Audio By Carbonatix
Will Smith is reflecting on his failures and struggles as a father of three.
Appearing on the Father's Day edition of his wife Jada Pinkett Smith's Facebook Watch series "Red Table Talk," the Hollywood actor spoke candidly about "the real weight of parenting."
According to the "Bad Boys" star, who has Jaden, 21, and Willow, 19, with Pinkett Smith as well as Trey, 27, from his first marriage to Sheree Fletcher, his "fatherhood instincts" kicked in when he was just a child."
From the time I was six years old, I wanted to be a father," the 51-year-old said. "I loved how my family was, but there were massive critical deficiencies in my father's parenting that I wanted to correct. By the time I was 10 years old, I remember looking at my father and thinking I could do it better than him."
During the intimate one-on-one conversation, Smith opened up about a challenging chapter in his relationship with his daughter Willow, which proved to be a transformative experience.
Willow found fame in 2010 at the tender age of 9 with her monster hit "Whip My Hair." But when the gruelling demands of touring started to take their toll, she asked her father if she could quit the 30-date tour.
"She kept asking; she was like, 'Daddy, it doesn't matter how I feel?' And I was like, 'Yes, baby, it does matter how you feel, but you have to finish what you started,'" he told Pinkett-Smith.
On this special Father's Day episode, Jada sits down with Will for one of the most intimate and vulnerable conversations...
Posted by Red Table Talk on Sunday, June 21, 2020
Smith was convinced that he was doing the right thing by his daughter with his "military mindset" until she shaved her head bald in an act of "protest."
Recalling the turning point, he said: "My desire for her was overriding her desire for her, and I had a real epiphany on that and how bad a person will hate you if you keep forcing your wishes onto their life."
He said his daughter's cry for help was the catalyst in changing his parenting style, and she "introduced me to feelings."
Smith also got emotional when reflecting on becoming a father for the first time, at the age of 24.
"I think that was my first moment of the real weight of parenting," he said. "I brought him (Trey) home, and I remember we put him in the bassinet... and it was like stark terror. It was like, 'I'm totally responsible for this life.' I just cried so hard. It makes me teary right now."
Latest Stories
-
Kane scores twice as Bayern beat rivals Dortmund
2 minutes -
Lamine Yamal hits first hat-trick in Barcelona win
6 minutes -
Iran says US and Israel strikes hit school killing 108
13 minutes -
What we know so far: Supreme Leader Khamenei killed, Trump says, as Iran launches retaliatory strikes
54 minutes -
Trump says Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei dead after US-Israeli attacks
1 hour -
Ghana cautions nationals against non-essential travel to and from the Middle East as tensions escalate
3 hours -
NAIMOS has failed in galamsey fight; it’s time for a state of emergency – DYMOG to President Mahama
4 hours -
Mahama to open African Court judicial year in Arusha, mark 20th anniversary
4 hours -
Ghana begins partial evacuation of Tehran Embassy as Middle East tensions escalate
4 hours -
EPA tightens surveillance on industries, moves to cut emissions with real-time monitoring system
4 hours -
Police conduct show of force exercise ahead of Ayawaso East by-election
6 hours -
Ghana launches revised Early Childhood Care and Development Policy to strengthen child development framework
6 hours -
AI to transform 49% of jobs in Africa within three years – PwC Survey
7 hours -
Physicist raises scientific and cost concerns over $35m EPA’s galamsey water cleaning technology
7 hours -
The road to approval: Inside Ghana’s AI strategy and KNUST’s leadership
8 hours
