In an interview with “The Breakfast Club” on Nov. 16, Jada Pinkett Smith shared her reasoning behind excluding August Alsina from her memoir “Worthy,” a New York Times Best Seller.
She and Alsina once had a close relationship, which was revealed in 2019 after the singer went viral for revealing they had an “entanglement.” He was 22 at the time and Pinkett Smith was reportedly separated from her husband, actor Will Smith.
When host Charlamagne tha God inquired as to why the “Matrix” actress chose to omit Alsina from her book, Pinkett Smith simply replied that the singer had been through enough. Pinkett Smith admitted on her Facebook show “Red Table Talk” that she had an entanglement with Alsina while she was separated from Smith.
“Really just to… I felt like he’s been through enough,” she said. “You know what I mean? And I just wanted to be respectful in that manner. I really did.”
Charlamagne then asked if addressing that situation was necessary in order to heal, to which Jada replied, “I’m definitely hoping at some point, for sure.”
Hollywood Unlocked shared a clip of the interview on Instagram, and fans reacted in their comments section. “He leaked his own business..he’s been through what he opened the door for,” noted one fan.
After several observers noted that Smith had also been through enough, one commenter joked that everyone has been through enough when it comes to the Smiths’ marital drama. “We been through enough. Take us out of the group chat.”
Another fan echoed the sentiment and wrote, “Enough is enough, Jada dang!”
The 52-year-old also confirmed that the couple is considering taking legal action against Brother Bilal, a man who claims he was good friends with Smith and once walked in on the “Bad Boys” actor having sex with actor Duane Martin. Bilal made the claim during an interview with tabloid blogger Tasha K, and Smith immediately released a statement denying the claim.
“This story is completely fabricated and the claim is unequivocally false,” a representative told People magazine.
Pinkett Smith said that the story was “ridiculous,” adding that Bilal has tried before to extort money from the famous couple.
“This is a person that tried a shakedown, a money shakedown that didn’t work,” she said at the 56:00 mark of the interview. “We’re gonna take legal action, um because it’s one thing to have your opinion about somebody versus just making up salacious, malicious stories,” she said. “So, that’s actionable. So we gon’ roll with that.”
The “Girls Trip” actress added that Bilal had worked with Smith on a book and felt that he wasn’t properly compensated. “Will was willing to give him a certain amount, and he didn’t take it. So, this whole situation is based on that.”
Pinkett Smith also said that her husband is “always gonna find the funny” and that the two laughed about the claim.
In addition, Charlamagne tha God asked the actress if she had to run with a crew in real life, would she choose the cast of “Set It Off” or “Girls Trip.”
“Oh, that’s a hard one,” she replied. “Damn, Charlamagne! That’s a hard one… I’mma plead the fifth on that one.”
The entire interview is available below.
