Late last week singer August Alsina, 27, revealed in an interview that he’d had an affair with Jada Pinkett Smith, for which he claimed Will Smith gave his blessing. Page Six put the timeline of the relationship starting around 2015 and did not mention an end date, although they said that August went to Hawaii with the Pinkett-Smiths in 2016 and went to the BET Awards with them in 2017. There are multiple photos of August and Jada circulating which seem to have been posted on social media. August talked about Jada like she was the love of his life and said he was left “broken” after they split. He came across as completely believable, however Jada’s rep said the story was “absolutely not true” and Will’s rep simply responded that it was “wrong.” That was it, that was the extent of their statements.
The Shade Room has found an old clip from Red Table Talk where Jada talked about meeting Alsina in 2015. She said Alsina asked her for guidance. That clip is below and here’s what she said:
August Alsina is an incredibly talented R&B singer. He’s had many hits. He came to see Willow and Jaden perform in 2015 in London. That’s where we met. He asked me that day. He was like ‘man, I could really use some help dealing with life.’ Then come to find out that he was abusing Percocet. August and I and my mother and the family as a whole has been pretty much on this journey with August towards his healing.
[From RTT via Instagram]
In Jada’s own words she was like a mentor to this young man, who was 22 when she met him.
After August’s interview came out Jada tweeted this:
There’s some healing that needs to happen…so I’m bringing myself to The Red Table.
— Jada Pinkett Smith (@jadapsmith) July 2, 2020
I bet Jada will admit that she was with August, but she’ll spin in like he made her feel wanted at a down time in her life, and I doubt she’ll bring him on her show. Plus she’ll talk in riddles like she always does. Speaking of that, August posted the Instagram photo at the bottom of this post, with The Breakfast Club’s Angela Yee who interviewed him (why aren’t they socially distancing?!) and he wrote a caption stating that he told Jada about the interview before it aired. At least I think that’s what he wrote. I’ve bolded the part where he wrote about that. I’ve also cut some of it for length:
Adversary is but a gift given to you to flourish. We are surround by so much disharmony in this external world, so it is my forever job to do whatever’s necessary to reach the gift of harmony within myself. Truth & Transparency makes us uncomfortable, yes, but i can’t apologize for that. A tower of truth can never fall, only a tower of lies can do that. My truth is MY truth, & its mine to own. There is no right or wrong here, it simply just IS. & I make room and have acceptance for your thoughts and opinions, regardless if I agree or not, you have that freedom to feel WHATEVER it is u feel because when you’re at TRUE peace, all of the noise and chatter becomes that of a whisper.
My heart has no malice or hate toward anyone on this planet. I just simply want the chains off & I’m willing to DIE getting there. The gift of freedom is yours to have, God promises us that, but only if you’re willing.
&God is not a man that HE should lie.. & I’m His SON, so neither would I. 🙏🏽 W/ that being said i should also say that, no one was side swiped by any conversation, everyone got courtesy calls time in advance. Wishing Everyone Big Love!
As I said I think he’s totally credible, both that he was with Jada and that he told the Pinkett-Smiths about the interview.
I bet Jada will have her Red Table Talk episode about this sometime this week. She’s not one to miss a chance to capitalize on interest in her. She’ll make it all about her and her feelings and she’ll spin a whole word salad trying to make it sound complicated and noble. I’ll watch it and let you know what she said.
Here’s that clip of Jada on RTT talking about how she met August and how her family helped him:
Here’s August’s post where he made the caption above:
Oh look they posed together at the 2017 BET Awards
Embed from Getty Images
the Smiths are probably the weirdest family in Hollywood. Are they capable of saying anything directly or does everything have to be worded like a self help book? Someday the tea may get spilled and we will see all the little secrets come out.
He’s gorgeous!
I believe him. The Smiths seems to have a polyamorous relationship and this kind of thing is what it looks like.
As lo g as they are honest and approach it in a healthy way, I do t see the problem with it. Not my cup of tea but maybe this works for them.
I believe him, too. And find it alarming that he says he’s willing to die to “get the chains off.” This is a fragile young man and this has to be hurting him.
Good point, I started thinking about that too, especially after reading some of the other comments. He was very young when they got together and given who the Smiths are, he was likely manipulated, maybe even blackmailed, by the powerful couple (hence the “chains”).
I like Jada but she is gross for having a relationship with one of her kid’s friends. Just gross.
I really can’t stand Jada. Somehow I’m going to bet this isn’t the first time she’s abused power like this. And again – how tf are Will and Jada not called out more for their $cientology connections. NOBODY funds a $cio school for fun. They probably have dirt on them.
i’m with you. i don’t like to police people’s appearances so i’ll just leave it at her personality. i remember her as an awesome fiery person back in the days with spike lee. what happened?
I don´t mind Jada presenting her side of the story, whatever it. Everybody involved was a consenting adult. They can do whatever they want to do in private. I dont even feel they owe the general public an explanation of their open marriage. I do think they have one and I do understand why they do not expose the situation.
But I wonder if this young man coming out now about it , if it means he somehow feels used and wants some recognition. If that is his motivation, then it means the relationship was more one sided than he supposed it was, maybe even manipulative in a way?
You just articulated everything I feel. Thanks ❤️
@Love
I really hope Jada did not cross any lines though, but who knows? I think, the way he put it, there is potentially more to it than simply a heartbreak.
There’s a lot of unclear stuff going on that seems weird at the very least. If the relationship started with him asking her for guidance AND while he was abusing Percocet, I think it’s fair to question how equal that relationship could be. And, like you said, he’s talking about it now, years later and in very different terms than she is. That’s another red flag for me. But it’s tricky to suss that out without gawking at the Smiths’ marriage arrangement, which isn’t anyone’s business.
Yeah, to me the conversation isn’t about whether Will and Jada have an open marriage — that’s their business. The conversation is about whether or not this was an appropriate individual for her to have a relationship with and if that relationship had healthy boundaries. It sounds like they were not in the same place and on equal footing emotionally — particularly if he came into their household is her son’s friend and as someone with whom Jada initially had some type of parental/mentoring relationship. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should….
Everyone has the right to live their lives the way that they want to, and the Smith marriage is nobody’s business, but what I don’t like about this stuff is that they are public figures who aren’t very private about their lives while denying that they have an open marriage, and they have denied it by talking around it for years. They meet and date people, and their lovers and the people they hit on TALK, and Alsina has a right to discuss his experiences with Jada, and Jada has a right to stay silent if she wants to, but Will and Jada want to have it both ways. They are public figures whose money depend on image, but they talk like living their truth is more important. Alsina living his truth is an inconvenience to them.
And, as you said, just because you can do it doesn’t mean that you should. If you are going to have sex with someone who is a friend to your children, there could be consequences, and being outed is one of those potential consequences.
I don’t care what people do in their own marriages to make it work for them, not my business. That being said, I’m kind of tired of people like the Smith’s coyly trying to make it everyone’s business for attention and then clutching their pearls when they get it. I just wish that they’d either shut up or go away.
Why put this sordid information out in public.
I’m kind of enjoying this drama
He meant adversity, not adversary.
Maybe because I knew of August long before this outing and I actually listened to his music and remember interviews about how he talked about women, sex, and relationships BEFORE Jada that my sympathy level is limited.
He learned a very grown up lesson and got his heart broken. It happens. Both Will and Jada were dating 20 somethings at that time, Heidy and August. Both of the them started acting up around the same time probably wanting more or exclusivity. I don’t know if Heidy is still in the picture but she’s definitely stopped all the SM peacocking she was doing when she and Will were traveling. August pushed the issue and Jada told him probably the same thing she told him in the beginning. “I’m NEVER leaving my husband.”
Interesting. How DID he talk about women?
Honestly, I do think it’s a little awkward/cringe for a parent to have that kind of relationship with their adult kid’s friend. It’s different from her hooking up with a twentysomething she met under different circumstances. But at the same time, it would also be inappropriate to make him, as a consenting adult, out to be an abuse victim when that’s not what he’s said. I don’t know how long he’s been raising his sister’s kids, but if he’s been deemed capable of juggling that with other adult responsibilities, that should probably be factored in when judging his choice to act on his own attraction to someone he brought into his life, even if sex wasn’t the initial reason for his seeking her out. Sometimes relationships don’t result in a happily ever after though.
Just average misogynistic garbage most men say regarding groupies/women. The things he likes and would and would not do sexually – which if he was sleeping with Jada is no longer true. I feel like he might’ve actually said it on the Breakfast Club.
Jada is a lot of things, but I don’t think she was out here dating her son’s friend. They probably met on their own. I think that was the agreed upon story because of his age.
let them have their openness. its their marriage. They were honest with each other. probably with their kids too.
People in bad marriages do these things. They suck someone into their drama for a while. That someone develops genuine feelings. Then when the married person is done with them, they dispose of them. Good for him. Spill some tea. Remind them that there are consequences and that you have worth too.
Who is going to be at this table talk,because if its just her,i can gurantee that nothing straight will come out of her mouth. They always talk in circles trying to sound deep on every sentence they make,they are exhaustion I Can only take them in small doses.
I’m sorry but a married 50 year old “mentoring” a 22 year old who is addicted to drugs by having sex with him is creepy and predatory behavior. She’s a creep and so is Will.
This is what’s bothering me.
I don’t care about the Smith’s marriage, if they are open and that makes them happy, that’s their business. But the power imbalance here, especially with him looking to her for help and seeing her as a mentor, that isn’t good. Especially if he was a friend of her kid (s).
Thanks for taking one for the team Celebitchy and watching it for us! I wouldn’t make it through five minutes.
If they don’t want the public to know about their open relationship why not have people sign an NDA? It’s not that hard.
If they don’t want the public to know about their open relationship why not have people sign a NDA? It’s not that hard.
What Jada wants, Jada gets.
Two stories:
1. Rumor has it that Gia Torres was supposed to get the part in the Matrix the Jada got. Gia ended up in a minor role. How powerful were the Smiths? Laurence Fishburne, one of the movie’s big stars, was Gia’s husband at the time, and even he couldn’t stop the role switch.
2. At one point in her career, Jada was a heavy metal band singer (Wicked Ways?) In the mid-aughts there was a tour of a bunch of heavy metal groups — one big name, the others not as big. It was touring the country. Turns out a friend of mine was in one of the bands and he said that the promoter told them “no” a few times — because they weren’t good — but money changed hands and the band was on the tour. (Though not sure if any of the other bands had to pay something to be on the tour — just think the Smiths paid A LOT more.) TBH, I saw the show and the band wasn’t as bad as my friend said and Jada has an amazing on stage presence — she should do a show (when those open back up) in Vegas or Broadway — not necessarily in a heavy metal band, but something else.
1- Gina Torres
2-Wicked Wisdom
@Sharon My bad — love the fabulous and talented Gina Torres.
Will Smith was at point the biggest box office draw in the world. So, yes, they had a lot more power than Laurence Fishburne/Gina Torres.
Regarding the relationship and age difference, I’m withholding judgement until we learn more. He’s 27 now (not 22) and she’s 48 (not 50), so it’s 21 years. It’s definitely not something I would do, but many older men in Hollywood are hooking up with women who are 20 plus years younger and are not judged as being abusive.
I’m also enjoying this drama. I think in America at least we have been on this trend for the past few years of infantilizing young adults and their sexuality. Many relationships have some sort of power imbalances, that doesn’t always equal abuse. Yes 22 is young but not THAT young. Most relationships aren’t going to end in happily ever after, especially when you’re in your early 20s. You tried something and it went south after a while, that’s called being 22. I don’t think Jada is an abuser, people are in all kinds of non monogamous relationships these days. Sometimes young adults are experimenting and finding out what they like and don’t like. They are aloud to do it on their own terms as long as it’s legal IMO.
She started dating him when he was 22? That’s bordering predatory behavior. That family thinks they’re so woke but in reality they’re just a mess.
I’m not bothered by the age difference between Jada & August. I’m not bothered by the arrangement that she and Will seem to have in their marriage, either.
I AM bothered by the fact that she took on the role of mentor for a young man who was troubled and addicted to drugs, then used her power and influence to engage in a sexual relationship with him.
If Jada were a married MAN, who did this to one of his child’s young female friends, we would be outraged.