AOL and the Huffington Post are premiering a new Internet video series on called “Red Table Talks.” The first video will air on Mother’s Day and features Jada Pinkett Smith, 40, her mother Adrienne Banfield-Jones, and Jada’s daughter, 11 year-old music star Willow Smith. It’s being billed as a kind of inter-generational women’s discussion fostering family communication, and the promo videos feature heavy-handed music and some segments that suggest that painful secrets are revealed. In one part Willow is shown breaking down crying. One of the promo videos (above) shows Jada’s very young-looking mom, Adrienne, admitting to her granddaughter that she was a bad mother. In another video (below), Adrienne admits she was addicted to drugs until her daughter Jada was in her late teens. I wonder if this is the first time Willow’s grandmother has told her that, and if it’s at all fair to this little girl to drop such a bombshell and then tape and publicly air her reaction. Here’s more, from Huffington Post, including what Willow says about how she doesn’t want to be famous. I know a lot of people say this child is spoiled, and she may be, but this is all she knows. She has had a stylist since the age of 9 and is regularly seen on the red carpet with her family. They’ve encouraged her music career – as a tween. The fact that they’re featuring her in this new video series kind of brings it home to me that they’re treating her like an adult before she’s ready.
In celebration of Mother’s Day on May 13, Jada Pinkett-Smith discusses motherhood, quality time and life in the limelight with her daughter, Willow Smith, and mother, Adrienne Banfield-Jones, in an upcoming video discussion, “Red Table Talk”.
During the candid discussion, the 40-year-old actress questioned Willow’s career interests and asked her whether or not she would change anything about her life.
“If I had to change one thing about my life, it would probably be, I wouldn’t be famous,” the 11-year-old singer admitted. “Because when you’re famous it’s so hard. Let’s say if a regular girl is going to the book store, it’s ten times harder to go everywhere [when you’re famous]. But some people are like, ‘Oh, it’s so easy,’ and I’m like, ‘As fast as you can get there, it’s going to take me ten more minutes to get there.’ Because I have to call security.”
Echoing her daughter, Pinkett-Smith said that security has been a “real issue” for Willow and asked her for tips on how to make her lifestyle more seamless.
But the actress acknowledged that fame has its advantages, too.
“It’s not like I can’t reverse being famous,” she added. “Sometimes I don’t want to be, but then sometimes I do because when there’s a problem in the world, more people will listen to me… it’s kind of like helping people and if I’m not, then I can’t help people as much as I would if I was famous.”
The former “HawthoRNe” star says she hopes to advance the conversation into a series of ongoing discussions.
“My belief is that communication is the best way to create strong relationships,” she asserts in the series trailer. “Just for people to be able to sit down together and have a conversation, that’s the power of love. Love is what sometimes holds us and binds us when we’re not so happy. If we concentrate on how much we can love one another, we can get through all the other stuff.”
[From Huffington Post]
Maybe I’m too old school, and I’ll admit to nearly being Jada’s age. This is too much family drama for me to be comfortable airing in public, and I actually don’t think it’s fair to Willow. Mother daughter issues run deep, and they do get passed down through the generations. I get how it’s very positive for this family to admit that they have problems and to talk about them. I understand how they feel they’re helping others by encouraging communication. This is the type of celebrity openness that Oprah helped foster, and it’s the norm now. Willow is just 11 years old, though, she’s not even a teenager yet. She’s barely able to understand these things about her family and yet they’re sharing them with her and videotaping her reaction. Sure she’s a little pop star, but she says here that she doesn’t want to be famous, and that she wants a normal life. Part of that would involve making sure these type of family discussions stay behind closed doors. I just feel protective of her, because it seems like her family is thrusting her into the spotlight before she’s emotionally ready.
Here’s the video where Willow says she doesn’t want to be famous and Adrienne admits she was addicted to drugs until Jada was 17 or 18. Willow is shown crying around :57.
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