Jada & Will Smith's Daughter Willow Sparked Heated Debate after Flaunting Her Unshaven Armpit

Willow Smith has always been a controversial girl. Whether is for her looks, or her stance on specific topics, the young woman has proved she doesn’t play along to society's standards. So, when fans spotted her unshaved armpit in a recent pic, she sparked a huge debate on social media.

Jada Pinkett and Will Smith's daughter is as outspoken as her parents. She always steps up for her beliefs and, like her brother Jaden, prefers not to play safe when it comes to fashion, hairstyles, social media, and even basic grooming preconceived rules.

Although Willow has never shied from flaunting her armpit hair in public and has openly talked about it, fans and detractors still make a huge deal out of every appearance of Willow’s hairy underarm. The most recent one being a photo shared by her mom on Instagram.

In the pic, Jada and Willow are giving their best model face to the camera, and the teenager’s yellow sleeveless shirt put not only her cleavage but also her underarm hair on display.

MIXED REACTIONS

To say that the comment section of the pic turned into a field battle is an understatement.

While some people attacked Willow, calling her unhygienic and asking Jada to teach her how to “be a lady,” others came to her defense, praising her for embracing her body and slamming ignorant comments in the process.

“Hell naaw, I love Willow but, but armpit hair is a no-no,” wrote one user.

And another added, “So Is Someone Gonna Talk About That Damn Jungle Under Willows Arm!”

In contrast, one fan replied:

“You know you’re out of touch with your bodies natural defense mechanisms when you really think that body hair is an issue or somehow detracts from one's beauty. Grow up please.”

And another pointed out:

“Anyone out here shaming Willow for not shaving, you’re telling all girls what men have been telling girls for years: no one wants a woman with hair. Leave Willow alone; her armpit hair has nothing to do with her hygiene, it’s simply a choice. Anyone commenting about her barely noticeable armpit hair is clearly just jealous that they will never be half as beautiful as these two women.”

WILLOW'S STANCE ON GROWING HAIR

Willow Smith has been growing her armpit hair for years now, but even in her own family, she has faced some detractors to her decision.

Her mom, and her grandmother, Adrienne Banfield-Jones, have made clear that although they don’t like Willow’s armpit hair, they respect her decision.

In an episode of their Facebook Watch show, “Red Table Talk,” the three women discussed body image and insecurities, and Willow’s hair inevitably came into the table.

“You always get on me for my underarm hair,” Willow told Pinkett Smith. “Gammy’s always like, ‘Do you want me to trim it for you?’” she added.

“We can braid it!” Banfield-Jones joked.

When asked why is it that she doesn’t shave, Willow explained that it wasn’t really a conscious decision. “I mean I didn’t really make the decision not to shave, I just kind of didn’t shave,” she explained. “It takes too much time. I just want to get in the shower and get out of the shower.”

To further justify her point, Willow added:

“I’m going to be like my ancestors and just do what I need to do.”

Pinkett-Smith admitted that, although she has a different preference when it comes to body hair, she respects her daughter’s decision.

“My whole thing is she has the choice; it’s her body,” she explained.

IT IS A NATURAL CYCLE

Back in 2016, the teenager posed this question to her Instagram followers: “Why should I have to alter the natural state of my body to be seen as socially acceptable?” Up until today, that question remains the same.

The Red Table Talk discussion took place in May 2018, and a month later, Willow gave an update about her hairy situation on the show’s Instagram account, stating that it was time for her to shave it off.

“Oh Hallelujah!” Gammy said in the clip.

However, Willow made sure to remind everyone that “Chia pets are gonna come back. It’s a cycle. Know what I’m sayin’? It happens.” And as you can see, it happened.

WILLOW'S HONESTY ABOUT SELF-HARM

It's not just her physical looks that Willow is open about. During another "Red Table Talk" episode, the 18-year-old talked about self-harm and depression, surprising her mother, who didn’t know about the self-harm until then.

“I was just plunged into this black hole, and I was like cutting myself," the "Whip My Hair" singer shared. "Totally lost my sanity for a moment there."

Reflecting on the importance of her admission in a recent interview with Essence, Willow admitted that while it wasn’t easy to come forward with such raw information, she believes her honesty could help other young people.

“I mean nobody wants to come out and tell the whole world about that, but I felt that was very important for other girls or boys that are going through that as well for me to come out and talk about my life,” she stated.

LESSONS FROM DEEP CONVERSATIONS

Jada, Willow, Adrienne and the rest of the guests that have seated at the table, had discussed a wide range of topics, some still considered taboo, like sex, gender, monogamy, racism, white privilege, domestic violence, mourning and more.

For Willow, one of the lessons she has learned from those talks resides in not being a victim of your past. She explained:

"I think the most surprising thing I've learned being on the show is that no matter what you go through, no matter how dark that is in your past or in your childhood or the things that you went through, you can come out amazing and still do even more and be even more successful.”

Willow also admitted that the best advice her mom ever gave her was to “do you, boo boo.”

“You have to do what makes you happy,” the girl said. “I feel like that's a core of a lot of issues that people have internally in their life is caring too much about what people think and not putting themselves first and their happiness and their spiritual evolution first."