Photo by SAV/FilmMagic(NEW YORK) — Will Smith is not just an A-list star and Oscar-nominated actor, he’s also a father to Jaden, 16, and Willow, 14 — his children with wife Jada, who also have careers of their own.
But his children are also very outspoken about their ideas, something that Smith opened up about during an interview with Esquire magazine.
In fact, Smith, 46, talked about one time an online show made his daughter cry.
“Willow had one moment. The Young Turks are Willow’s idol. They have a TV show online. They’re like a really powerful group of young writers, hosts, and political commentators. Willow loves The Young Turks, and that was the only moment I saw her cry,” he said.
The Focus star didn’t specify the incident, but The Young Turks were quick to cover Jaden and Willow’s New York Times interview late last year, calling it “bizarre.”
“And Jaden understands that that’s a part of this business. If he wants to do it, there’s a certain amount of battery that you have to be willing to live through,” Smith added. “There’s a certain amount of suffering that you have to be willing to sustain if you want to have a good life. And the trick is to be able to sustain it with your heart open and still be loving. That is the real trick.”
One thing he said Jaden is committed to is not being a “slave to dollars.”
“You never lose the mentality. It’s such a strange thing. Jaden, my 16-year-old, he has one pair of shoes…He has three pair of pants and he has five shirts,” he said. “He has refused to be a slave to money. I so respect that. The younger generation is less of an ownership generation, anyway…He’s like, ‘I’m not gonna let myself need things in that way’ — but I would like him to get another pair of shoes.”
But Smith says he supports his kids no matter their choices.
“My kids taught me to redefine love. Before 2010, I had a vision. I saw a family in my mind that I wanted to have. And I was pushing and driving hard for my picture, and then I realized everyone has their own journey. I have to support what they want to do. I have to support the vision that they have for themselves, not my vision. That was excruciating for me,” he said.
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