A parent knows when something is wrong with their child and, sometimes, they have to step in and help. Case in point? Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s intervention with son Jaden when he lost what they describe as a dramatic amount of weight. The family opened up about some of their past struggles during the latest episode of Red Table Talk — and the concerned parents shared how scary it was to see their son “wasting away.”
To dive into the discussion, the entire family assembled for the Facebook Watch series: Will and Jada, their kids Jaden, 21, and Willow, 18, Will’s son Trey, 26, and Jada’s mother, Adrienne Banfield-Jones. When the talk turned to Jaden, his parents admitted that they couldn’t sit back and do nothing when it appeared his health was suffering. “Will and I had a bit of an intervention with Jaden because he’s a vegan now, but we realized he wasn’t getting enough protein,” Jada said. “So he was wasting away. He just looked drained, he was just depleted, he wasn’t getting the nutrients.”
Although Jaden interjected to clarify that he’s a vegetarian (who occasionally eats vegan), he did admit his parents had reason to be concerned — he was “eating like two meals a day, and maybe one,” he said. “Maybe just that one big meal.”
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According to Will, the result was a noticeable difference in Jaden’s appearance. “He had the dark circles under his eyes, there was even a little grayness to his skin,” said Will. “We got really nervous, but you are definitely looking better now.”
The episode wasn’t just about Jaden, though. Each member of the family opened up about their relationship with food. Willow admitted she once went through a period where she was only eating for appearance. Jada shared that her sensitive stomach puts her off most foods, so she effectively eats the same thing every day. And Will revealed that he went a little overboard during a recent family vacation, leading his kids to nickname him “pudgemuffin.”
But the point of the segment wasn’t just to highlight their struggles with food (or, specifically, Jaden’s intervention). As Will explained, the purpose of this particular episode was to help people see food from a health-centered focus.
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