There’s no denying Will Smith and his family go by the beat of their own drum. They don’t care what anyone thinks about it. They live their lives on their own terms and they have definitely come close to be considered too weird or even “different.” Do they care? Not one bit. Will Smith has made a heck of a career for himself over the years, and while he's taken on some questionable roles, there have been some Oscar-worthy ones as well.
His last ten movies choices earned him a lot of Razzie awards and only two critical successes. Those were Men in Black III and Concussion. Regardless of his massive amount of Razzie awards, studios are still dying to get him to star in his money and they will write big checks to get him there.
Will isn’t the only one in the family either. There is actress Jada Pinkett Smith who he’s been married to for close to forever. He also has two sons, though only one, Jaden, is in the industry as an actor and rapper. His daughter, Willow, is also taking on a career as a singer. Check out these 20 times the Smith family were maybe a little TOO different.
20 His Marriage Made Headlines
There have been a few rumors going in over the years that the reason Will Smiths marriage has lasted 21 years is that it’s been open. The rumors started because of a conversation that Jada had in an interview. “Here’s the deal with that, Howard, you’ve got to trust who you’re with. And at the end of the day, I’m not here to be anybody’s watcher,” Jada told Howard Stern.
“I’m not his watcher. He’s a grown man. Here’s what I trust — I trust that the man that Will is, is the man of integrity. So, he’s got all the freedom in the world.
As long as Will can look himself in the mirror and be okay, I’m good.”
19 Jaden Is Highly Confident
There is no lack of confidence when it comes to the family especially in regards to the children. We wouldn’t consider them to have any type of humility, unfortunately. If you check out Jaden’s Instagram page, the bio states, “If you want to see the future of music, photography and film making.” It has yet to be determined if Jaden who is still so young has even half the talent that his father does or enough staying power to make a career in Hollywood. However, he does know how to grab people's attention, that's for sure. He also has a ton of connections, including long-time friend Kylie who he's spotted with here, confidently wearing an Iron Man suit.
18 Willow Has Been Called Vapid
Willow is another Smith who has yet to make any permanent mark in the industry. She claims to want to change the world through her work even though her work says anything but that. She added this post to Twitter:
“Anything that I ever do is geared toward the evolution and vibrational elevation of this planet through the inspiration of individuals.”
It’s hard to say if an album entitled Whip My Hair is going to change anyone’s vibrational elevation.
17 Jaden Is Philosophical
Sure, there are many celebrities that are Scientologists, but in Jaden’s case, he may be a secret Scientologist. Former Scientologist Leah Remini stated in an interview that he has been a Scientologist for a long time even though he denies it. Remini’s quest lately has been to take down the organization so why would she single him out for no reason? Jaden posted on Twitter: “I have prayed in mosques all over the world, but I am not a Muslim. I have read the Bhagavad Gita, but I am not a Hindu. I have chanted and meditated in some of the most magnificent temples on Earth, but I am not a Buddhist, and I have studied Dianetics, and appreciate the merits of Study Tech, but I am not a Scientologist.”
16 Their Music Is The Only Cool Music
We all have our favorite musicians because let’s be honest there are a lot of cool artists out there. But the Smith children don’t know of any great artists, except themselves which is weird in itself. Jaden once said,
“We don’t think a lot of the music out there is that cool. So, we make our own music.
We don’t have any song that we like to listen to on the [Pacific Coast Highway] by any other artist, you know?” How is that possible?
15 Jaden Brought His Hair To The Met Gala
It’s pretty obvious that Jaden is a little different and he doesn’t mind it one bit. In fact, he’s stated that it’s his goal in life to be as different as possible. We’re not sure why he has that goal, but it will be interesting to see where he takes his career as he gets older.
“I have a goal to be just the most craziest person of all time.”
Sometimes it’s hard to pinpoint what Jaden does as a career but one thing is for sure, he feels like he’s the best in the industry. Before the 2017 Met Gala, Will helped his son cut his hair and Jaden, being the eccentric person that he is, decided to bring his dreadlocks along to the Met Gala as an accessory.
14 Willow Reads Her Own Books
Just like her brother, Willow doesn’t feel like there is any true artists out there. She doesn’t read any other books but her own which is certainly a different approach on life. There doesn’t seem to be a book good enough for her, except the ones that she wrote of course.
“There’re no novels that I like to read so I write my own novels, and then I read them again, and it’s the best thing.”
Some may even call her a narcissist, not just overly confident.
13 Willow Believes Time Doesn’t Exist
The Smith children have certainly been accused of being “too" different when they start making posts on social media. They have been criticized on more than one occasion for being eccentric and downright weird because of things that they post. When asked by the New York Times on how she viewed time, she said, "I mean, time for me, I can make it go slow or fast, however, I please, and that's how I know it doesn't exist."
12 The Family Was Investigated By Children’s Services
There was a time that Willow was photographed in bed at 13 with a shirtless 20-year-old boy and the Internet went nuts. It wasn’t long before the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services got involved and started an investigation of the family. They got a tip from someone anonymous who said they were worried about the child’s safety. “Will and Jada Pinkett Smith have been extremely cooperative with officials,” an unnamed source told Radar Online. “Of course, they aren’t happy that their parenting skills are under scrutiny, but they understand.”
11 Jaden Doesn’t Believe In School
Jaden has had some strong words about school over the years. He has stated a few times that he believes that school is just a prison for people. He made an odd statement once in an interview that had people’s heads spinning.
“You never learn anything in school. Think about how many car accidents happen every day. Driver’s ed? What’s up?
I still haven’t been to driver’s ed because if everybody I know has been in an accident, I can’t see how driver’s ed is really helping them out.”
10 Willow Thinks School Is Depressing
Willow is right up there with the same belief system that Jaden has in regards to school. Except her take on it is a little more serious. She believes that school is depressing and that no one should have to go. “I went to school for one year. It was the best experience, but the worst experience. The best experience because I was, like, ‘Oh, now I know why kids are so depressed.’ But it was the worst experience because I was depressed.”
9 Will Smith Is Embarrassed About How His Career Started
Most celebrities are thankful for how they started in the industry because it’s how they got their big break. Jennifer Aniston hails her career from Friends but when it comes to Smith’s career start in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, he’s embarrassed by it.
“It was my very first role, and I was very, very focused on being successful, so I learned the whole script and everyone else’s lines,”
Smith said on The Graham Norton Show. "If you watch the first four or five episodes, you can see I’m mouthing other people’s lines. It’s terrible and I can’t bear to watch it."
8 There’s No Discipline In The Smith Household
Will and Jada Smith have made it clear over the years that they don’t discipline their children and maybe that explains a lot. Children need certain restrictions and guidance growing up. "We don't do punishment," Will told E Online.
“The way that we deal with our kids is, they are responsible for their lives. Our concept is, as young as possible, give them as much control over their lives as possible and the concept of punishment, our experience has been, it has a little too much of a negative quality.
So when they do things — and you know, Jaden, he's done things — you can do anything you want as long as you can explain to me why that was the right thing to do for your life."
7 Will Smith Regrets It
Seeing how your children grow up under your direction is a pretty good indication of whether you did something wrong or not in the parenting department. Even Will Smith can admit now that the “no punishment” rule may have been a mistake. During an interview with A. Dot, he said, "Yeah, I think it may have been a mistake," he said, laughing. "We may have gone too far." Though he still defends Jaden’s behavior.
"Jaden is 100% fearless. He will do anything. So as a parent, it's scary.
It's really scary, but he is completely willing to live and die by his own artistic decisions, and he just doesn't concern himself with what people think."
6 Studios Are Freaked Out By Them
Hollywood studios aren’t that impressed with the Smith family, or at least the children. Some of their interviews have come to the attention of studio heads and they are a little weirded out to say the least. An email written by executive Tom Rothman was leaked in 2015 that he sent out to other executives stating, “They are homeschooled: don’t let this family date your movies!” Will didn’t seem fazed by the whole thing.
“Everybody disses my kids,”
Smith told Variety. “To me, that’s just part of the business. And somebody’s email is private, you know? So I would never hold anybody responsible for something they said in a private email. I shouldn't even know about it.”
5 Will Learned The Rubik’s Cube For A Movie
Plenty of actors will learn new skills in order to play a role in a movie but Will’s skill turned out to be mastering the Rubik’s cube. He learned the skill for the role in The Pursuit of Happyness.
"After an hour and a half, [people typically] can solve the Rubik's Cube with a sheet of instructions on it, without any input from me,"
Tyson Mao, a consultant on the film told the Chicago Tribune. "After 10 hours, Will Smith was able to solve the Rubik's Cube on his own, without anything. Not only learning the process, but committing it to memory."
4 Willow Lives In A Different Reality
When we hear Jaden or Willow in an interview or read their tweets, it can be a head-scratcher at times. The one interview that the studio executive was so concerned about was the one where Willow stated her version of reality: "The feeling of being like, this is a fragment of a holographic reality that a higher consciousness made.” Law of Attraction is super popular these days, but we can’t deny how weird she sounds sometimes.
3 Jaden’s Ex Got In Trouble
When Jaden was only 15, he was dating a model by the name of Sarah Snyder who was three years older than him. About a year into their relationship, Sarah was charged with third-degree larceny. She was caught walking out of a high-end store with a Hermes bag worth $15, 995. There were witnesses who stated they saw her take the bag, but Sarah denied it. The charges were dropped and Sarah was later photographed with a shirt that had her mugshot on it.
2 Jaden’s Feminine Wear
It’s not even just a personal choice, he’s been hired for a campaign to do it. Louis Vuitton made a statement when they decided to sign on Jaden for one of their womenswear campaigns. Jaden “represents a generation that has assimilated the codes of true freedom, one that is free of manifestoes and questions about gender,” said Nicolas Ghesquière the artistic director of Louis Vuitton. “Wearing a skirt comes as naturally to him as it would to a woman who, long ago, granted herself permission to wear a man’s trench or a tuxedo.”
1 They Boycotted The Oscars
In 2016, Will and Jada Pinkett Smith boycotted the Academy Awards because they felt there was a “diversity crisis” on hand. Smith at one point generated Oscar buzz for his role in the movie Concussion. “My wife’s not going. It would be awkward to show up with Charlize (Theron),” he said. “We’ve discussed it. We’re part of this community. But at this current time, we’re uncomfortable to stand there and say, ‘This is okay.'” Despite being nominated for awards in the past, he still feels like there is a problem in the industry.
References: nypost.com, nickiswift.com, screenrant.com
