Jada Pinkett Smith: Will Smith said ‘Nope’ when son Jaden donned skirt for ad
Actress Jada Pinkett Smith’s candid Facebook show Red Table Talk seems to be making news on a regular basis.
This week, the actress is opening up about her and husband Will Smith’s children and the challenges of raising kids in the public eye.
Cookie Johnson and EJ Johnson were the guests, along with Pinkett Smith’s daughter, Willow and her mother, Adrienne Banfield-Norris.
Pinkett Smith recounted a conversation between her and her husband after the much-talked-about 2016 Louis Vuitton Women’s campaign ad in which son Jaden, now 19, wore a skirt.
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“When Jaden got asked to do the women’s campaign for Louis Vuitton, this kind of gender fluid fashion, you know, Will called me,” she said. “And he’s like, ‘Nope, my son is not supposed to be in a Louis Vuitton ad wearing skirts. No, no, no, hold up …. Is this a good idea?’”
Pinkett Smith said she answered, “ ‘Well, you know what, Will? This is what he wants. This is his expression’ And he said, ‘OK, OK.’ But it was tight. He was afraid. It was uncomfortable. Because you know as dads expectations … ‘macho, macho,’ you know?”
Willow joined the conversation, saying her father did not approve when she shaved her head at age 9, Yahoo! Entertainment reported.
“He told me he didn’t want me to cut my hair,” Willow said. “He was like, ‘Don’t do it. All your femininity!’ “
Willow added, “As if my femininity was in my hair.”
Pinkett Smith said her children are constantly teaching her about life and about changing norms in society.
“Jaden and Willow have always been different,” Pinkett Smith said. “They were born that way. A lot of people think that it came from my rearing, but no, it just so happened that that’s how they came into the world and I had to get in order. I had to be open enough to receive it.”
In an earlier episode of Red Table Talk, Jaden said he wore the skirt to give young people freedom to think in new ways and not be bullied, but also for an outright appreciation of fashion.
“I wore the skirt so I could look fly,” he said. “That’s why I wore the skirt, so that everyone would say, ‘He’s an innovator. His head’s in a different place.’ “
