Will Smith's wife opens up about her children being 'different'
Actress and mother-of-two Jada Pinkett speaks about the unusual professional and personal choices made by her teenage children Willow and Jaden Smith.
In a recent episode of the Facebook talk show Red Table Talk, actress and wife of Hollywood actor Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith spoke openly about her journey of raising unusual children.
On the topic of gender norms, Pinkett Smith revealed that her 19-year-old son Jaden and 17-year-old daughter Willow had been making unconventional choices since they were born.
While admitting that the definition of gender and gender fluidity keep breaking with the times, Pinkett stated that in her experience, the change has been beautiful.
The 46-year-old also shared that as parents, it took her and her husband a while to get accustomed to their children’s uniqueness.
Speaking about Jaden and Willow childhood, Pinkett Smith revealed that they were born different and made different choices from early on, as opposed to the assumption that they were raised differently.
The celebrity mother cited an incident in which Jaden was asked to do an ad campaign for women by the fashion tycoon Louis Vuitton.
Pinkett Smith recalled that her husband Will was perplexed about the offer and whether Jaden should be a part of the campaign since it would mean that he would be seen wearing a skirt.
When Will asked for Pinkett Smith’s opinion, she simply responded by stating that it was Jaden’s desire to do the project and it was his way of expressing himself creatively.
Although the 49-year-old actor agreed to let Jaden work on the project, Pinkett Smith recalled that it was extremely uncomfortable for Will, who was worried about Jaden’s choice of work.
Willow also revealed how her father had tried to change her mind when he wanted to shave her head at the age of 9. He urged her to not lose her hair as in his view, it was a symbol of femininity.
However, Willow did not believe that a shaved head would make her any less feminine, and she proceeded with shaving her head.
Pinkett Smith confessed that it also took a lot of adjusting on her behalf to accept the fact that her children were out of the ordinary, and she had to learn to be open-minded about it.
Read more about the Smith family on our Twitter account @amomama_usa.