If you had dysfunctional and messy parents like Will Smith and Jada Pinkett, you'd be pretty messed up too. Sadly, they did a right number on their kids, pushing them into the spotlight at such a young age and not allowing them to just be kids. Then when they didn't live up to the expectations and talent of their parents, they were often scrutinised for being nepo babies, bratty and weird. Of course this would impact any young child negatively.
In a candid interview with Dazed magazine, Willow Smith opened up about the profound struggles she faced while creating her 2022 album "Coping Mechanism." Willow admitted to relying heavily on alcohol to manage her deep emotional pain, although the album title did not live up to its name.
I was deeply heartbroken. I was getting blackout drunk almost every session for that album, and I was just in a bad spot. I wouldn’t want to make an album in that way, ever again.” Reflecting on her early career, she recalled a period after releasing the hit song "Whip My Hair" at age 11, describing it as a “dark night of the soul.” She said, “I think I was just really overwhelmed, and I had so many moments where I didn’t feel understood. At the time, I didn’t know how to express what I was going through, because people were like, ‘Oh, you’re a brat,’ or ‘You’re being ungrateful.’ I never wanted anyone to think I was ungrateful. I never wanted anyone to think that I didn’t love my life. And so that’s why I kept it all inside. But as we know, when you keep things inside, they come out at some point.” Willow Smith also touched on her struggles with self-harm during that time, noting that it was her way of releasing emotions without external judgment: “I think the self-harm was a way for me to let those emotions come out in a way where I wasn’t opening myself up to judgment from other people. Obviously I look back on it now and I’m like, ‘Oh my goodness, that was so dark.’ I went to therapy – I still go to therapy, because everyone should go to therapy…
Self-harm at the tender age of 10 is absolutely insane. Here's my post from 11 years ago where I noticed something was off. It's tragic she couldn't talk to her parents. They truly failed her. Will and Jada were too caught up in their own dysfunctional relationship and entanglements to even notice what was going on underneath their noses. But having to read about yourself being unlikable to someone as "likable" as Will Smith must not have been easy either. His oldest son was lucky enough not to endure the struggle as he was raised by his mother. It is often pointed out how Trey is the "normal, well rounded one" of all the Smith kids. Overall, he was never pushed into becoming a child star and kudos to his mother for that. Willow has grown up to become a level headed, smart and beautiful young woman and it's incredible how she managed to come through her ordeal with zero scandals.
I think it's a little unfair to lay all the blame at her parents feet and make claims like they didn't notice Willow's struggles or that both her and Jaden were pushed into the limelight by them - where's the evidence for that statement? Has she said has much in this or any other interview? Will and Jada were practically child stars themselves, so were their parents to blame for their screw-ups. Self-harm at aged 10 also isn't as insane ad you suggest - I work with CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) and see self-harm and suicidal ideations in children from as young as aged 4, all the time. I'm not saying parents can't play a part, but mental health is complex, psychosocial, psychological and physiological factors also play their part. I just think it's potentially dangerous, damaging, destructive and irresponsible to make wild blanket statements where mental health is concerned without having all the facts.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree with what you said and it's sentiments, Willow has said above she didn't know how to cope with fame or deal with overnight success. Her parents have a duty of care, they're rich so they could Hve provided therapy and supported her by shielding her from the media. Or even better,, not allowed her to get involved in entertainment given how they both said it affected them as children. Alas they didn't. In this case, it seems Willow's mental health struggles came largely from the perils of fame and success, something her guardians had experience of and responsibility for. Also the US is different. They don't have universal CAHms
DeleteIt states in the article that she went to therapy - therapy her parents most likely paid for if she was underage. Willow writes and produces most of her songs which suggests she was involved in the entertainment industry out of choice. I mentioned CAMHS to reflect how common childhood mental health conditions are. I'm sure the US must have their own equivalent.
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