Will Smith recently opened up about his parenting skills. The actor returned to the screens this December with Emancipation following the Oscar 2022 controversy. Appearing in Showtime’s ALL THE SMOKE podcast, the King Richard actor got candid about how he has slowly improved his parenting skills over the years. The actor even revealed how the recent events had an impact on his personal life.
It can’t be denied that the effect of the Oscars incident is still quite evident in Will Smith’s personal as well as professional life. The event widely divided the Internet, and there were various ramifications to his actions. He is even banned from any Academy functions, including the Oscars, for the next 10 years.
What did Will Smith say about his parenting skills?
The Pursuit of Happyness actor is quite busy now promoting his first project after the Oscars controversy. When he met Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson on the sets of ALL THE SMOKE podcast, he opened up about various aspects of parenting and how it helped him in his own life.
The 54-year-old Smith is a father to two sons and a daughter. He has his eldest son Trey with his ex-wife Sheree Zampino and son Jaden and daughter Willow with his present wife Jada Pinkett Smith. His children have often been seen co-starring with their father in various movies such as Jaden Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness and Willow Smith in I am Legend.
Speaking about how these years of fatherhood have influenced his life, the Ali actor revealed how his relationship with his first son wasn’t so great. But he improved following his marriage with Jada Pinkett Smith as he learned more about how to form a healthy bond with his children.
“This has been probably the greatest period of my fatherhood. I was an okay father for my first son. I got a little bit better, with Jaden. I got my sea legs with Willow. The last couple of years of my life, I have sufficiently suffered enough to have real wisdom. This last year with my kids has been the best parenting.”
Will Smith also presented his advice to other fathers out there by acknowledging the importance of learning from past mistakes. He added how he has formed a precious bond with his children over the years where they can improve together in life.
“It’s okay to make mistakes, and the best thing you can do for your kids is to learn and grow yourself. When we’re trying to force our kids to do stuff and understand things that we didn’t do, that we didn’t understand, they see the bulls–t. And they lose respect. I found a place with my kids where I could say, ‘I don’t know,’ and, ‘Let’s figure it out together. Let’s go find that out together but we’re doing this as a team.'”
The actor also revealed how things were not going well two years ago and he noticed a lack of connectivity with his children but it is evident that he has learned a lot from his past mistakes. On the other hand, The Independence Day actor recently opened up about how his own childhood hasn’t been so smooth. He had to watch his father abuse his mother and it can be understood that he wants to give his children a far better childhood than what he got for himself.
Did Emancipation prove to be the ideal comeback project?
There was a shocking moment at the Oscars this year when Will Smith stormed up the stage to slap comedian Chris Rock and yell slurs after one of his jokes targeted Smith’s wife’s medical condition that causes loss of hair. Even after winning an Oscar for King Richard immediately after the incident, the actor was banned by the academy for 10 years.
The incident also had an impact on his professional life as various of his upcoming projects went into a state of uncertainty. But Apple TV+ didn’t reconsider their decision and went on to the selected release of Emancipation based on a real-life survival incident of a slave.
Although many believed it to be the ideal comeback project for the Suicide Squad actor, the movie’s reviews have another story to tell. While the performance by Smith and the cinematography got praise, the screenplay and the tone were criticized. Will Smith even stated that it’s okay if the audience is still not ready to consider him, as his reputation has fallen to a great extent after the incident.
After being released in selected theaters, Emancipation will come to Apple TV+ on December 9, 2022.
Source: ALL THE SMOKE
