Will Smith’s children, Jaden and Willow, admitted they were unhappy with their father pushing them into the spotlight at a young age.
Although his kids’ careers were taking off, the “King Richard” star confessed that his family didn’t share the same sentiments as their father.
“2010 was like the greatest year as an artist, as a parent. ‘Karate Kid’ came out in June, ‘Whip My Hair’ came out in October,” Smith shared on Kevin Hart’s “Hart to Heart” series.
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“I’m building this dream of a family I’ve had in my mind. I’m going to do it better than my father did it.”
Despite the success, Smith added that it tore his family apart and his kids resented him during their early rise to fame.
“Nobody in my family was happy,” Smith continued. “No one wanted to be in a platoon. Willow was the first one to begin the mutiny and it was my first realization that success and money don’t mean happiness. Up until that point, I really believed that you could succeed your way—to a house and a family… and you could win your way to happiness.”
The father of three came to the realization that having fame and fortune doesn’t always result in happiness.
“Material circumstances do not equal happiness and, in a lot of cases, they can be the reason you’re not happy.”
He noted, “You can have so much stuff that it makes you miserable… That was my first pull-back, and I was like, ‘OK, what am I missing?'”
Smith’s comments come after his daughter Willow said it took her a “couple of years” to “forgive” her father.
In 2018, Willow opened up about the complicated relationship she had with her famous dad after she skyrocketed to fame following her hit single “Whip My Hair” when she was just 10 years old.
“I definitely had to forgive you and daddy for that whole ‘Whip My Hair’ thing. It was mostly daddy because he was so harsh at certain times,” Smith told mom Jada Pinkett Smith during an episode of “Red Table Talk.”
“It was a couple of years, honestly. Trying to regain trust for not feeling like I was being listened to or like no one cared how I felt.”
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In 2012, Willow shaved her head bald in the middle of her “Whip My Hair” tour to send a message to her father.
She had told her father halfway through the tour that she wanted out. He insisted she continue with the planned shows, prompting the then 11-year-old to take drastic measures.
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Smith has been married to his wife, Jada Pinkett since 1997. They share two children together, Jaden who was born on July 8, 1998, and Willow who was born on October 31, 2000.
Like her brother, Willow also acted alongside her father and played his daughter in the movie “I Am Legend.” Smith also has a son Trey Smith from a previous marriage to Sheree Zampino.
