Willow Smith opened up about the valuable life lessons she learned from watching mom Jada Pinkett Smith rise above the “intense racism and sexism” she endured while on tour with her nu metal band, Wicked Wisdom.
In a recent interview with L’Officiel, the “Lipstick” singer revealed, “My mom got so much hate.”
“It was intense racism and sexism, just packed on to the tens,” said Willow, 20. “People giving her death threats, throwing glass at her onstage. Some crazy stuff went down when she was touring with her band.”
“I got to see that hate firsthand,” Smith continued. “It was so scary to me, and I think I internalized a little bit.”
Willow says she also internalized how her mother rose above the vitriol, which continues to influence how she reacts to negativity and anger.
“Every time I feel that coming on, I just go back to my memories of my mom and how she would deal with actual physical danger — she just rose above it,” she explained. “Obviously, she was scared. But she really showed me what ‘womaning up’ really was, by taking a stance and not being afraid of other people’s judgments and perceptions.”
The Red Table Talk host admits that the lessons her mother taught her also allowed her to see her “Whip My Hair” phase — which she “really regretted” a decade ago — in a new light.
“I kind of just had a huge ‘aha’ and was like, ‘Yo, don’t condemn this side of your life because it gave you a foundation and a platform and a fan base of so many loving individuals who have been by my side through this whole crazy, topsy-turvy journey that I’ve had,'” she explained. “Now, I would never take it back.”
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