Jada Pinkett Smith Opens Up About Being A ‘Terrified Little Girl’ Underneath Her ‘Strong’ Exterior

Jada Pinkett Smith Opens Up About Being A ‘Terrified Little Girl’ Underneath Her ‘Strong’ Exterior

Jada Pinkett Smith is opening up about the “terrified little girl” underneath the woman we regularly see in public.

During the latest segment of her Facebook Watch series Red Table Talk, titled ‘How Destructive Mothers Damage Their Daughters: Could This Be You?’, Jada Pinkett Smith shared how dealing with “adult things” at a young age led her to view emotions as a sign of weakness. She said,

“So those women you see that you think are so strong, there’s this terrified little girl underneath. And that’s me.”

Jada Pinkett Smith continued and shared that it was only after her daughter Willow‘s experiences with anxiety that she realized she, too, suffered from the mental health disorder growing up.

“It took me a long time to understand Willow. I mean, just her anxiety. I had a really difficult time relating, because, two things — her lifestyle and how she was brought up very different than mine — I don’t know what it’s like to be a child under hot lights.” 

Willow Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith

She added,

“And then just, really not knowing how to comfort her, not knowing what help she needed, not understanding the behavior.”

The episode comes as Pinkett Smith has been heavily criticized in the media for her treatment, or lack thereof, of her husband Will Smith. As previously reported, Pinkett Smith reportedly said she wished her husband never came to her defense at the 2022 Academy Awards. According to a source,

“It was in the heat of the moment and it was him [Will Smith] overreacting. He knows that, she [Jada] knows that. They’re in agreement that he overreacted.”

Author and trauma psychotherapist Kelly McDaniel will join Willow, Pinkett Smith, and her mother, Adrienne Banfield-Norris, at the table, too.

[VIA 1]