If you haven’t had the chance yet to catch Jada Pinkett Smith’s new family Facebook Watch series, Red Table Talk, do yourself a solid and binge-watch the entire backlog. Since launching in May, the show has already amassed 2.5 million followers (and counting) — loyal fans who rave about how authentically and honestly the series addresses modern issues like body image, friendship, sex, parenting and, well, everything in between.
Pinkett Smith first teased Red Table Talk during an October 2017 interview with us, letting it slip when asked whether she’d consider a talk show that she was “in discussions.” Now, the direction of those discussions has simply shifted from off camera to on camera and from professional to personal.
Nothing is off limits on the series, which sees three generations of women hold space for each other: Pinkett Smith, her mother Adrienne Banfield-Jones and Pinkett Smith’s teenage daughter, Willow Smith. As Pinkett Smith explains in the show’s premiere, Banfield-Jones is “old-school,” Willow Smith is super-new-school and Pinkett Smith falls right in the middle. It’s that dynamic that undoubtedly speaks to so many families.
So prepare to be hit with some “real talk” (as Pinkett Smith and her mother both like to say) because here are some of the most candid revelations to come from Pinkett Smith.
You can catch new episodes of Red Table Talk when it returns to Facebook Watch with new episodes starting Wednesday, September 15 at 9 am PT / 12 pm ET! More info can be found below and you can check out the video announcement HERE.
A version of this article was originally published in April 2020.
Olivia Jade Seeks Redemption
In December 2020, Olivia Jade, daughter of Full House actress Lori Loughlin and fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, made her first public appearance on Red Table Talk following the College Admissions Scandal, in which her parents paid roughly $500,000 to secure Oliva and her sister admission at the University of Southern California.
Jade, a YouTube influencer, noticeably went quiet during the Varisty Blues investigation that found both of her parents guilty. But she decided Red Table Talk was the right place to share her side of the story. “I’m here because I want to leave it on the table,” Jade said. “I don’t want to keep dragging this throughout my life.”
During the intro of the epsiode, Pinkett Smith’s mother, Adrienne Banfield-Norris, was not impressed with Jade taking a seat at the table. “I just found it really ironic that she chose three Black women to reach out to for her redemption story…it’s bothersome to me on so many levels,” Banfield-Norris said. “Her being here is the epitome of white privilege.”
Jordyn Woods Takes a Lie Detector Test
2019 was an intesnse year for Jordyn Woods, who got caught-up in the Tristan Thompson cheating scandal that saw the first initial split between him and Khloe Kardashian. By March 2019, though, Woods was ready to share her side of the story, and even took a lie detector test to prove her involvement in the dissolution of Kardashian and Thompson’s relationship wasn’t all on her.
“Never once was I giving him a lap dance, making out with him, sitting all over him, it’s just, we’re all together, we’re in a group. Never once did we leave the public area, go to a bedroom, go to a bathroom, we’re all in plain sight,” Woods recollected of the evening. “I want people to step up and be accountable but I don’t want anyone to feel what I’m feeling.”
By December 2019, results came back that Woods passed her lie detector test, in which she was asked multiple questions about her involvement with Tristan Thompson.
Jada Pinkett Smith Brings Herself to the Table
In July 2020, speculation surrounding Pinkett Smith and husband Will Smith‘s marriage began to grow. Leading up to that speculation was a seeming confession from rapper August Alsina that he and Pinkett Smith had an intimate relationship. As the speculation grew, Pinkett Smith decided to face the issue head-on by bringing herself to the table to talk with her husband.
Pinkett Smith confessed that she’d been in an “entanglement” with Alsina. Will’s response to Pinkett Smith’s admission included a painful realization about the couple’s marraige. “I wasn’t sure I was ever going to speak to you again. Like the fact that I’m speaking to you again is a miracle. [Marriage] ain’t for the weak at heart,” the actor said.
Say Hello to Will Smith’s First Wife
Pinkett Smith proved from the very first episode she wasn't afraid to tackle the tough stuff. In the premiere, she invited husband Will Smith's first wife, Sheree Zampino — and Pinkett Smith is the first to admit their relationship, which includes co-parenting 25-year-old Trey, has not always been easy.
"Here's the one thing I will say in hindsight," Pinkett Smith told Zampino. "Because I didn't understand marriage, I didn't understand divorce. I will say that I probably should've fell back… So, when I think back about where I was, some of my insensitivity, some of my inconsideration just in regards to you guys unwinding a marriage, and then me, trying to get in there."
Pinkett Smith also confessed that after one particularly heated conversation with Zampino, she heard about it from her husband. "Well, I want you to know that Will Smith let me have it. His take was, 'This is Trey's mother, and that's just not your place.'"
‘Nebulous’ Sexuality
When Pinkett Smith invited EJ Johnson and his mother, Cookie (the son and wife of iconic NBA player Magic Johnson), to Red Table Talk, the discussion quickly turned to gender fluidity and sexuality. When EJ admitted that his dad wasn't sure how to take it when EJ came out, Pinkett Smith related with a story about son Jaden.
"When Jaden got asked to do the women’s campaign for Louis Vuitton, this kind of gender-fluid fashion, you know, Will called me. 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. Although Smith accepted the androgynous ad when Pinkett Smith told him it was Jaden's "expression," she says things were uncomfortable for a while.
When Grandma Gives Sex Advice
Societal perceptions of sex have certainly changed over time, and Pinkett Smith's family is an excellent case study. According to Pinkett Smith, her early views of sex were shaped by a surprising relative. "My grandmother taught me about self-pleasuring because she wanted me to know that that pleasure was from me," Pinkett Smith explained. "She didn’t want me to fall into the hands of a man, and if he gave me pleasure, to think that that was him. And she taught me at 9!"
Pinkett Smith went on to confess that she gave herself multiple orgasms before any man ever did and that at one point, she even became addicted to masturbation.
Jaden’s Emancipation Proclamation
Celebrity parents aren't immune to parenting heartbreaks, Pinkett Smith points out in an episode with her son, Jaden. "At 15 years old, Jaden, and I remember this day specifically, it’s probably one of the most heartbreaking moments of my life," she said to Jaden. "You got to a point where you told me straight up, you were like, 'Mom, I have to leave here to live my life.''
Despite being devastated, Pinkett Smith knew she had to honor her son's feelings, adding, "Being in this lifestyle, in this world is a bubble and he wanted out. I understood that because I didn’t have the bubble. I knew what having my freedom outside the bubble, what I gained from that. I knew the sooner I let him go, the faster he was going to come back."
Yoni Love
If you ever thought it would be fun to be a fly on the wall in Pinkett Smith's house, here's your chance. Even better? You get to be a fly on the wall with Pinkett Smith and her mom for things like — oh, you know — a trip to the Vitality Institute of Agoura in Los Angeles to discuss nonsurgical vaginal rejuvenation.
Although Banfield-Jones seems skeptical at first, Pinkett Smith says she first tried the treatment at the recommendation of a friend. Her interest? Helping with bladder issues, which Pinkett Smith says were solved in three rounds. And that's not all. "When I tell you my yoni [the spiritual name for vagina] is like a 16-year-old, I'm not kidding," she said, smirking. "It looks like a little beautiful peach!"
Of course, Pinkett Smith realizes not everyone is so forthcoming about their anatomy. "Is this a comfortable conversation to always talk about? No, but I think it's super-important to be able to sit here and talk about vaginal health — in regards to sex, but also in regards to healthy bodies for ourselves, for our own personal function."
‘Girls Trippin’ With Gabrielle Union’
After nearly two decades of not talking to each other, not even Pinkett Smith knew why she and Gabrielle Union had been locked in a feud for so long. So on the May 28, 2020, episode of Red Table Talk, the host invited her old friend on the show to once and for all settle their squabble like grown-ass women do.
“Gabrielle and I were never really girlfriends. We were great associates that at some point, that dissolved, and for 17 years, we have not really spoken. We don’t even know [what we’re mad about],” Pinkett Smith admitted, calling it “some petty-ass shit.”
Happily, the two were able to come to a place of healing, with Union accepting her share of the drama. “I’m a hater. I’m a troll,” Union explained of the time before life coach A.J. Johnson helped her see the toll such negativity was taking on her personal relationships.
The Root of the Matter
In the web series' third episode, Pinkett Smith confessed that the head wraps she's been wearing with increasing frequency aren't just a fashion statement. In reality, the star has been losing "handfuls of hair" and can't pinpoint the reason. Doctors suspect it could be stress-related alopecia.
"It was one of those times in my life where I was literally shaking with fear," Pinkett Smith shared of the moment she first realized her hair was falling out. "And that was when I was like, 'Oh, my God. Am I going bald?'"
She had to put things in spiritual perspective to get through it. "The higher power takes so much from people… and by golly, if the higher power wants to take your hair… That’s it? God, you want my hair?’ When I looked at it from that perspective, it really did settle me.” she said, smiling.
The Birds & the Bees
Not surprisingly, sex often works its way into Red Table discussions. So much so, in fact, that Pinkett Smith devoted an entire episode to sex talk. It was during this particular show that she learned Willow's first introduction to sex was walking in on Pinkett Smith and Smith — a fact the shocked mom would later joke about to ET, saying, "Oh, my god, I need to get this child some therapy."
But Pinkett Smith also revealed on the intimate episode that she was acutely aware of her children's sexual experiences. "I knew the night — the night — Jaden lost his virginity. And I had a moment with Trey in the kitchen where I looked at him and I said, 'You've had sex.' And he ran into the bathroom… I was like, 'You don't have to be embarrassed.' It was, like, their innocence was gone," she said.
Letting Yourself Off the Hook
When a woman as empowered (and empowering) as Pinkett Smith gets vulnerable, you can't help but pay attention. In a poignant episode of Red Table Talk, Jaden and Willow opened up to their mom about some of the cons of being raised by such famous parents. For Jaden, it was being in the blockbuster Karate Kid remake. For Willow, it was being thrust into the spotlight with the 2010 hit, "Whip My Hair." Both kids felt as though their parents' "survival mentality" had led them to push their kids into projects they weren't ready for.
Pinkett Smith listened to her children and, emotionally, ended the episode with both acceptance and a call to action. "You know what? I think parents have to give themselves much more forgiveness. When you become a parent, you have these huge ideals, even for yourself, because we all are coming into parenting with our own childhood traumas," she said. "And you're hoping you can fix all that through your own rearing of your children, and you can't. Your kids are gonna have their burdens. And even though I see how it might have hurt you, it's what I knew."
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