Will Smith is reclaiming his narrative with his new book Will, which goes on sale Nov. 9th. Heavy on the promo trail, he has been doing an exceptional job ramping up interest in the book. Will and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith have always been beloved in the media, but in recent years people have started to side-eye their union thanks to revelations made by Jada in her Facebook Watch series Red Table Talk. Will is looking to tell his own story and is sitting down with Oprah Winfrey ahead of the book release to open up more about his life.
In the hour-long sit-down, the two Hollywood heavyweights discuss Will’s book and shocking aspects of his life largely kept private. As one of entertainment’s most beloved stars, for years, Will could do no wrong. He reveals that could not be further from the truth. “There’s something about you now,” Oprah says to Will.”I want to tell the truth. I want to let people have it,” he says in a preview of the interview.
During the deep dive, Oprah admits that it is the best memoirs she’s ever read and that the voice is authentically Will’s. The exciting clip includes soundbites like “I haven’t talked about that publicly,” “I want to tell the truth,” and “I was laying on the floor in a jail cell.” Oprah follows up with, “people will be surprised to know that you basically lost everything.” In one part that stood out to many, Will admits that he has some guilt when it comes to his relationship with women. “I’ve carried most of my life the sense of failing every woman I’ve interacted with,” he admits. This may come as a shock to some, but for those that have been following along, it makes a lot of sense.
In the past, Willow has opened up about issues with her father, Will during her ‘Whip My Hair’ days. During a Red Table Talk, Jada asked Willow how she forgave her father after pushing her so hard. Willow responded, ““I definitely had to forgive you and daddy for that whole ‘Whip My Hair’ thing. It was mostly daddy because he was so harsh at certain times.” Jada Pinkett Smith has also opened up various times (often more than many people would prefer) about struggles with husband, Will Smith.
Will recently opened up about the failure of his first marriage and how the pressures of Hollywood had him struggling and falling in love with co-stars. In the early ’90s, Will was a new husband to first wife Sheree and father to their son Trey. During this time, he also filmed one of his first dramas, Six Degrees of Separation. Will decided to approach the role as a method actor and, unfortunately, would go on to fall in love with co-star Stockard Channing in real life like his on-screen counterpart Paul did in the film.
He admits that this put a strain on he and Sheree, amongst other things, and ultimately the two decided to separate. Will has gone on record calling “divorce” one of the hardest failures he’s had to endure. Despite being the portrait of a perfect marriage, Will and Jada have also begun to let people behind the scenes into issues they have struggled with. Jada, who has confessed to not believing in monogamy or traditional marriage, says she suffered for a long time in their union because Smith was such a traditional man. She fought back against buying homes, having a wedding and even criticized him for throwing her a lavish birthday party to “feed his ego.”
You can see the full Oprah interview on AppleTV.
