All About Laughs
Jada Pinkett Smith’s Red Table Talk was developed and hosted alongside her daughter Willow Smith and mother Adrienne Banfield-Norris, affectionately known as “Gammy” in 2018, and continues to be a winner for the Facebook Watch platform. Now in its 3rd season, the show continues in its era of “winning season”, as its already been nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award in 2019 as well as an NAACP Image Award Winner for “Outstanding Host in a Talk or News / Information (Series or Special) – Individual or Ensemble”.
Known to bring three different perspectives from three very different generations, a wide array of topics is discussed amongst the family of women, or accompanied with guests. The show has highlighted some of the family’s issues and also struggles within themselves as they come together to openly discuss on camera for the public to see (and also possibly scrutinize).
Other than the infamous “entanglement” issue and episode, Willow has taken the opportunity on the show to share with her mother, times where she didn’t feel as close to her mother in their relationship. During an episode where famed actress Demi Moore and her daughters were guests on the show, Willow shared that there was a time her mother was not emotionally available to her as she needed her to be.
Jada shared that there was a recent moment between the mother and daughter where she realized that she had to be there for her, especially in ways that she naturally hadn’t before. “Willow had a moment the other day, when you had an upset and you were crying on the couch and I just came to you and held you,” she stated. “And I said to myself, ‘I wish I had done this more with her.’ When you can just hold your little girl, have her tears, have her pain.
“Back in the day, if I would be crying or have an upset, the energy was always like, ‘Take that somewhere else and deal with it on your own,’” Willow said to her mother, grandmother, and their guests. Jada then admitted to treating her daughter this way while explaining herself. “That’s how I was treating myself,” responded Jada. “I didn’t want to be with my own feelings. There’s this wall, this armor, and I was thinking about how it does a disservice to everybody we love, including ourselves.”
After realizing that she had been overcompensating, she offered a public apology to her daughter. “I want to just take a moment and just say to you, ‘I’m sorry.’ You know, because you want to create safety, vulnerability is not safe. The way that we grew up, the way that my mother grew up, you feel like you have to be strong. And the first thing you want to do is teach your girls how to be strong.”
She later added, “So as we come into our healing, as we come into our softness and vulnerability, there was a time when her tears were so offensive to me. So offensive. Which is why I was like, ‘Take that over there. We can’t afford that here.’ Not realizing, ‘B***h, you can afford it here. You’re not in Baltimore anymore. You absolutely can afford that here.’ But I have to confront that fact that I denied her that. And I have to confront the fact that I can give it to her now and I can nurture now.”
