Will Smith has revealed that he passed on starring roles in several of the biggest films in Hollywood — seemingly huge misses that he calls &#8220;beautiful scars.&#8221;
The 56-year-old actor has discussed turning down several major movie roles, including parts in “The Matrix,” “Inception,” and “Django Unchained.” Smith revealed some of the reasons why he passed on those projects, including not understanding the point the movies were trying to make and having a difference of opinion about the narratives.
During a June 2025 <a href="https://variety.com/2025/film/news/will-smith-inception-offer-plot-confusing-1236432602/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with Kiss Xtra, Smith revealed that director Christopher Nolan offered him the lead in the hit film “Inception” (2010), but he decided not to take it.
“Chris Nolan brought me ‘Inception’ first, and I didn’t get it. I’ve never said that out loud,” he told the outlet of the sci-fi action heist film.
“Movies that go into those alternate realities…they don’t pitch well,” he continued, explaining that the concept of dreams within dreams did not make sense to him during the pitch process.
“Inception,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role that Smith turned down, earned over $839 million worldwide.
Nolan’s blockbuster isn’t the only time Smith made a big mistake in turning down movie roles. The actor previously confirmed that he turned down the role of Neo in “The Matrix” (1999), a part that later went to Keanu Reeves and helped define the latter’s Hollywood career.
In a 2019 video posted on YouTube, Smith said, “I’m not proud of it, but it’s the truth…I did turn down Neo.” He explained that the pitch didn’t sway him because it left him confused. “That was one of my beautiful scars…But there’s a fine line in a pitch meeting between genius and what I experienced.”
<div id="attachment_947631" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-947631" class="size-large wp-image-947631" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-1239558965-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-1239558965-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-1239558965-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-1239558965-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-1239558965.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Will Smith slaps Chris Rock onstage at the Oscars (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)</div>
The actor explained how the pitch sounded to him at the time, including how the scene involving the iconic slow motion action sequences was described.
“We’re thinking like…imagine you’re in a fight. You, like, jump. Imagine if you could stop jumping in the middle of the jump,” he <a href="https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/news/will-smith-matrix-inception-christopher-nolan-b2773588.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>, per The Independent.
“But then, people could see around you 360 degrees while you stop jumping. We’re going to invent these cameras and then people can see the whole jump when you stop in the middle of the jump.”
Instead of taking the role in “The Matrix,” Smith chose to star in “Wild Wild West,” which did not achieve the same level of critical or commercial success. “The Matrix” went on to earn approximately $460 million globally and remains a cultural touchstone.
And that’s not all. The Hollywood A-lister also turned down the Quentin Tarantino film “Django Unchained” (2012) after being approached early on for the lead role, which ultimately went to Jamie Foxx.
In a 2015 roundtable <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/will-smith-mark-ruffalo-four-842621/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">discussion</a> with The Hollywood Reporter, Smith said he had a difference of opinion with Tarantino about the film’s narrative.
“It was about the creative direction of the story,” he said at the time. “To me, it’s as perfect a story as you could ever want: a guy that learns how to kill to retrieve his wife that has been taken as a slave. That idea is perfect. And it was just that Quentin [Tarantino] and I couldn’t see [eye to eye]. I wanted to make the greatest love story that African-Americans had ever seen.”
“We talked, we met, we sat for hours and hours about it,” Smith explained at the time. “I wanted to make that movie so badly, but I felt the only way was, it had to be a love story, not a vengeance story. I don’t believe in violence as the reaction to violence. So when I’m looking at that, it’s like, ‘No, no, no. It has to be for love.’”
In a later appearance on his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s Red Table Talk, Smith mentioned that he turned down the role because of his family.
“I was going to do Django,” he <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/12/will-smith-turned-down-django-unchained-so-it-wouldnt-affect-his-kids?srsltid=AfmBOorXrpLAasO0nYKR6-7it1lop3aUUcZmYBsfWF5H3yJNjPCl7w9N" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “We had a family meeting and we all talked about Django. I wasn’t all the way in, but one of the main reasons that I wasn’t was the looks on your faces ’cause you knew what that would mean and those characters seep back into the house.”
Smith has described these decisions as “beautiful scars,” acknowledging them as significant moments in his career. He used the phrase in both interviews and in his 2025 song “Beautiful Scars,” where he referenced “The Matrix” and other surprising career choices.
The song and music video feature Smith reenacting a scene from &#8220;The Matrix&#8221; where Smith is offered the red and blue pills. In the video, Smith is offered the choice to go back and star in &#8220;The Matrix,&#8221; but he ultimately chooses to embrace his past choices and let it go.
Despite passing on these films, Smith has chosen some hits in Hollywood, including “Independence Day,” “Men in Black,” and “The Pursuit of Happyness.” He won an Academy Award for his work in “King Richard” in 2022, which was the same night of the now-infamous slap he gave to Oscars host Chris Rock.

Premiere Of Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Focus” – Arrivals

No To Neo: Why Did Will Smith Turn Down So Many Big Roles?

Christopher Nolan

Hollywood

Movies

Will Smith

Actor Will Smith just dropped his first studio album in 20 years, and he referenced the infamous moment at the 2022 Academy Awards when he slapped presenter Chris Rock across the face.
The rap artist included many collaborations on his new album, “Based On a True Story,” and the first song, “Int. Barbershop — Day,” begins with the line, “Will Smith is canceled,” as Variety <a href="https://variety.com/2025/music/news/will-smith-new-album-chris-rock-oscars-slap-1236350689/">noted</a>.
The song&#8217;s credits say it’s a collaboration between DJ Jazzy Jeff and B. Simone. It includes several voices repeating rumors about Smith in a freestyle rap, such as “Who the f** Will Smith think he is?” and “I ain’t never going to forgive him for that sh** he did.” 
One of the song lyrics says, “I heard he won the Oscar but he had to give it back/ And you know they only made him do that sh** because he’s black.”
The outlet notes that Smith did not have to return his Oscar, but he was banned from attending any Academy events for at least ten years.
The “Men in Black” star shocked the entertainment world by responding physically to Rock telling a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Will strode onto the stage and slapped Rock, then said, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth.”
Later in the telecast, Smith was awarded the Oscar for Best Actor for his film “King Richard.”
Another line in the song mentions the incident again: “Him and Jada both crazy girl, what you talkin’ bout?/ You better keep his wife’s name out of your mouth.”
The album’s second song, “You Lookin’ for Me?” also references the drama in his personal life. The lyrics say, “Took a lot, I’m back on top/ Y’all gon’ have to get acclimated/ Won’t stop, my sh** still hot/ Even though I won’t get nominated.” 
Previously, Smith <a href="https://thesource.com/2025/03/28/will-smith-shares-advice-from-jay-z-kendrick-lamar-on-new-album/">mentioned</a> that he had received guidance from Jay-Z and Kendrick Lamar for the new album. He said Jay-Z told him to “be true to your story,” which helped inspire the title. Lamar told Smith to “say that sh** you always been scared to say.”

Will Smith References Infamous Oscars Slap On His First Album Drop In 20 Years

Celebrities

Chris Rock

Entertainment

Jada Pinkett Smith

Music

Rap Music

U.S.

“<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/movies">Bad Boys: Ride or Die</a>” made waves at the box office over the weekend after a fairly slow start to the summer movie season. 
The film beat revenue projections, bringing in $104 million globally, which includes $48.6 million at the international box office. That number is 58% higher than Memorial Day weekend’s “Furiosa: A Mad Max Story,” per <a href="https://deadline.com/2024/06/bad-boys-ride-or-die-furiosa-garfield-global-international-box-office-1235963412/">Deadline</a>.
“Ride or Die” is the fourth installment in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/will-smith">Will Smith</a>/Martin Lawrence-led franchise. It was released by Sony Pictures, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="BAD BOYS: RIDE OR DIE – Official Trailer (HD)" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hRFY_Fesa9Q?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
This is Smith’s first major release since the infamous slapping incident at the 2022 Oscars, which tarnished the actor’s reputation in Hollywood. “Ride or Die” was already in production at the time of the slap and ultimately went on with a $100 million production budget. 
It was made public ahead of time that the film would reference the Oscars debacle. Smith’s character, Mike Lowrey, gets slapped repeatedly by Martin Lawrence&#8217;s character, Marcus Burnett. Lowrey is having a panic attack, and Burnett smacks him in the face multiple times to snap him out of it.
Arbi and Fallah acknowledged that the slapping was intentional. 
“Well, I think you know, if you watch the movie, you see that there are some parallels between what’s happening in the movie and real life,&#8221; they <a href="https://www.unilad.com/film-and-tv/bad-boys-4-will-smith-chris-rock-slap-102293-20240530">told</a> UNILAD in an interview. “You know, there’s — it’s almost like a meta experience that that Will in the character of Mike Lowrey goes through with some themes.&#8221;
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&#8220;So obviously, it had something, there is a connection between real life and the story of the movie in the movie itself,&#8221; the pair went on. 
The critics seemed to appreciate the addition, too. Variety reviewer Owen Gleiberman <a href="https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/bad-boys-ride-or-die-review-will-smith-martin-lawrence-1236023866/">called</a> the slapping scene a &#8220;direct reference&#8221; to the Oscars, further describing it as &#8220;a kind of pop exorcism.&#8221; 
&#8220;It’s &#8216;punishing&#8217; Smith, making cruel fun of his transgression, and just maybe, in the process, allowing him to crawl out from under the image of it,&#8221; Gleiberman wrote. 
New York Post reviewer Johnny Oleksinski <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/06/04/entertainment/bad-boys-ride-or-die-review-will-smith-gets-slapped-in-latest-comeback-attempt/">wrote</a>, &#8220;The best part of ‘Bad Boys: Ride or Die’ arrives near the end of the film when Martin Lawrence slaps Will Smith in the face and yells &#8216;bad boy!&#8217; What a shame that it’s fake.&#8221;
Smith was banned from the Oscars for ten years after storming onto the stage and slapping host Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

Bad Boys 4

‘Bad Boys 4’ Mocks Will Smith’s Oscars Slap, Stuns With $105M Opening Weekend Globally

'Bad Boys 4' Mocks Will Smith's Oscars Slap, Stuns With $105M Opening Weekend Globally

Will and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jada-pinkett-smith">Jada Pinkett Smith</a>’s charity faced a steep decline in donations following the infamous slapping incident at the 2022 Oscars, per a new Variety <a href="https://variety.com/2024/film/news/will-jada-pinkett-smith-charity-to-close-chris-rock-slap-1235947358/">report</a>. 
The famous <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/celebrities">couple</a> created the Will And Jada Smith Family Foundation in 1996 as a place to advocate for issues they cared about such as mental health, wellness, arts education, and sustainability, the outlet noted. But tax records indicate that donations plummeted after the 94th Academy Awards ceremony when Will stormed onto the stage and slapped event host Chris Rock across the face for making a joke about Jada’s bald head.
The incident has had long-lasting effects on the “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/will-smith">Men In Black</a>” star, who has since issued numerous public apologies. 
One apparent outcome was the decreased <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/charity">donation</a> amounts to the Will And Jada Smith Family Foundation. Per <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/954607014/202241749349100229/full">data</a> available on ProPublica, foundation revenue was $1,760,000 in 2020 and $2,138,660 in 2021. After the slap, filings for 2022 showed just $365,870 in donations, representing a drop of 83% compared to the previous year. Variety noted that this decline was due in part to the withdrawal of major contributions from American Airlines and CAA, which had donated $76,160 and $100,000 in 2021 respectively.
An unnamed source allegedly told the outlet that the Smiths were winding down the charity with the intention of shutting it down. 
The Smiths made headlines last year when Jada revealed they weren&#8217;t technically together anymore. The actress made the revelation in October 2023 that she and Will have been separated since 2016 despite presenting as a united front, as The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jada-pinkett-smith-says-she-and-will-smith-have-been-separated-since-2016">reported</a>. 
She told interviewer Hoda Kotb during an NBC News interview at the time, “Why [the relationship] fractured&#8230; that’s a lot of things. By the time we got to 2016, we were just exhausted with trying. I think we were both kind of just still stuck in our fantasy of what we thought the other person should be,” she said. 
“I made a promise that there will never be a reason for us to get a divorce. We will work through … whatever,” the celeb said of why they never officially divorced. “I just haven’t been able to break that promise.”
Fans had previously been confused about Jada admitting to having a romantic relationship with another man while married to Will in 2020, which she discussed during an episode of her “Red Table Talk” series. This led to rumors that the Smiths were in an open marriage, which they didn’t refute until years later when Jada admitted they were actually separated at the time of her “entanglement.”

Will Smith Jada Pinkett Smith

Will And Jada Pinkett Smith’s Charity Faces 83% Decline In Donations Following Oscars Slap, Rumored To Be Closing Soon: Report

Charity

Oscars

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jada-pinkett-smith" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jada Pinkett Smith</a> referred to her husband <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/will-smith" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Will Smith</a> hitting <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/chris-rock" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chris Rock</a> during the 94th <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/oscars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Academy Awards</a> in 2022 as a “holy slap,” saying it had some positive results.
The 52-year-old <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/celebrities" target="_blank" rel="noopener">actress</a> reflected on the incident during a newly published <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-12827701/Jada-Pinkett-Smith-reveals-shell-never-leave-Smith-separate-homes-Oscars-slap-saved-marriage.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with Daily Mail&#8217;s YOU Magazine. &#8220;I nearly didn’t even attend the Oscars that year, but I’m glad I did,&#8221; Jada told the outlet. &#8220;I call it the &#8216;holy slap&#8217; now because so many positive things came after it.&#8221;
Will stormed onto the stage to hit Rock after he made a joke about Jada’s bald head. She was diagnosed with the medical condition alopecia, which causes her hair to fall out, though Rock said he wasn’t aware of that when he told the joke. The “Men In Black” actor has publicly apologized for his actions.
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Meanwhile, Jada announced in her memoir that she and Will had been “separated” since 2016 but were still technically married.
&#8220;That moment of the s*** hitting the fan is when you see where you really are,&#8221; Jada told YOU Magazine. &#8220;After all those years trying to figure out if I would leave Will’s side, it took that slap for me to see I will never leave him.&#8221;
&#8220;Who knows where our relationship would be if that hadn’t happened?&#8221; she added.
Jada had previously discussed the slap while promoting her memoir “Worthy,” which was released in October. She claims to have thought the slap incident was a pre-planned skit even as she was sitting in the audience watching it happen firsthand.
“I was like, ‘There’s no way that Will hit him,’” she told <a href="https://people.com/jada-pinkett-smith-breaks-silence-marriage-oscars-slap-more-exclusive-8349700" target="_blank" rel="noopener">People</a> in October. “It wasn’t until Will started to walk back to his chair that I even realized it wasn’t a skit.” She recalled the first words she said to him after he returned to his seat, which were, “Are you okay?”
“I’m going to be by his side, but also allow him to have to figure this out for himself,” Jada said of her husband. 
She told NBC News interviewer Hoda Kotb that she didn&#8217;t plan on leaving Will during another <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jada-pinkett-smith-says-she-and-will-smith-have-been-separated-since-2016" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> the same month. “I made a promise that there will never be a reason for us to get a divorce. We will work through … whatever,” Jada said. “I just haven’t been able to break that promise.”

Will Smith slap

‘Holy Slap’: Jada Pinkett Smith Says Will Smith’s Oscars Debacle Convinced Her To ‘Never Leave Him’

'Holy Slap': Jada Pinkett Smith Says Will Smith's Oscars Debacle Convinced Her To 'Never Leave Him'

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I cannot get enough of the commentary going around about Jada Pinkett Smith. I have been watching comments pour in, and it is moments like this that are rich in culture. As it turns out, we are not all so far away from each other and it is possible for the general population to collectively agree on certain issues, like the fact that wives should have basic respect for their husbands. How Jada has been treating Will is anything but respectful.
Will and Jada have lied to the public about their relationship for years. Externally, they attempted to make their sham of a marriage appear pleasant and progressive, but secretly, they have been miserable and unhappy the whole time. She has cheated on him, he’s probably cheated on her, and now, they are trying to spin some progressive narrative that they were not even together. Meanwhile, Jada cannot stop talking about Tupac, her true soulmate who she is bizarrely obsessed with — and nobody knows why. There’s not even any real proof of the two ever being that close. The theories on the Tupac debacle roaming around the internet have been quite funny. 
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-643357" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/Jada-4.png" alt="" width="512" height="113" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/Jada-4.png 512w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/Jada-4-300x66.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px" /></div>
Yet Jada and Will are not going to separate. In fact, she believes they will once again live together so she can care for him — because, after all, he’s getting old. When <a href="https://www.today.com/video/jada-pinkett-smith-clarifies-status-of-relationship-with-will-smith-195682885836%20via%20@TODAYshow" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jada was on The Today Show</a>, she talked to Hoda Kotb about working on their marriage, saying:
<blockquote>There’s no finding another great love, and I think that’s the point. It’s like, we are in a place now that we are in a deep healing space, and we are really concentrating on healing the relationship between us.</blockquote>
She confirmed there’s no divorce on paper or in theory, and they have “really been working hard.” What a beautiful story. How wonderful. It feels like Cinderella being swept off by a handsome Bel-Air prince — only to have a fake relationship for 10 years, smile in the public’s face while lying to everyone, live in separate homes, and sleep with their children’s friends. 
Now, if none of that is cringe-worthy enough, Will has finally responded. We have all been on the edge of our seats wondering if and when this would happen — all of us silently pleading for Will to put some hair on his chest and stand up for himself. His wife has been humiliating him in public for years, dragging him around like a puppy saying he was ok with the affair she had with his son’s rapper friend (who has now come out as a homosexual). We have all been expecting Will to say something to make us respect him again. Will Smith made us believe in the characters he played. We believed that after an apocalypse, he would be able to rescue the world. But Will hasn’t even been able to rescue his own manhood, let alone give us some kind of a response we have all been hoping for.
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/will-smith-finally-responds-to-jada-s-press-tour-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: Candace Owens</a></h4>
Instead, Will has joined his wife on her book tour — the tour promoting her memoir which basically says she hasn’t been in a relationship with Will for years and is still obsessed with Tupac. But Will, beaming right alongside Jada, has introduced her on this tour, saying, “Jada is the best friend I have ever had on this planet, and I am going to show up for her and support her for the rest of my life.” Clearly, he is overlooking and has quite possibly altogether forgotten Jada’s actual character. He’s expressing total adoration of his wife, her book, bravery, and beauty. Rather than be like one of his heroic movie characters, he’s been a wimp, and the whole situation is incredibly embarrassing for him. 
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-643361" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/Jada-5.png" alt="" width="512" height="115" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/Jada-5.png 512w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/Jada-5-300x67.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px" /></div>
The public has had an appropriate response, one that has said this is not right. Even people who have wild and progressive ideas about what marriage should be are saying they don’t want to see anymore of this because it’s making them uncomfortable — and rightly so. Because of Will’s ridiculous behavior, everyone is trying to figure out what in the world is actually going on. One theory circulating around is that he might swing for the other side. But there is no need pretending this is how homosexual men live, as though they would be willing to be humiliated in public. No man would ever be happy with their partner treating them as Jada has, regardless of their sexual preference. So, is she blackmailing him? Does he want her to keep quiet about something so he’s pledged to support her to the end? 
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-643363" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/Jada-6.png" alt="" width="512" height="67" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/Jada-6.png 512w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/Jada-6-300x39.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px" /></div>
Despite the public backlash, Will is carrying on. He has been completely emasculated, and he’s basically said he loves it. We should all be thankful his movies are done since this makes buying into any of his characters near impossible — because no matter how great of an actor he is, no one can unsee this. This isn’t even toxic man culture; this is just exclusively Will Smith as he proves how extremely feminine he is while Jada flaunts her masculinity. While he needs to take responsibility and man up, we can all see that is not going to happen. The Will Smith you knew and loved is gone. What is left of him — after this disastrous and nonexistent union — is exactly who you should not aspire to be in life. 
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-643365" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/Jada-7.png" alt="" width="512" height="78" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/Jada-7.png 512w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/10/Jada-7-300x46.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px" /></div>
When you’re young, you look at people in Hollywood and think, that is who I want to be and that is what I want to do. Everyone has someone they admired as a child, but when you grow up and peek behind the curtain, Hollywood just turns out to be the Wizard of Oz. The people you thought were magical and admirable turn out to be wimpy and cowardly — and wimps and cowards should not be role models. If you get up every day, go to work, support your family, and come home to them each evening, you are better people than 99.9% of the people who are promoted in Hollywood. 
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The Fresh Prince Isn’t So Fresh Anymore

Candace Owens

Readers Pass

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/will-smith">Will Smith</a> insists that his relationship with <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jada-pinkett-smith">Jada Pinkett Smith</a> is great and that he’s “happier” than ever.
His statements come just after a media firestorm resulting from the release of Pinkett Smith’s memoir, “Worthy,&#8221; on Tuesday. In the book, the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/celebrities">actress</a> explains that she and Smith informally separated in 2016 but didn’t tell anyone. While they never legally filed for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/divorce">divorce</a>, she described their split as being equivalent to “divorce.” 
This has led to some confusion for fans who wonder what the status of their relationship is right now. After publicizing that he was ignoring all the questions by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/will-smith-pretends-to-ignore-drama-as-jada-pinkett-smith-promotes-tell-all-memoir">silencing notifications</a> on his phone, Smith made comments after joining Pinkett Smith onstage at the Enoch Pratt Free Library on Wednesday in Baltimore, where she was promoting her book.
“I just really wanted to come out and just be here and hold it down for you the way you have &#8230; for me,” Smith said, per <a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/bs-fe-jada-pinkett-smith-baltimore-visit-20231019-hyhf2i3pabex3ooodnuogdj57u-story.html">The Baltimore Sun</a>. “We have had a very, very long and tumultuous [relationship]. We call it ‘brutiful.’ It was brutal and beautiful at the same time.”
“Our union is a sloppy experiment in unconditional love,” the “Men in Black” actor continued. “Jada is the best friend I have ever had on this planet, and I am going to show up for her and support her for the rest of my life.”
“We got together when we were in our 20s,” Smith told the assembled crowd, including the couple’s adult children Willow and Jaden. “I had huge dreams of what I wanted to do in the world and in my life, and I was on fire with vision. And as I stand here before you today, I am happier than I’ve ever been in my entire life.”
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Pinkett Smith agreed, telling the crowd that she and Smith are “working very hard” on their “partnership.”
“Will and me are good,” she said. “All the people who don’t understand and got something to say are just going to have to fall in line. The truth of the matter is I’m not leaving Will’s side, and he’s not going to leave mine.”
“We’ve been on a powerful quest. And I’m happier than I’ve ever been,” she concluded.

Will and Jada

Will Smith Calls Relationship With Jada ‘Brutiful,’ Says He’s ‘Happier’ Than Ever

Will Smith Calls Relationship With Jada 'Brutiful,' Says He's 'Happier' Than Ever 

divorce

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jada-pinkett-smith-reveals-what-chris-rock-said-to-her-after-will-smith-slap" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jada Pinkett Smith</a> said, despite the recent revelation that she and husband <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/will-smith-pretends-to-ignore-drama-as-jada-pinkett-smith-promotes-tell-all-memoir" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Will Smith</a> have been separated for the last seven years, that they have &#8220;really been working hard&#8221; to reconcile.
During an appearance on Monday&#8217;s broadcast of the &#8220;<a href="https://twitter.com/todayshow/status/1713900604609671216?s=51&amp;t=yVg_AIbZC0FnyCtU4qPVYw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Today</a>&#8221; show, the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jada-pinkett-smith-says-she-and-will-smith-have-been-separated-since-2016" target="_blank" rel="noopener">52-year-old actress</a> clarified earlier comments and said that regardless of the Hollywood couple having &#8220;completely separate lives&#8221; since 2016, she doesn&#8217;t see &#8220;finding another great love&#8221; for either of them because they are working to heal their relationship.
&#8220;We are in a place now that we are in a deep healing space,&#8221; Smith shared. &#8220;And we are really concentrating on healing the relationship between us.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
NEW: Jada Pinkett Smith clarifies to Hoda she and Will Smith are working to reconcile. “There’s no finding another great love … We are working very hard at bringing our relationship together.” <a href="https://t.co/EEkqVmorkP">pic.twitter.com/EEkqVmorkP</a>
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) <a href="https://twitter.com/TODAYshow/status/1713900604609671216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 16, 2023</a></blockquote>
When pressed further by the host if their situation might not be a &#8220;divorce in theory,&#8221; the &#8220;Girls Trip&#8221; star reiterated &#8220;there&#8217;s no divorce on paper.&#8221;
&#8220;Yeah, no, we really have been working hard,&#8221; the actress added.
The host said she&#8217;s still unclear what this meant for the superstar couple&#8217;s future and Jada said, &#8220;We are working very hard at bringing our relationship together.&#8221;
However, when the host asked if this meant back to a &#8220;marriage&#8221; status again, Smith stopped short of saying that and instead said, &#8220;back to a life partnership.&#8221;
The &#8220;Matrix: Resurrections&#8221; star said she couldn&#8217;t call it &#8220;marriage&#8221; because for her &#8220;healing process&#8221; the idea of &#8220;husband, wife marriage,&#8221; carries with it unrealistic ideals, which she said that she and Will could not meet.
She said she has to be willing to &#8220;accept Will for the human that he is&#8221; and for him to do the same in return to her — and to then &#8220;love each other&#8221; there.
The comments came after Jada recently told the <a href="https://www.today.com/popculture/jada-pinkett-will-smith-separated-rcna105300" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;Today&#8221; show host</a> she and her husband are still legally married on paper but not romantically together.
&#8220;It was not a divorce on paper,&#8221; Hoda Kotb asked the actress.
&#8220;Right,&#8221; Pinkett Smith replied
&#8220;But it was a divorce,&#8221; Kotb said.
&#8220;Divorce,&#8221; Jada answered.
Jada and Will tied the knot in 1997 and share two kids together.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jada-pinkett-smith-reveals-what-chris-rock-said-to-her-after-will-smith-slap" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jada Pinkett Smith Reveals What Chris Rock Said To Her After Will Smith Slap</a>

Smiths

Jada Pinkett Smith Says Despite Separation, She’s Working To Reconcile With Will

Marriage

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/will-smith" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Will Smith</a> posted his first public reaction since his wife <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jada-pinkett-smith" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jada Pinkett Smith</a> started her press tour to hype her tell-all memoir, “Worthy.” 
The book will be released on Tuesday, but several details have already come to light, including Pinkett Smith revealing that she and her <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/celebrities" target="_blank" rel="noopener">movie star</a> husband have lived separately since 2016. 
“By the time we got to 2016, we were just exhausted with trying. I think we were both kind of just still stuck in our fantasy of what we thought the other person should be,” Pinkett Smith told Hoda Kotb during an interview. 
The Smiths got married in 1997 and have two children together, plus were raising Smith&#8217;s son from a previous marriage.
“I made a promise that there will never be a reason for us to get a divorce. We will work through … whatever,” the actress said of why they never officially divorced. “I just haven’t been able to break that promise.”
On Sunday, Smith posted a video of himself on Instagram looking like he’s falling asleep on a boat. The video features the sound of  multiple notifications coming in on his phone while the voiceover says, “Fun fact about me: I can take a nap almost anywhere.”  
The caption says, &#8220;Notifications off :)&#8221;
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Comments for the post were limited, but Pinkett Smith added her reaction of two laughing-crying emojis.
Smith also spoke about the memoir in a recently published New York Times profile on his wife.
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&#8220;When you&#8217;ve been with someone for more than half of your life, a sort of emotional blindness sets in, and you can all too easily lose your sensitivity to their hidden nuances and subtle beauties,&#8221; the “Men In Black” actor wrote in an email to the publication.
Pinkett Smith told <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/jada-pinkett-smith-interview-will-smith-chris-rock-06zp939qv" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Times of London</a> that she and her husband had planned to discuss their separation on the infamous episode of “Red Table Talk” when she revealed her relationship with singer August Alsina. But then it didn’t happen, and everyone made assumptions about their marriage.
&#8220;We were supposed to come to the table and go, &#8216;We are separated, and we&#8217;re figuring it out,'&#8221; Pinkett Smith told the outlet. &#8220;But Will wasn&#8217;t ready for that, and so my codependency kicks in, and I think, &#8216;I want you to come out of this as unscathed as possible.&#8217; So if that means me taking on the narrative of adulterous wife, I&#8217;ll do it.'&#8221;

Will Smith Pretends To Ignore Drama As Jada Pinkett Smith Promotes Tell-All Memoir

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jada-pinkett-smith-breaks-silence-on-will-smiths-oscars-slap-hopes-husband-and-chris-rock-will-have-an-opportunity-to-heal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jada Pinkett Smith</a> finally revealed what <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chris-rock-torches-wokeness-meghan-markle-and-will-smith-in-netflix-special-dont-fall-into-the-woke-trap" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chris Rock</a> said to her off camera after actor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/will-smith-finally-breaks-silence-on-what-occurred-between-him-and-jada-pinkett-smith-before-he-struck-chris-rock" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Will Smith</a> walked up to the Oscars presenter and slapped him in the face over the comedian&#8217;s joke about her shaved head at the 94th Academy Awards in 2022.
During an interview on Friday with the &#8220;Today&#8221; <a href="https://www.today.com/popculture/news/jada-pinkett-smith-what-chris-rock-said-after-slap-rcna120228" target="_blank" rel="noopener">show,</a> the 52-year-old actress said that immediately after the incident, while viewers were watching the clips of the nominees for Best Documentary Feature, Rock leaned over the stage and apologized to her.
&#8220;And Chris looks to me and he says, &#8216;Jada, I meant no harm,'&#8221; Smith told the host. &#8220;Now, I&#8217;m just out of it because I&#8217;m really worried about Will. And Will&#8217;s still talking because now he&#8217;s mad because Chris is talking to me.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
EXCLUSIVE: Jada Pinkett Smith spoke to <a href="https://twitter.com/hodakotb?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@hodakotb</a> about feeling &#8220;shocked&#8221; after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock: &#8220;We haven&#8217;t called each other husband and wife in a long time. I&#8217;m like, &#8216;What is going on right now?'&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/tuqshIZ6OH">pic.twitter.com/tuqshIZ6OH</a>
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) <a href="https://twitter.com/TODAYshow/status/1712805100769382886?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 13, 2023</a></blockquote>
She said she told the comedian &#8220;&#8216;Chris this is about some old s**t.'&#8221; and added, &#8220;That&#8217;s all I could think to say. And I couldn&#8217;t really take in his apology.&#8221;
Jada said she thought some people faulted her for what happened because she had previously discussed in 2020 her &#8220;entanglement&#8221; years earlier with singer August Alsina.
At the time, the actress claimed it occurred while she and Will were separated briefly. However, she <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jada-pinkett-smith-says-she-and-will-smith-have-been-separated-since-2016" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently revealed</a> that the two stars have been &#8220;separated&#8221; since 2016.
In an interview earlier this week for <a href="https://people.com/jada-pinkett-smith-says-chris-rock-asked-her-out-on-a-date-amid-rumors-she-and-will-were-divorcing-exclusive-8349420" target="_blank" rel="noopener">People</a> magazine, the &#8220;Girls Trip&#8221; star said Rock had asked her out on a date one of the times the Hollywood couple was in the news over divorce rumors, which might put a bit more context into what happened at the Oscars.
&#8220;I think every summer, all the reports would come out that me and Will were getting a divorce,&#8221; Pinkett Smith said. &#8220;And this particular summer, Chris, he thought that we were getting a divorce.&#8221;
&#8220;So he called me and basically he was like, &#8216;I&#8217;d love to take you out,'&#8221; she added. &#8220;And I was like, &#8216;What do you mean?&#8217; He was like, &#8216;Well, aren&#8217;t you and Will getting a divorce?&#8217; I was like, &#8216;No. Chris, those are just rumors.&#8217; He was appalled. And he profusely apologized, and that was that.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jada-pinkett-smith-breaks-silence-on-will-smiths-oscars-slap-hopes-husband-and-chris-rock-will-have-an-opportunity-to-heal">Jada Pinkett Smith Breaks Silence On Will Smith&#8217;s Oscars Slap, Hopes Husband And Chris Rock Will Have An &#8216;Opportunity To Heal&#8217;</a>

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith

Jada Pinkett Smith Reveals What Chris Rock Said To Her After Will Smith Slap

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith are one of the couples labeled as “admirable” — a couple we are told we should view as aspirational. Married since 1997, these two have appeared to have it all for a number of years: plenty of money, fast cars, two kids. But riffs in the relationship started appearing when Jada’s Facebook show, “Red Table Talk,” aired. We could all see something was going on; something was off in this relationship. Of course, their issues culminated with Will Smith smacking Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars. After years of appearances, we are finally finding out what’s been going on behind the scenes.
Jada is on press tour right now, promoting her book “Worthy,” which publishes October 17. During her tour, she’s revealed that she and Will have secretly been completely separated for the last seven years, and they are growing tired of maintaining the lie. In an interview with Hoda Kotb, Jada explains that she never wanted to get divorced and always thought they would “work through whatever.” Then she says she just hasn’t “been able to break that promise.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="EXCLUSIVE: Jada Pinkett Smith reveals she and Will Smith have been separated since 2016" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4O8qJNQurQ0?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The cast of The Today Show almost makes it seem as though Jada’s confession of a seven-year lie is some major act of bravery. And in a further act of bravery, she’s divulged even more details in her book where we will all be able to learn what’s been going on in the relationship.
In actuality, none of this is brave. Will and Jada are frauds. They have been putting on an act, appearing on red carpets together, showing public displays of affection, and preaching to the rest of us how we should live our lives. The purpose of Jada’s show “Red Table Talk” was to bring people’s lives to the table. She wanted to talk about the real, the honest, and the straightforward. Yet there is nothing brave or straightforward in anything she’s demonstrated other than her ability to lie to the masses for years.
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/jada-and-will-smith-s-scam-marriage-exposed-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: Candace Owens</a></h4>
In 2017, Jada Smith appeared on Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live” and shared her tips on how she and Will keep the relationship “hot” when host Andy Cohen asked. She explained: “Will and I just have amazing chemistry on a lot of different levels, you know? We love to laugh together, we love to learn together, and we just love each other. We just have a good time together.” They joked that their 23 years together is practically 60 in Hollywood years.
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It’s baffling that Jada has been this fraudulent — that she’s smiled in everyone’s faces and inserted herself as an authority in people’s lives. She’s spoken publicly about having cheated on Will, and while she likely doesn’t even consider that cheating, since they were not together, it was, indeed, cheating. They were married. Marriage and vows have meaning — no matter how much Hollywood tries to tell the masses that they don’t. Despite their vows, Will and Jada opted for the progressive route, remained married, and slept with other people, which is exactly what Jada confessed in 2020. She had carried on an affair with August Alsina, a rapper in his early twenties who was friends with her son. Absolutely disgusting. It’s despicable. And there’s no way to measure the impact that’s had on the mentality of their children.
August has quite a different appearance than Will; he is not as clean cut. But based on all Jada has shared about herself, from her lifestyle to her upbringing, this affair makes sense. Jada Pinkett Smith is for the streets. Everything she has ever told about herself indicates she wants someone a little “harder” than Will Smith, which also explains some of her obsession with Tupac — who she has continued to talk about for years following his death. She still holds a torch for him, and Will even said in his own book that he was jealous of the special bond she had with Tupac. She wants to be part of the thug life while at the same time attempting to convince everyone to just be open and honest. 
In 2020, Jada invited Will on a “Red Table Talk” episode in which she essentially told the public that her affair was totally acceptable because Will hadn’t been doing the things he needed to do as a man. I can’t imagine any man agreeing to sit down and do this publicly, but for some reason, Will Smith did. In that episode, he says he will “stand by my baby no matter what,” followed by Jada’s explanation that she doesn’t “look at it as a transgression at all.”
Meanwhile, I look at it as Will Smith being officially spayed and neutered. We have watched the spaying and neutering of Will Smith for the last year, formerly a man who people looked up to as an actor but now a guy who does not have an ounce of manhood left in him. He continues to allow this vile creature to publicly humiliate, embarrass, and shame him. To be clear, I don’t excuse him from any of this. He has obviously agreed to have this relationship, or, lack thereof; they have both continued to maintain appearances in the public eye. But there is nothing left of Will Smith. Jada isn’t a wife, and he isn’t a husband. These words <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/splitting-finances-stop-normalizing-marriages-that-function-like-divorce" target="_blank" rel="noopener">have sacred meaning</a>, which represent a union that happens under God. But <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/and-they-did-not-live-happily-ever-after-a-modern-love-story" target="_blank" rel="noopener">not in Hollywood</a>.
Hollywood is riddled with frauds. They are everywhere, and we continue to see just how fraudulent they are able to be. The idea that people in Hollywood are aspirational is absurd. All it takes <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/youre-not-stuck-youre-allowed-to-be-better" target="_blank" rel="noopener">to be better</a> than these people is getting up every day, earning an honest living, coming home to family, and living an honest life. That’s it. That’s all it takes for anyone to be better. 
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Candace_416x9 copy 22 (3)

This Is A Story All About How The Fresh Prince Did Not Become A King

TODAY Show

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jada-pinkett-smith" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jada Pinkett Smith</a> revealed during a recent interview that she and husband <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/will-smith" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Will Smith</a> have been “separated” for years.
The news went public as part of an exclusive clip from her upcoming NBC News <a href="https://www.today.com/popculture/jada-pinkett-will-smith-separated-rcna105300" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with Hoda Kotb. Pinkett Smith told Kotb that her marriage is more complicated than most people realize.
While she and the “Men In Black” star have been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/marriage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">married</a> since 1997, she said they’ve had &#8220;completely separate lives&#8221; since 2016. Pinkett Smith also teased that more details about their relationship would be explained in her upcoming memoir, &#8220;Worthy,&#8221; which is scheduled to be released on October 17.
Kotb asked Pinkett Smith about her marriage situation, which she said &#8220;surprised her the most&#8221; out of the book&#8217;s &#8220;many surprising things.&#8221;
The “Matrix: Resurrections” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/celebrities" target="_blank" rel="noopener">actress</a> confirmed that she and her husband are still legally married but are not romantically involved.
&#8220;It was not a divorce on paper,&#8221; Kotb said in the clip.
&#8220;Right,&#8221; Pinkett Smith replied
&#8220;But it was a divorce,&#8221; Kotb said.
&#8220;Divorce,&#8221; Pinkett Smith answered.
As for why the couple hadn’t discussed their relationship status before now, Pinkett Smith said the timing wasn’t right. She said it was due to &#8220;just not being ready yet &#8230; Still trying to figure out between the two of us how to be in partnership &#8230; In regards to, how do we present that to people? We hadn&#8217;t figured that out.&#8221;
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Kotb also asked what went wrong. “Why it fractured . ..that &#8230;. that’s a lot of things. By the time we got to 2016, we were just exhausted with trying. I think we were both kind of just still stuck in our fantasy of what we thought the other person should be,” Pinkett Smith went on. 
“I made a promise that there will never be a reason for us to get a divorce. We will work through &#8230; whatever,” the actress said of why they never officially divorced. “I just haven’t been able to break that promise.&#8221;
The Hollywood couple made headlines in 2022 when Smith stormed onto the stage and slapped Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards after Rock made a joke about Pinkett Smith having alopecia. 
The actress recently addressed the incident during an interview with <a href="https://people.com/jada-pinkett-smith-breaks-silence-marriage-oscars-slap-more-exclusive-8349700" target="_blank" rel="noopener">People</a>. &#8220;I thought, ‘This is a skit.’ I was like, ‘There’s no way that Will hit him,’” Pinkett Smith said of watching the slap. “It wasn’t until Will started to walk back to his chair that I even realized it wasn’t a skit.”
Previously, fans questioned Pinkett Smith having a romantic “entanglement” with singer August Alsina despite being married, which she and her husband discussed on a 2020 episode of her series, “Red Table Talk.” Prior to that, fans believed the couple had an open marriage which allowed them to date other people without consequence.

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