Skip to Search Skip to Live Player Skip to Content Skip to Footer
105.1 The Bounce | Detroit’s Throwback Hip Hop and R&B Will Smith Opens Up About Fatherhood On 'Red Table Talk'
  • Home
  • Latest Stories
        • Latest Stories

          • Music
          • Celebs
          • Lifestyle
          • Everything Detroit
        • Trending

  • On Air
        • Shows

          • The Morning Bounce
          • Babs
          • J Steele
          • Justin Luvv
          • The Official Jinx
          • DJ Scorpion
          • Lori Mac
          • Showtime The Czar
          • Recently Played
        • Latest Morning Bounce

  • Listen + Watch
        • Listen + Watch

          • Podcasts
          • Galleries
        • Listen On Alexa

        • Podcasts

        • Galleries

  • Contests
  • Events
  • Shop
  • More
        • Connect

          • Contact Us
          • Join The 105.1 Bounce VIP Club
          • Download The App
          • Listen On Alexa
          • Ways To BOUNCE With Us
          • Beasley Best Community of Caring
          • Advertise
          • Careers
        • Become A Bounce VIP

        • Ways To Listen

        • Advertise With Bounce

          image with text overlaid that reads advertise with us

Will Smith Opens Up About Fatherhood On ‘Red Table Talk’

Author Glennisha Morgan
June 22nd, 2020 1:58 PM
BURBANK, CA - OCTOBER 22: (L-R) Actors Trey Smith and Jaden Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, singer Willow Smith and actor Will Smith attend the Environmental Media Association 26th Annual EMA Awards Presented By Toyota, Lexus And Calvert at Warner Bros. Studios on October 22, 2016 in Burbank, California.

For a special Father’s Day edition of Red Table Talk, Will Smith discussed fatherhood. During the conversation with his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, the actor talked in-depth about parenting, the lessons he’s learned, the failures he’s overcome, and how his divorce from his first wife shaped his approach as a father and husband.

“By the time I was ten years old, I remember looking at my father and thinking that I could do it better than him,” Will told Jada during the interview. “And what made you think you could do it better?” Jada asked Will.

“My father had a little bit of a temper. I was a gentle kid, like, I was not a kid that you had to slap or punch or beat. So growing up in a household where physical aggression was approved of, that really chaffed my hide. That hurt my spirit,” Will shared.

LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 14: Actors Will Smith (rear, center), Jada Pinkett Smith (R) and their sons Trey (L), Jaden and daughter Willow (front, center) arrive at the premiere of Picturehouse’s “Kit Kittredge: An American Girl” at The Grove on June 14, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

“I know that you were able to really value your father’s imperfections once he had passed on,” Jada said. “Well there’s such beautiful qualities that he instilled that are a big part of what made me me, and as the yin to every yang, I watched [my father] beat up my mother,” Will said.

“So the biggest emotional scar that I have in this lifetime, he delivered that also. He showed me a lot of things that I wanted to do, but he also showed me the things I would absolutely, positively never do to my children.”

LOS ANGELES – FEBRUARY 15: Actor Will Smith and his son Trey attend the 2004 NBA All-Star Game held on February 15, 2004 at the Staples Center, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Vince Bucci/Getty Images)

During the interview, Will also talked about becoming a father for the very first time, and he got emotional.“I think that was my first moment of the real weight of parenting. I brought him [Trey Smith] home, and I remember we put him in the bassinet… and it was like stark terror,” Will explained. “I’m totally responsible for this life… I just cried so hard. It makes me teary right now.”

“You cried from what? What was the feeling?” Jada asked Will. “I can’t do it. I’m not the guy. Oh man, I just knew I didn’t know nothing,” Will said. “[Will wipes away tears] Oh man, I’m going to need to get myself together. I’m going to have to walk this one off…  I need a tissue. See I thought the red couch wouldn’t get me like this. The red table always gets you like this.”

“I want to talk about one interesting concept that you’ve brought up quite a bit in regard to Trey and divorce. The idea being that just because a man might not be the best husband, does not mean he’s not a good father,” Jada said to Will.

“Divorce was the worst thing in my adult life. Divorce was the ultimate failure for me,” Will admitted. “I’ve been hurt a lot in my adult life, but I don’t think anything touches the failure of getting divorced from my two-year-old son’s mother… If a man’s not a great husband then he loses his parental rights. And I’m a way better father than I am a husband.”

NEW YORK, NY – MAY 29: (L-R) Jaden Smith, Willow Smith, Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith and Trey Smith attend Columbia Pictures and Mercedes-Benz Present the US Red Carpet Premiere of AFTER EARTH at Ziegfeld Theatre on May 29, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Mercedes-Benz)

“Because of my experience of seeing Daddio punch my mother, I knew that my kids would never see me do anything violent towards their mothers, but in the first couple years of Trey’s life, because Sheree and I were divorced, I think my desire to never have my son see me in that way made me more absent as a father,” Will continued.

“Sheree and I really struggled with each other needing the other person to do it their way. She needed me to father the way she wanted Trey fathered, and I’m not that guy. I’m not the parent-teacher meeting, throwing baseballs with the kids [guy], and I beat myself up for that for a while, wanting to be that dad. I am the ‘we are going to build something together for work’ dad.”

 

Jada And Will: Their First One-On-One Conversation

Do you feel like you are appreciated as a father? [stirring music] - That was a very difficult time... - Yeah. - For our family. Divorce was the ultimate failure for me. - I did not have a good time. - I'ma have to walk this one off.

 

Glennisha Morgan is a Detroit-bred multimedia journalist and writer. She writes about intersectionality, hip-hop, pop culture, queer issues, race, feminism, and her truth. Follow her on Twitter @GlennishaMorgan.
105.1 The Bounce | Detroit’s Throwback Hip Hop and R&B

Sign me up for the 105.1 the Bounce email newsletter!

Stay locked in with everything 105.1 the BOUNCE and become a BOUNCE VIP! VIP members can win prizes, concert tickets & get updates on everything Detroit!

*
*
By clicking "Subscribe" I agree to the website's terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I understand I can unsubscribe at any time.
Author Glennisha Morgan
Category:
  • Music
Tags:
Jada Pinkett Smith,Red Table Talk,Will Smith

More Music

50 Cent Drags Rick Ross Into Diddy Drama Over Controversial Lyric

‘The Color Purple’ Film Premiere Red Carpet, Ranked

Halle Berry and Angelina Jolie’s ‘Rocky Start’ in ‘Maude v Maude’

Teyana Taylor: 8 Great Fashion Moments, Ranked

Diddy Accused Of Sexual Assault Of 17-Year-Old Girl

Alicia Keys’ ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ Moves To Broadway This Spring

Jonathan Majors’ Ex-Girlfriend Testifies In Court

Norman Lear, Legendary TV Sitcom Creator, Dies at 101

Cardi B Addresses Nose Job Rumors

Jeezy Responds To Jeannie Mai Cheating Claims

Cardi B & Offset Unfollow Each Other On Instagram

8 of the Most Sizzling Academy Gala Red Carpet Looks

Ashanti Is Pregnant, Expecting First Baby With Nelly: Report

Yuck: 7 Academy Gala Red Carpet Flops + Fails

50 Cent Continues To Take Aim At Diddy Over Sexual Assault Claims

Jeannie Mai Claims In Divorce Docs That Jeezy Cheated

Beyoncé Claps Back At Bleaching Comments In New Photos

Janelle Monáe: 10 Best Red Carpet Looks, Ranked

These Celebrities Earn The Most On OnlyFans

Shannon Sharpe Apologizes For His Megan Thee Stallion Comments

Tina Knowles Defends Beyoncé Over Skin Bleaching Rumors

Fat Joe Reveals How He Got ‘Joey Crack’ Nickname

Young Thug RICO Trial Begins In Atlanta

Beyoncé Reveals What Motivated Blue Ivy To Practice Harder

Gordon Ramsay Says to Never Order This at a Restaurant

Jaleel White To Reprise Steve Urkel Role In New Animated Film

Quavo Releases Cookbook In Time For The Holidays

Cardi B Responds To Trolls Denying Her Gym Sessions Are Real

Wale Responds To Diddy Hanging Him Over Balcony Claims

7 Black Sitcom Thanksgiving Episodes You Must Watch

These Celebrities Have a December Birthday

A$AP Rocky Reveals His ‘Best’ Collaboration With Rihanna

Drake: What Does His New Face Tattoo Mean?

Snoop Dogg Explains Why He’s Going ‘Smokeless’

Cassie & Diddy ‘Amicably’ Settle Sexual Assault Lawsuit

Diddy Accused Of Blowing Up Kid Cudi’s Car Over Cassie

Diddy Accused Of Sexual Assault By Ex Cassie

Snoop Dogg Says He Will Stop Smoking

50 Cent Announces Pronoun Change: ‘I’m A Thing’

‘Kardashians’ Fans Call Tristan Thompson a ‘Master Manipulator’

Lisa Kudrow Honors Matthew Perry with Heartfelt Tribute

Mariah Carey Reveals Her Favorite Christmas Song (It’s Not Her Own)

Keke Palmer Alleges Darius Jackson Nearly Hit Her With Car

Will Smith Denies Duane Martin Sex Allegations

Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer Share Matthew Perry Tributes

Courteney Cox on Matthew Perry: ‘I Miss You Every Day’

DDG Reacts To Halle Bailey Pregnancy Rumor In New Video

Kim Kardashian & Kanye: How She Told Their Kids About Divorce

Load More
Beasley Media Group
Download our station app

Download the app to LISTEN LIVE wherever you are and connect with us like never before!

Download on the App Store Download on the Google Play
Newsletter sign up

Don't miss on pre-sales, member-only contests and member only events.

105.1 The Bounce Newsletter
About
  • 105.1 The Bounce Jobs
  • Contact Us
  • Detroit Radio and Internet Advertising With 105.1 The Bounce
  • Listen Help
  • SMS/Text Terms of Use
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • EEO
  • Advertiser’s Terms and Conditions
  • FCC Public File
  • FCC Applications
Connect
  • 105.1 The Bounce Song Alerts
  • Get The 105.1 BOUNCE App!
  • Here’s How You Can Listen To 105.1 The BOUNCE With Alexa!
  • General Contest Rules
  • Contest Rules Archive
  • Beasley Best Community of Caring
  • Learn How To Advertise On Detroit Radio
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram