Jada Pinkett Smith is opening up about her family’s troubled relationship with relatives.
On the latest episode of “Red Table Talk”, the Smiths spoke with their guests about how parents can often turn their children against other members of the family.
“I know so many people that are going through it right now, and it is terrible,” said Jada as she added that it was something their family “had to deal with”.
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“This person made a decision that she didn’t want her child to be a part of our family, and it was devastating, and we don’t even know why. We don’t even know what happened,” she continued. “I think what people don’t realize is that when you make the decision to alienate one of the parents, typically you’re gonna alienate the whole family.”
She added, “I’m an erased aunt. You’re an erased cousin. There’s erased grandparents, but the whole family suffers, including the child because now the child doesn’t know her family.”
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On the flip side, the mother of two also revealed she was surprised her own mother, Adrienne “Gam” Banfield Norris, didn’t distance them from her late father, Robsol Pinkett Jr.
“I just had an intense therapy session and I called you last weekend and I was like, ‘Why did you let me still have a relationship with my father?'” said Jada. “Considering he was not well. He never paid a day of child support.”
For Banfield Norris, it was a pointless endeavour to be spiteful to her ex-husband.
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“In this circumstance, he didn’t have anything, he didn’t have anything to give, what are you gonna go to court and battle for?” she explained. “The unwellness was an addiction and I just also figured at some point in time, if he got himself together, it should be Jada’s decision what relationship she had with her father.”
Jada appreciated her mother’s decision to give her the opportunity to reclaim her relationship with her father on her own terms. Her mother added that she didn’t think her father was a “bad person”.
“We were bad with each other, but he was not a bad person. I was never concerned about her safety with him. I kind of was questioning sometimes his decision,” she said.
