Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith have released their Red Table Talk episode where they discuss August Alsina’s claim that he had a relationship with Jada. It’s just Will and Jada sitting at the table and of course they did not call or include August at all, like Jada has done in past episodes where she addressed issues she’s had with people. As background, August, now 27, spilled his heart out during an interview, saying that he’d had a relationship with Jada that lasted years, that she was his first and so far only true love (my words, but that’s basically what he said) and that leaving Jada “broke” him. We know that August was 22 when he started seeing Jada, but we don’t know how long it lasted. He also made it clear that Jada and Will were separated at the time and said that Will gave him his blessing to see Jada.
Of course Jada talked around things, barely mentioned August or his feelings and made it all about her. She also mirrored August’s words about being “broken” when it ended, although I’m pretty sure she broke up with him. (She didn’t say that explicitly, just that August cut off contact with her and she didn’t blame him for that.) Jada and Will did discuss the fact that they were separated at the time and that things were tough for them. Will said that while he didn’t explicitly give August his blessing he could see where August would get that impression about it. I did watch this whole RTT, you guys owe me, but I didn’t want to transcribe it myself so here’s part of the BBC’s writeup:
Speaking to [Will] on her Facebook show Red Table Talk, [Jada] said that the relationship happened while the pair were separated.
“We were over,” she says. “From there, as time went on, I got into a different kind of entanglement with August.”
[Will] then presses her, saying “an entanglement? A relationship.”
“I was in a lot of pain and I was very broken,” she countered…
[Jada] had not spoken to [August] in years, she added.
[Will] asked her what she felt she was looking for in the “interaction” with [August] about four-and-a-half years ago.
“I just wanted to feel good,” she replied, as her husband nodded sympathetically. “It had been so long since I had felt good.”
Now the couple are back together, [Jada] said they had reached a place of “unconditional love…”
“We ride together, we die together. Bad marriage for life,” they said in a quote derived from Smith’s Bad Boys movies.
How many times do you think they rehearsed that “bad marriage for life” quote? They’re both actors so it probably didn’t take long but they definitely planned it. There was so much psychobabble and talking around things in that interview. Jada downplayed her relationship with August, acted like it’s been over for ages and like she’s surprised he’s even talking about it. They didn’t talk about how significant a relationship it was to August at all, which was the whole point of his interview. It also took them a while to put this out because they wanted to get their stories straight, to quote my friend Zakia, who also told me they were trying to paint Will as a victim here when that’s hardly the case. Karen told me Will has has much to lose as Jada does and surely has his secrets too. I’m sure Will had a sidepiece or three, he just made sure they’re not talking.
Oh and Will and Jada claimed they “never said anything” in response to August’s interview, but they did, they both initially denied it with separate brief statements by their publicists. Jada’s said August’s interview was “absolutely not true” and Will’s rep told The Sun that the story was “wrong.”
50 Cent sent some stupid DMs to Will so Will responded appropriately. The fact that 50 still doesn’t know what he did and then posted this says so much.
What August saw Vs What Jada saw pic.twitter.com/wbcPRyGem5
— Eko Mami 🇳🇬 (@jesstake) July 10, 2020
Photos are screenshots from Facebook
All I have to say is I find Red Table Talk and the idea of this family airing all their dirty laundry for clicks as though they’re reality TV stars to be extremely bizarre. It’s thirsty and obnoxious and it shocks me they’re not called out more for what a weird thing this show is.
AGREED!
They are usually talking with other people about specific issues. Not every episode is like this one. I usually find it pretty enjoyable and enlightening to watch although I will say that Will and Jada both appear to have egos as big as THE MOON. I love her mom and Willow on the show. It’s a good balance.
We knew how big their egos were when they named their kids Willow and Jaden. Total narcissists. I love a Will Smith movie, though. If she’s up on that high horse, and she feels the need to preach about mental health, she needs to own how much she took advantage of and probably further damaged this young man.
ETA: What if this was Will and Jordyn Woods?? There would be an uproar .
It isn’t just in public that it freaks me out. A woman once accused me of having an affair with her husband. My horrified reaction instantly convinced her that she was very wrong, but she then wanted the three of us to sit down and talk it through. NO!!!!! Do not drag other people into your marital mess.
Seriously?!?! Just…wow. GAFG woman & husband. That is some twisted $hit right there.
I have to disagree. I think this RTT thing has been great for Jada. She has a huge following. She has created a platform for issues that directly impact women of color. And while this is some trivial mess, the talks are usually insightful and informative. She’s taken the Kardashians down a peg on one. She got a rapper to talk honestly about his mental health issues, which is a huge taboo in the Black community. She had a show about blended families that absolutely floored me. And despite the rumors that they are secret members, she gave Lea Remini a platform to slam Scientology. It was great.
Also, she isn’t bound by a daily or weekly show like Ellen or Oprah. It seems like she only puts out an episode when she feels like it.
Having Leah on her show 100% proves that they are not scilons.
My take: They have an open marriage but it blew up in their faces. They won’t admit it’s an open marriage, so they have to create scenarios to cover their tracks. These two are tiresome.
Right, minx? I thought it was common knowledge they had an open marriage.
I agree with you 100%, and it also seems entirely classless to me. Live your life, and accept the consequences, but trying to manipulate a public spin on what should be a private matter just seems thirsty & icky to me. Better to either keep quiet or say “We have an open marriage” than try for all this…
Open marriages don’t sell family films.
I don’t think this helped them in any way.
The memes are amazing though! And a part of me can’t believe that a celebrity of Will’s caliber “had” to do this.
Jada is garbage for inappropriately wielding power over this vulnerable young man who she described as “sick”. If this was gender-reversed there would be outrage. I am done with her.
agree 100%
I think Will’s light has definitely dimmed, it’s not the late 90’s anymore. I don’t think audiences have flocked to any movie he’s made since the Hitch/I Am Legend era.
True, but he’s still, well, Will Smith. Everyone knows his name and face. Even my grandma knows him:D
It’s just weird (to me) that someone who’s still very famous would do something like this.
I think he’s still a very bankable star. I suspect he’s doing this as a way to support this bizarre turn in career that she’s pursuing, that he would do just about anything for her. But I agree with others that she comes off as almost abusive toward that young man and I think this episode is awful and should never have aired.
What is this blow her back out thing? I’ve seen it on twitter a lot. Did she use that term? If it’s being used in a generally speaking kind of matter, it’s disgusting and misogynistic. Sex is not something men DO to women, and cause them physical harm.
It’s simply a slang term for sex which has been used for years, no different from “hit it” or “I’d hit that” which is used on this site often…
To be clear, I personally don’t care for either term. But people use it to simply mean sex, nothing more, nothing less.
Well, when you get to be my age, it’s kind of accurate for women and men. When he asks if you remembered to take The Pill, he means Advil🤣
I have enjoyed Will and Jada onscreen, but damn their personal lives are messy. I am just going to keep watching them do their thing professionally and ignore all their behind the scenes garbage. That’s just the best way to enjoy these entertainers. If there’s one thing this pandemic has revealed about the lot of them, very very few of them are secure and have their heads on straight.
I find it to be a really gross term too, like the phrase “my ovaries are exploding!” which, yeah, I get that it’s used as a jokey exaggeration, but still–what an unpleasant and violent visual. Why must we make sex or sexual interest sound horrific for a women?
They’re a really weird couple (to me) but I guess whatever works for them.
So do we know for sure if August was originally a friend of their son? If so that makes me nauseous. This couple tried to discredit his story which is scummy. They could have stayed quiet.
At this point 50 has become quite skilled at showing his ass, it’s become sort of entertaining in a fkd up way. But consider I live in Florida so and feeling all kinds of pissy at everything and everybody.
Maybe the situation was as simple as Jada and Will breaking up and making up as they go along, and enjoying this weird dynamic , as it is their right, and Jada wanting to ” feel good” aka to have a sexual relationship with August and him being naive enough to fall in love with her and not see that she would be back with Will the moment she was done with him?
Of course, they did not want to be that blunt, but that is my reading of the situation…as for August : Jesus, he just wanted to get something out of it, apparently.
That’s how I interpret all of this too.
Jada and Will separated, Jada found a sexual relationship with August to help her feel the way she felt she was lacking, August ended up falling for her and she didn’t feel the same way. Eventually Jada and Will got back together.
Now August is talking about it for whatever reason.
50 cent is a misogynist, self hating POS who was just looking to provoke Will. 50 cent is nothing more than bully. Will has been cheating on her for years so I don’t have sympathy for any of them. JPS speaks in word salads and thinks no one can figure out what she is saying. I believe they haven’t lived as husband and wife for years and whatever “arrangement” they had was their business. I think this young man caught feelings for her and she ended it.
She longs for everyone to think she’s deep. Lol
Just amazing. ..
I took it as Jada and Will decided they were going to get back together and August was upset and never spoke to her again, which would explain why Jada said she didn’t blame him for cutting her out.
Talk about treating August, like he is an object and not a human being who it would appear, genuinely loved her If what he has said is even half true. Classic narcissistic behaviour.
This is what brought me to comment.
I can’t imagine being referred to as an “entanglement.”
@ NotSoSocialButterfly : Referring to him as an entanglement is so dismissive of what was a long term relationship or affair or whatever you call it.
Entanglement is the new conscious uncoupling
@Jules: or, unconscious coupling!
I see both sides of it though. Why are you out here talking about something that was supposed to be between us? You slept with me knowing that I was still technically married. I’m sure they had conversations about discretion. Why are you talking about it?!! I’m sure she was being dismissive out of anger. I would be a little pissed off myself. We both agree to some low-down and dirty, and then years later you’re blabbing about it to a reporter?
Because she was his mentor, his helper and healer when he needed, and had the courage to ask for, help. It’s an abuse of the vulnerability required for him in the relationship.
Normally this is the part where I’d say it’s none of my business…but since she decided to make it everyone’s business (wtf?): I am wondering if they don’t in fact have an open marriage and there was some kind of a separation, or if they just feel that admitting to an open marriage would be a step too far for the general public?
I didn’t watch so initially I was super-confused by all the “entanglement“ memes. Oh Lordy.
She didn’t decide to make this everyone’s business. I can’t fathom why they felt like they had to respond at all is baffling to me, but I think they considered this matter over and buried.
They both said on the RTT that they were over and had no hope of reconciling at the point where she took up with August. Will pretty adamantly agreed he “was done with” her. That said, at one point he said something jokingly about wanting to get even with her and she laughed that it shouldn’t be a scoreboard and besides he had already gotten her back plenty so it definitely sounds like there is MUCH left unsaid in this talk about affairs or whatever.
At first, I thought it was refreshing for Will and Jada, often held up as black love inspiration, to be honest about how hard marriage can be. However in further reflection, Jada removes August’s voice in this RTT. She speaks nothing of the power and age imbalance, even if August was a willing participant. He didnt have the life experience to know not to catch feelings. He was also addicted to drugs, if I recall correctly, and the Smith family was supposed to be helping him through that. Did Jada take advantage of his vulnerable position? The passive nature if which she speaks to everything as if it “all just happened” is reductive and dismissive of her role.
I will say this gives more credence for me that will absolutely cheated with Margot Robbie. And that is what Jada meant when she said “You already got me back”. The timeline fits too
I was waiting for that table to rear its legs.
Oh, these people. They need to get over themselves.
Those texts are fake. I can almost guarantee that. As for the rest. Eh. Honestly? I dont actually care all that much. And the more I find out about August and how he’s treated other women the less I care about his sob story. I think he plays ar being wounded really well but just based on what went down between him and Keke Palmer? He’s garbage.
Thank you, VV. I saw August’s tweet to Keke right after he did it and it was so unnecessarily rude.
These two are complete whackadoos. That video was so awkward and definitely TMI. You could tell Will did not want to be there.
They totally did deny this young man’s claims and here they are admitting it? Gah, gross.
That tweet/meme about Jada and August… what do the headphones indicate?
Jada dismissing any relationship they had as an “entanglement” [the headphones are tangled]
Thanks! I was overthinking it.
I realize the August was a really young troubled man so I am not going to fault him, but for the rest of us GROWN UPS. Don’t mess with people who are separated. Don’t get involved in the marital games. Will and Jada were really the ones who were still entangled. A separation is not a divorce. It’s just not. A lot of the time there is still attachment and hurt and all sorts of things going on that being a 3rd party too will not bring happiness.
Yes! My divorce has been such a long process because my ex could not be honest with me. I knew he had a girlfriend but he would never flat out admit it and would do shady things to let me think there was a way back in. We even slept together over Labor day weekend because hello, still married. As it turns out he was in a committed relationship with this woman at that time because he lied to her and told her our relationship was over and we had started the divorce- we had not. He cheated on his girlfriend with his wife. Thank god I have my therapy appointment this afternoon because I’ve been dying to discuss this since this information came to light 3 weeks ago.
So sorry for your troubles. Having a long term
“ partner” gas light you is the worst! So glad you’re getting therapy as it’s the only thing that will eventually lead to recovery. Good luck!
Why do actors think they’re interesting when they’re not acting? So boring.
Best comment XD
And KeKe Palmer is getting sucked into this vortex of shame, doublespeak and stunting too………
I’m just here for the “entanglement” memes all over social media.
I think that Will may be a bad marriage for life kind of guy. I remember an interview (probably Barbara Walters) he did right after he married Jada. He said his first marriage ended because his wife wanted a divorce. She divorced him. Barbara asked if he’d still be married to her otherwise, and he said yes. I thought that was a super strange thing to say with a new wife present, but he said it. This whole talk show thing is bizarre. She needs to sto.
It would have been way better if she had sat there and said, I am sorry, I screwed up bad. I am sorry to all those I hurt. ETC. Instead of talking about how unhappy she was. The thing is Will cheated on her as well no? Isn’t it pretty much established that he had an affair with Margot Robbie or is that Gossip?
I know that Jada is to blame for getting involved with a mentally ill person, but maybe she didnt know how progressed exactly was August´s mental illness?
only now, after his (August´s) public airing his true mental state can everyone be assured he is a mental case.
I would blame fully Jade and maybe even Will, if August´s public announcements werent so manipulative.
If you know a mentally ill person closely (and you love them), you cant be sure at first, if this person is really ill, bc they have their good periods. And you dont really want to believe they are really a mental case due to their bright periods
imho
Correct me if I’m wrong but wasn’t August a friend of one of Jada’s kids? And it was that relationship that made him a friend of the family? If that’s true, here is how I see it, August dropped a good friend to sleep with his friends mother. Think about that. Then Jada dropped him to go back to her husband. August wasn’t a regular 23 year old, he had a full on career and access to things most people don’t. If the situation broke him, think about what it did to Jada’s kids as I’m sure they weren’t happy about what anyone was doing. I don’t feel sorry for him.
I saw the interview August did. It’s clear to me, that if Jada thought she could’ve had a relationship with this young man, and it would end quietly and peacefully she’s not good at making good decisions. He spent quite a lot of time talking about not keeping secrets, and it’s not surprising that we have the situation that we’ve got now. He also spent time talking about not getting certain projects because of his relationship with Jada which made a bad situation worse. This is what happens when you date your kid’s friend who has issues with his own mother. This can’t end well and Jada should’ve know that. Pick someone else to get your grove back.
I don’t think this is a complex power dynamic thing, it’s a case of two broken people who don’t have the emotional fortitude to say no to themselves and do what’s emotionally healthy. I think she just should’ve said she was sorry to August/Will & her kids and left it there, because I will always side eye her for denying something in her life that her family knows she spent years involved in.
Agreed. Team nobody. Someone young but grown (and mentally ill, but apparently not to the point where he can’t work and raise a relative’s 3 kids) acted on his own desire, but it didn’t last or become the type of relationship that he wanted. Not victimhood, just life.
That whole thing was super awkward. It felt like Will still holds some anger about it (which is understandable), and it’s kind of weird they denied it and then did this whole big thing. She could have very easily just released a statement saying “I had a relationship with someone else while we were separated, we’re back together now” and that would have been it.
I agree there was an undercurrent of anger for him. Can’t tell if it was about the affair itself or just having to appear publicly and air personal details about his marriage that of course will subject him to gossip and misogynist scorn from ppl who don’t undertand the concept of a woman and wife having free agency (a la 50 cent).
I agree! Does anyone care? Seriously, they need to read the room on this one.
Colin Firth and his wife had this situation plus stalking and it was tidied up better
They have denied so much over the years despite all the rumors. When I heard about this I thought it was the beginning of the end. I think they may be another pandemic divorce.
They might keep going on, especially if their finances are “entangled”. They strike me as more of a partnership than a marriage.
I felt like watching this that he kept pushing her. She said many times I was tired
Of feeling hurt or wanted to stop feeling bad. At one point she had a look in her eye like “we could always talk about your transgressions. “. Weird and off putting, seemed rehearsed. Just icky
I only watched a clip of this, but it’s true all Jada does is talk around things and pretends she’s acknowledging the issue and saying something deep when it’s just word-salad. Everything she said was self-serving and absolving herself of any responsibility.
I also got the sense that Will was tired of it as well. And honestly, that they didn’t completely agree they were broken up at that time.
Will said something like they were “kind of separated” and Jada interjected that they had “broken up”—this back and forth went on for a few seconds only, but I got the sense that Will was trying to say it was a grey area in their relationship while she was trying to assert they had 100% without a doubt, broken up—and I don’t think that’s true. & that’s when Will finally seemed tired of her talking around things and had to urge her to finally stop and say the word “relationship” which you can tell she didn’t want to admit to.
It feels like she groomed him, he had issues drug and family related, and went to them for help…. And the interview, as many have mentioned felt, very performative.
just a “respect our privacy” from their PR people would have been less messy, maybe?
Also could celebrities stop appropriating words and using them for their non-sensical hippy stuff? The dictionary was a great invention XD
that struck me too Mona. someone comes to you who is sick and needs healing and you decide to play doctor and your choice of medicine is to sleep with him? that is terrible. it sounds like Jada is the alpha and she had her thing with August and then cut it off when she had enough. Will looked pained and i am sure he has his treasure trove of secrets too.
and bad marriage for life looked so rehearsed. i feel bad that their kids have to see this awfulness played out in the public.
another thing, i don’t understand is why August had to spill the beans? what did he want to achieve by that? why isn’t he speaking to a real therapist about this.
it’s so messy.
God, I find them EXHAUSTING.
No one else surprised that Jada had an affair with another man…I always heard rumours they were both secretly gay??
Didn’t they say like 10 years ago that they have open marriage or have I been dreaming?
“A different kind of entanglement” = an affair; “consciously uncoupling” = a divorce. Love that celebrity lexicon.
A lot of thoughts on this — but one that keeps running through my head: “I was trying to help a much younger, mentally and emotionally unstable person looking to break into an industry where my family has a lot of power and then we BONED OOPS” is NOT the get out of jail free card Jada seems to think it is.
Yes. THIS. What a gross abuse of power. Regardless of anything happening between Will and Jada, or anything August did or said, the fact that Jada slept with a younger person whom she offered to mentor and care for during a period of mental/emotional instability makes her a predator.
These two are obnoxious and exhausting. Shite, just shut up and live your life, together, apart, whatever.
Has anyone looked at their public appearances around the time of the separation? I feel like they were still appearing together despite their claim of being separated, part of their open marriage arrangement until they feel like getting back together again.
It seems like they have/had an open marriage to some extent and I don’t know why they won’t just say that for purposes of telling the public we are not entitled to further details.
Will reminds me so much of my brother, in his build, facial expressions, and general mannerism. I can’t help but love the guy. No matter how emotionally evolved and mature you may be, I don’t think it would ever be easy discussing your wife’s multi-year relationship with another man. I don’t like that Jada is trying to convince the world that it’s somehow appropriate to break your vows if you get bored with your marriage and want to pursue another relationship. That’s not normal, Will. Couples find other ways to work through their unhappiness that doesn’t involve using and hurting other people (in this case Will and August) for your own selfish needs. I have no respect left for her.
I’m so put off by this because of how their bullshiz dragged in the heart of a much younger person with a slew of mental health problems that they KNEW about and then he’s just cast aside as an “entanglement.”
You want an open marriage, fine. You want a separation, fine. You want these oddly defined parameters of a marriage, that’s fine too. But that’s then between Jada and Will and their weird parameters caused what was clearly a big casualty and they just kind of shrug it off like it was nothing. Like they are committed for life no matter what. Ride or die right guys? As long as its not either of you getting run over.
@styla spot on analysis.
I’m glad people are seeing beyond this Red Table interview.
August must be so broken to be mentioned so casually by Will and Jada.
So basically August told the truth, and Jada lied when she said the affair wasn’t true.
Then Jada decided to do a show-offy tell-all to try to control the narrative and restore whatever public image she thinks she has. She also never addresses the fact of the age and power dynamics that she took advantage of.
She is insufferable. Everything is an opportunity to show off. How vulnerable and yet strong, how torn up inside and how unremarkable you are. And by the way, I just wanted to feel good is not an excuse to cheat on your husband, prey on and then use your son’s friend to make you feel better. First for sex and now for publicity. She truly is insufferable.
Yup, she’s trying to control the story, suddenly she is the victim here and we should all feel bad for her. Because the media loves a victim story. Sadly this is just a manipulative tactic.
Agree. I also have no patience for Will endlessly participating in this dumb game. Real people get hurt by these thirsty phonies.
I have always found Jada to be insufferable. In every interview it seemed all she wanted to do was talk about how great her relationship with Will was and how amazing the sex was. And to me, the more you want to brag about your relationship and how often you are doing it, it automatically sets off red flags because more often than that, these over braggers actually have not so great relationships and/or marriages. So this whole story about her having a relationship with another guy isn’t shocking. She and Will have talked around the fact they’ve had issues in their marriage, signs pointing to Will maybe cheating on her, which is probably why she felt justified taking up with this young guy.
But I am kind of shocked she took up with a guy who was so young and also a guy that she met through her son. Not sure how close Jaden was to him but I’m wondering how that affected Jada’s relationship with her son? I’m assuming August and Jaden are no longer friends, any friendship would probably not survive someone banging their mom. It just goes to show how selfish Jada is. She most likely didn’t think about this would affect Jaden and his friendship with August. And she obviously didn’t think about how this would affect August, he was only 22. Yes 22 year olds are adults, but just barely. It’s been proven the human brain isn’t fully developed until around 25 so 22 year olds make stupid decisions all the time. She was the mature one with the power in the relationship and she abused that power. So gross.
Ugh I’m reminded of being young and heartbroken. I feel for August. You can tell he’s still IN IT from that interview, he still cares about her, though good on him for cutting off contact. Been there and tried to do that – it’s hard to cut off contact when you feel such a way for someone. Smh… granted, I didn’t watch the RTT yet but Jada definitely had more power no matter what. The person with more experience always does! And he’s so young and sounded like he was struggling. Whew boy…
Will is clearly furious.
He will have his revenge.
To be continued..
I don’t believe Will was furious, I see him as playing a game with the viewers, while doing RTT. Word on the street for years is they have an open marriage and Will has been seeing someone on the down low for years. They both are playing a game with their audience. I totally believe August. He appears fragile, to me, Jada took advantage of a impressionable young man. She is old enough to be his mom. August is 27 y o, a Will first son is 27 y o. She should not have encouraged the young man for years knowing he’s falling in love with her.
OMG they are so exhausting. And Jada seems to be knee deep in her own PR
The whole thing is a big mess. I believe August was too old to be hanging out with a 16 year old Jaden at the time of the entanglement. Even though he was young he was still an adult and he fell hard for a women who was just looking for sex. He got his heart broke and now he is in his feelings and is trying to get back at her.
Will’s first wife dodged a bullet! I bet she’s happy not to be a part of this mess.