed next to Samuel L. Jackson and his wife, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, and Pinkett Smith was greeted by Billy Porter. While she did walk the red carpet and flashed a peace sign, Pinkett Smith did not do interviews.

As for Rhimes' new venue, the facility will be home to the Debbie Allen Dance Academy. According to Broadway World, it will also include a studio named after Pinkett Smith and her husband, Will Smith

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Saturday’s outing is the first time that Pinkett Smith has made a public appearance since her husband, Will Smith, slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars after the comedian made a joke about Pinkett-Smith's shaved head. The actress has been open about her struggles with alopecia.  

On Friday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that Smith would be banned from attending any Academy events, -- in person or virtually -- for a decade. 

In a letter addressed to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences family, and obtained by ET, Academy president David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson said the Board of Governors in a Friday meeting concluded that "for a period of 10 years from April 8, 2022, Mr. Smith shall not be permitted to attend any Academy events," including the Academy Awards. 

In the weeks following the incident, Smith publicly apologized to Rock and resigned from the Academy.  

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