Will Smith Blames Family Struggles on Fame

Will Smith Blames Family Struggles on Fame

Will Smith tells all in a new interview with Kevin Hart on the comedian’s talk show Hart to Hart. Smith, in one of his few public appearances since his now infamous “slap” of Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars, opened up in particular about his family’s struggles with fame.

Smith notes that the year 2010, in which Jaden Smith starred in The Karate Kid re-make and daughter Willow released debut single “Whip My Hair.” was his personal and professional high. Smith stated that he had always believed that fame and success for his children would affirm that he was a better father than his own had been to his, calling his own father “abusive.”

But fame and success were not to be the easy solution Smith hoped for. He said that he had built a “dream” for his family, but that it ultimately led to them feeling “lost” and “isolated.” Smith said that his daughter Willow was the first one to “begin the mutiny” and step back from the spotlight, which helped him to realize that “success and money don’t mean happiness.” He added that he now believes that “material circumstances do not equal happiness and, in a lot of cases, they can be the reason you’re not happy.”

All of this seems to show Smith moving in a positive direction after emotions and family tensions seemed to publicly boil over at the aforementioned Oscars debacle. What is surely clear is that, with his kids grown and his career at a unique place to say the least, Smith has been doing a great deal of reflecting on his past.