Will Smith has spoken out to confirm that he supports Jada Pinkett Smith’s memoir, Worthy, despite the media’s desperate attempts to paint him as a victim. Pinkett Smith has been receiving vitriol since she released her memoir and confirmed she and Smith have been separated since 2016. The attacks that the media, internet, and even other celebrities have launched against her are confounding. Hasn’t practically every celebrity in Hollywood released their own memoir and dished on their relationships to the press? Not to mention, Smith wrote a memoir before Pinkett Smith and has never been shy about speaking about his personal life publicly.
The double standard is evident in how no one batted an eyelash when Smith released his memoir, but everyone has been in a frenzy over Pinkett Smith telling her side of the story. The bizarre narrative that has surfaced suggests she’s damaging Smith’s reputation and embarrassing and emasculating him. It’s difficult to see how the narrative arose besides the obvious fact that sexist and misogynist individuals love to depict men as victims and attack women who have done nothing wrong. After all, aside from revealing that they’ve been divorced all but legally for seven years, everything Pinkett Smith revealed was largely already known.
Pinkett Smith and Smith have both spoken about having an open marriage and not believing in divorce. Smith confirmed that there was never infidelity in their marriage and that they’ve always been in agreement about the details of their relationship. They have an unconventional marriage, but they seem to agree about it, and it works for them. Still, the internet has insisted on making an issue of something that’s not an issue. Hopefully, Smith’s response to the memoir will finally put this manufactured controversy to rest.
Will Smith’s sweet response to Jada Pinkett Smith’s memoir
Regardless of what one personally thinks of Smith or Pinkett Smith, Smith’s response to Worthy was undeniably very sweet and gave no indication of any ill feelings. Smith wrote a letter responding to Pinkett Smith’s memoir, which she read during a Jay Shetty interview. The letter brought Pinkett Smith to tears as Smith raved about how the book impacted him and how shocked and inspired he was to hear her story in this “potently condensed” way despite having known her half his life. He concluded his letter with:
You are one of one, a rare blend of power and delicate sensitivity. I know it wasn’t easy to excavate the depths in that way. I applaud and honour you. If I had read this book 30 years ago, I definitely would have hugged you more. I’ll start now. Welcome to the Authors Club. I love you endlessly. Now go get some Merlot and take a rest.
After reading that statement, it will be exceedingly difficult to argue Smith is anything but supportive of Pinkett Smith’s memoir. He confirmed he read it, and his response was one of love and admiration. Smith didn’t try to deny any of her claims or say he was embarrassed or angry at her for spilling details about their life. Instead, he recognizes that she has a powerful story to tell and that she has just as much right as he does to tell the story of their life together. The end of his letter is almost humorous to read. The internet has imagined Smith as humiliated, emasculated, and inconsolable over Pinkett Smith’s memoir, and here he is making sure she gets herself some wine and rests after a job well done.
Smith also took to Instagram to share a message that seemed directed at all the unhinged folks on the internet who won’t stop obsessing about his relationship. While Pinkett Smith has experienced the majority of the abuse, Smith has also faced attacks and insults, such as being called a “simp.” Apparently, the internet grossly wants him to speak ill about the mother of his children and a woman he has shared most of his life with. Smith made sure to let everyone know that his notifications are off and that he’s literally taking a nap in a boat while they’re losing their minds about him.
Smith apparently couldn’t be more unbothered about everything that’s going on. He definitely isn’t acting like the martyr and victim everyone is making him out to be. He simply did what any decent man would and should do by showing basic respect and support to a woman for sharing her story, regardless of the nature of their relationship. This whole Smith/Pinkett Smith debacle has raised very ugly displays of sexism and misogyny, even though none of us know the true nature of their relationship. What we do know, though, shouldn’t be shocking or anger-inducing. It should be the norm that powerful women are able to tell their stories and choose what’s best for them in a relationship and that the men in their lives respect and support their decisions.
(featured image: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin / Getty)
