Will Smith Explains Why He ‘Always Avoided Making Slavery Films’, Says He Wanted A ‘Harem Of Girlfriends’ That Included Halle Berry + Reveals Jada Pinkett Smith Isn’t The Only One Who Had ‘Extramarital Relationship’

Will Smith Explains Why He ‘Always Avoided Making Slavery Films’, Says He Wanted A ‘Harem Of Girlfriends’ That Included Halle Berry + Reveals Jada Pinkett Smith Isn’t The Only One Who Had ‘Extramarital Relationship’

Will Smith gave his fans a closer look into his life by recently discussing some topics of interest.

Will Smith recently opened up about a variety of different topics regarding his work and personal life. The first subject the 53-year-old actor touched on was the upcoming film he’s starring in, Emancipation. The movie–which is directed by Antoine Fuqua–tells the real-life story of an enslaved man named Peter, whom Will Smith stars as. While discussing the upcoming film, Will Smith explained his reasoning for not pursuing similar roles in the past:

“I’ve always avoided making films about slavery. In the early part of my career… I didn’t want to show Black people in that light. I wanted to be a superhero. So I wanted to depict Black excellence alongside my white counterparts. I wanted to play roles that you would give to Tom Cruise. And the first time I considered it was Django. But I didn’t want to make a slavery film about vengeance.”

He added that Emancipation is more than a “slavery movie,” saying:

“This was one that was about love and the power of Black love. And that was something that I could rock with. We were going to make a story about how Black love makes us invincible.”

Will Smith then segued to discussing George Floyd and the movement to defund the police. He initially stated:

“The entire world was in lockdown, watched what happened to George Floyd, and stood up with one voice and said ‘We see it. We agree.’ That’s never happened before, and with that the opportunities are unlike they’ve ever been.”

George Floyd

Smith added that he wants more Black Americans to focus on these new opportunities and “argue less about certain things”:

“I’ve been trying to get movies made for a long time. And the amount of money that Apple is paying to tell the story [of Emancipation] is unprecedented. And those opportunities are globally present and plentiful. I just want to encourage Black Americans to take the acknowledgment and seize upon the present global opportunities. I would just like us to argue less about certain things and pay attention to the big ripe fruit.”

He proceeded to get specific, saying that the movement to defund the police has some shortcomings when it comes to “the marketing of our ideas.” He said:

“So ‘Abolish the police. Defund the police.’ I would love if we would just say ‘Defund the bad police.’ It’s almost like I want, as Black Americans, for us to change our marketing for the new position we’re in. So ‘critical race theory,’ just call it ‘truth theory.’ The pendulum is swinging in our direction beautifully. And there’s a certain humility that will most capitalize on the moment for the future of Black Americans, without discounting the difficulty and the pain and the emotion.”

Will Smith continued:

“This is a difficult area to discuss, but I feel like the simplicity of Black Lives Matter was perfect. Anybody who tries to debate Black Lives Matter looks ridiculous. So when I talk about the marketing of our ideas, Black Lives Matter was perfection. From a standpoint of getting it done, Black Lives Matter gets it done. ‘Defund the police’ doesn’t get it done, no matter how good the ideas are. I’m not saying we shouldn’t defund the police. I’m saying, just don’t say that, because then people who would help you won’t.”

Shortly thereafter, the actor then proceeded to share some advice Denzel Washington gave him in the past. Will Smith revealed:

“Throughout the years, I would always call Denzel. He’s a real sage. I was probably 48 or something like that and I called Denzel. He said, ‘Listen. You’ve got to think of it as the funky 40. Everybody’s 40s are funky. But just wait till you hit the f***-it 50s.’ He said ‘Just bear with your 40s.’ I stopped and I was like ‘The funky 40s and the f***-it 50s.’ And that’s exactly what happened. It just became the f***-it 50s, and I gave myself the freedom to do whatever I wanted to do.” 

Denzel Washington

Smith then dished on his experience with having an intimacy coach. Specifically, Will Smith revealed that, during his first meeting with Michaela Boehm, he worked through his guilty desire to have numerous famous girlfriends–such as Misty Copeland and Halle Berry. He said:

“I don’t know where I saw it or some s**t as a teenager, but the idea of traveling with 20 women that I loved and took care of and all of that, it seemed like a really great idea. And then, after we played it out a little bit, I was like ‘That would be horrific. That would be horrific.’ I was like ‘Can you imagine how miserable?'”

Will Smith continued:

“What she was doing was essentially cleaning out my mind, letting it know it was okay to be me and be who I was. It was okay to think Halle is fine. It doesn’t make me a bad person that I’m married and I think Halle is beautiful. Whereas in my mind, in my Christian upbringing, even my thoughts were sins. That was really the process that Michaela worked me through to let me realize that my thoughts were not sins and even acting on an impure thought didn’t make me a piece of s**t.”

Halle Berry

Misty Copeland

The actor then touched on some subjects involving his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith and issues the pair faced through their marriage, revealing that compromise and settling were a part of their union from the beginning. He revealed that Jada Pinkett Smith, who didn’t want a traditional wedding, settled for a ceremony due to pressure from him. Regarding this, Will Smith said:

“This would be the first of many compromises Jada would make over the years that painfully negated her own values.”

He continued, revealing that Jada Pinkett Smith actually revealed she was unhappy following her 40th birthday. Will Smith said:

“Our marriage wasn’t working. We could no longer pretend. We were both miserable and clearly something had to change.”

Will Smith said his wife of nearly 25 years isn’t the only one who has had an “extramarital relationship”, adding:

“We have given each other trust and freedom, with the belief that everybody has to find their own way. And marriage for us can’t be a prison. And I don’t suggest our road for anybody. I don’t suggest this road for anybody. But the experiences that the freedoms that we’ve given one another and the unconditional support, to me, is the highest definition of love.”

He wrapped his interview by addressing Jada‘s infamous “entanglement” with August Alsina. Despite the fact that Will Smith discussed the situation with Jada on Red Table Talk, he revealed that many are still holding onto their own perspective:

“The public has a narrative that is impenetrable. Once the public decides something, it’s difficult to impossible to dislodge the pictures and ideas and perceptions.”

August Alsina

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