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Jada Pinkett Smith has revealed that she publicly admitted to having an “entanglement” with singer August Alsina during her marriage to Will Smith primarily to protect her husband’s ego and shield their family from further pain.
In a candid reflection while promoting her memoir “I am, You are, We are, Worthy!”, Jada explained that she could have kept the affair secret but chose to speak publicly because she believed it was necessary to help Will process the situation.
“I could love myself and love others, that we could all be on the road together. So I’m like, well, I might have to speak my truth, but I’m also going to protect you,” she said.
“So if I got to look like the adulterous wife to make sure you’re good, I’m gonna do it.”
She added that at the time, she prioritised Will’s well-being over her own image:
“I learned how to love myself and not leave Will on the side of the road. And I hadn’t learned how to love Will and not leave myself on the side of the road. In that moment, because I felt so bad that he was in this situation, I decided I’m gonna love you, Will, and I’m gonna leave myself at the side of the road.”
Jada went further, saying she willingly accepted being painted as the villain to help the family move forward: “Okay, I’m the bad guy. I’m the worst. Great. Let’s be done with it. I wanted it done. You got your answer. I’m the adulterous wife. Let’s be done. And let’s move on.”
The revelation comes years after the couple’s infamous appearance on Jada’s Red Table Talk in 2020, where she openly discussed her “entanglement” with August Alsina while she and Will were separated.
The controversy surrounding their marriage intensified in 2022 when Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars after Rock made a joke about Jada’s shaved head, which she had due to alopecia. The incident, widely referred to as “The Slap,” drew global condemnation and became one of the most talked-about moments in entertainment history.
Despite the public challenges, Jada emphasised that the decision to speak openly about the entanglement was part of her personal growth and attempt to navigate the complexities of their relationship.
She concluded that the experience taught her an important lesson about balancing self-love with love for others: “I had to learn that was a big learning moment for me. I wouldn’t have been able to see that aspect of myself that needed to learn that I could love myself and love others, that we could all be on the road together.”
The couple, who have been married since 1997, have often spoken about their unconventional relationship dynamics, describing themselves as life partners who have weathered significant storms together.
A woman who said she was drugged and sexually assaulted by veteran US entertainer Bill Cosby was awarded more than $19 million on Monday after a civil hearing in California.
Donna Motsinger said she was working as a waitress more than 50 years ago when the performer began to target her.
The hearing in Santa Monica was told how the comedian had initially come into the restaurant where the now-84-year-old Motsinger worked.
One day when he picked her up in his limousine, Cosby gave her a glass of wine and what she thought was an aspirin.
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She began slipping in and out of consciousness and the next thing she knew she was waking up at home, wearing only her underwear.
“She knew she had been drugged and raped by Bill Cosby,” the suit said.
Attorneys said Cosby, 88, did not remember any sexual contact with Motsinger, but that any that had occurred had been consensual.
The jury took three days to deliver its verdict, ordering Cosby to pay $19.3 million, a figure that could increase if they add punitive damages.
The case was heard in the same courthouse where a 2022 jury ordered Cosby to pay $500,000 in damages to Judy Huth after finding that he had molested her in 1975 when she was just 16 years old.
The man formerly known as “America’s Dad” was jailed in Pennsylvania for drugging and molesting a woman in a separate criminal case in 2018, but was freed in 2021 when his conviction was overturned on a technicality.
Cosby was a towering figure in late 20th century American popular culture, including for his starring role in “The Cosby Show,” which ran from 1984 to 1992.
Dozens of women have accused Cosby of being a calculating, serial predator who plied victims with sedatives and alcohol before assaulting them over four decades.
Chuck Norris, a former martial arts champion and 1980s action-film hero, has died at the age of 86, according to his family.
In a statement posted to Instagram on Friday, his family described Norris’s death as sudden.
Fellow action movie stars have paid tribute to Chuck Norris.
“It is with heavy hearts that our family shares the sudden passing of our beloved Chuck Norris yesterday morning,” the Norris family wrote.
“While we would like to keep the circumstances private, please know that he was surrounded by his family and was at peace.”
