Marriage is frequently seen as a partnership built on love, esteem, and shared values. But when one’s freedom is restricted within that union, it can significantly hinder one’s development as an individual. The marriage of celebrity couple, Will and Jada Pinkett Smith has garnered discussion and attention, especially in light of the lack of freedom the actress has experienced.
They have been married for more than 20 years. We were given a lot of insight into their private lives through Pinkett Smith’s Facebook show, Red Table Talk. But even before that, the Queen Cleopatra actress had been giving away her opinions on monogamy and marriage.
Pinkett Smith was not opposed to marrying the Where the Day Takes You actor per se, but she did not like the institution of marriage at all.
Moreover, it appeared from her 2001 interview with Vibe magazine that her lack of freedom in her marriage to the Emancipation actor has significantly altered her parenting philosophy.
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Jada Pinkett Smith Won’t Put ‘Restrictions’ On Her Kids
There is no denying that over the years, Jaden and Willow Smith (two of the couple’s three children; the third is Trey Smith, from the Bright actor’s previous marriage) have said some strange things in interviews that have caused people to snort. However, their parents, Jada Pinkett and Will Smith have given them the freedom of expression and individuality that enable them to feel comfortable speaking their minds about any subject.
Jada Pinkett Smith described her parenting philosophy in an interview with Vibe magazine in 2001, saying:
“I probably won’t put restrictions on [Willow] in a [harsh] way, because, being female myself, I understand the type of freedom a young girl needs,” Jada said. “But when I talk about freedom, I mean you have to have a sense of responsibility. That’s very difficult in our culture, because we’re basically selling being a h*e as what it is to be a woman today. If you’re not a h*e, then you’re not really down or you’re not really hip.”
She mentioned the importance of freedom once again in her interview with Entertainment Tonight, this time in relation to her marriage with her actor-husband:
“I just felt like, I needed more freedom. And freedom in the sense of like … the public wants you to be a certain way, your family needs you in a certain way, your partner needs you to be something. And for me, that just was never … I’m really a free spirit at heart, I really am. And I always have been. And I just felt like my life had got constricted into this little box and it was strangling me, basically.”
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Does Jada Pinkett Smith Punish Her Kids?
Jada Pinkett Smith is not your typical, strict mom. She even admitted to using liberal parenting methods, in which she does not punish her children but instead lets them discover cause and effect on their own. The celebrity mother stated to Health magazine:
“I think we have to have more trust in our children. People have always gotten on us about not punishing the kids, and let me just talk to you about that for a minute. We raised three kids before Willow and Jaden, and especially on my goddaughter, I put so many boundaries on her — ‘No, you can’t do that, you can’t do this.’ And everything I tried to control, every freakin’ thing I was trying to avoid, happened.”
She went on to say that she had discovered she learned a lot from being a mother, also added:
“While Willow and Jaden are still with me and have a safety net, I want to give them the opportunity to make mistakes and learn how to put boundaries on themselves. So by the time they’re out of the house, they fly.”
For the unversed, Will and Jada Pinkett Smith tied the knot in 1997. They met when the actress attended a casting call for the girlfriend of Smith’s character in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Will Smith will next appear in an untitled fourth Bad Boys movie under the direction of Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah. The upcoming film will be released on June 14, 2024.
Meanwhile, you can stream the third Bad Boys film (Bad Boys for Life) on Tubi TV and Pluto TV.
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Source- VIBE
