Jada Pinkett Smith is releasing her ‘no holds barred’ memoir in autumn 2023, its publishers revealed in a bombshell announcement Thursday.
The book, which comes from HarperCollins imprint Dey Street Books, promises to explore ‘Jada’s complicated marriage to Will Smith,’ according to a press release.
A description quoted by People magazine says the upcoming autobiography ‘chronicles lessons learned in the course of a difficult but riveting journey – a rollercoaster ride from the depths of suicidal depression to the heights of personal rediscovery and the celebration of authentic feminine power.’
Incoming: Jada Pinkett Smith is releasing her ‘no holds barred’ memoir in autumn 2023, its publishers revealed in a bombshell announcement Thursday; pictured at this year’s Oscars
The press release teases: ‘With no holds barred, Jada reveals her unconventional upbringing in Baltimore – from the child of two addicts to a promising theatre student and a violent interlude as a petty drug-dealer – followed by a parallel rise to stardom alongside her close friend 2Pac, then falling in love with and marrying Will Smith, and a joyous embrace of motherhood.’
She began dating Will before he was legally divorced from his first wife Sheree Zampino and married him 1995 while pregnant with their first child.
They became a famously close-knit showbiz power couple, welcoming two children, Jaden, 24, and Willow, 21, who followed them into the business at a young age.
However over the past few years their marital problems seeped into the public eye as Jada publicly aired out her ‘entanglement’ with another man.
Details: The book will come a year and a half after her husband Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars for making a bald joke about her
Will then argued in GQ that ‘marriage for us can’t be a prison’ and revealed ‘Jada never believed in conventional marriage.’
Matters came to a head when Will marched onstage at the Oscars this March and slapped Chris Rock for making a joke about Jada.
In an groveling apology statement issued months later, Will insisted that Jada ‘had nothing to do’ with the slap, contrary to widespread public conjecture.
The press release for Jada’s new book says: ‘At the heart of this powerful book, are two unexpected love stories, one being Jada’s complicated marriage to Will Smith, the other being with herself.’
Wow: The book, which comes from HarperCollins imprint Dey Street Books, promises to explore ‘Jada’s complicated marriage to Will Smith,’ according to a press release
Laying bare some of the other content of the upcoming memoir, the description dishes that she was ‘in crisis at age 40’ in 2011, faced with ‘excruciating choices’ that ‘she was forced to make to redefine her life in every way.’
Jada, her mother and her daughter co-host a Facebook chat show called Red Table Talk in which she has already aired out innumerable details of her private life.
She once recalled ‘crying down the freaking aisle’ at her ‘horrible’ shotgun wedding to Will, saying she ‘never wanted to get married’ and only agreed to tie the knot with him in order to placate her mother when she got pregnant.
Meanwhile Will, who was in excellent spirits at the wedding, said: ‘There wasn’t a day in my life that I wanted anything other than being married and having a family. From literally five years old, I was picturing what my family would be.’
Will as guest: Jada, her mother and her daughter co-host a Facebook chat show called Red Table Talk in which she has already aired out innumerable details of her private life
The show continued to air out Will and Jada’s problems, including an infamous 2020 episode where they discussed her affair with R&B crooner August Alsina.
In one infamous clip, Jada ambushed Will by asking him about their marriage for Instagram Live in order to promote a Red Table Talk episode with psychotherapist and relationship expert Esther Perel.
A visibly distraught Will begged his wife not to ‘start filming me without asking me,’ but Jada brushed off his concerns as ‘foolishness.’
‘My social media presence is my bread and butter so you can’t just use me for social media,’ Will pleaded. ‘Don’t just start rolling. I’m standing in my house.’
The big day: She once recalled ‘crying down the freaking aisle’ at her ‘horrible’ shotgun wedding to Will, saying she ‘never wanted to get married’
Throughout the clip Jada dismissed Will’s misgivings and kept asking him probing questions about their marriage.
The video resurfaced on social media this year and went viral, with commenters calling Jada an ‘abuser’ and observing how ‘broken’ and ‘tormented’ Will looked.
Will slapped Chris Rock onstage at the Oscars this March for making a bald joke about Jada, who shaved her head because she has alopecia.
‘Jada, I love you. GI Jane 2, can’t wait to see it,’ Chris cracked, in reference to the 1997 movie starring Demi Moore with a shaved head.
Cringe-inducing: In one infamous clip, Jada ambushed Will by asking him about their marriage for Instagram Live in order to promote a Red Table Talk episode
Unfazed: A visibly distraught Will begged his wife not to ‘start filming me without asking me,’ but Jada brushed off his concerns as ‘foolishness’
Will was seen initially laughing at the joke, but Jada rolled her eyes and then he stormed onto the stage to give Chris a smack across the face.
Then Will flounced back to his seat and repeatedly shrieked at Chris: ‘Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth!’
Less than an hour after his outburst, Will was awarded the best actor Oscar and received a standing ovation for his tearful speech in which he called himself a protector of his family and expressed a desire to be a ‘vessel of love.’
Although he apologized to the Academy and his fellow nominees during his speech, he did not issue a public apology to Chris until the following day.
Romance: In 2020, Jada’s love life came under the glare of the spotlight when August Alsina revealed that the pair had enjoyed a romantic relationship while she was married
After the awards, he went to the Vanity Fair Oscar Party and danced to his own song Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It while other partygoers cheered him on.
Before the Academy could decide what punishment it should impose for the incident, Will resigned from the organization.
Although his departure meant he could no longer vote for the Oscars, he at that point was still able to attend the show.
Fessing up: Jada and Will appeared on an episode of Red Table Talk to admit Jada had been in a relationship with August, despite originally denying the rumors
However the Academy has since imposed a 10-year ban on his attending the ceremony, though he can still be nominated for an win Oscars.
Jada finally addressed the slap in June on an alopecia-themed episode of her show Red Table Talk, urging Will and Chris to patch up their differences.
She cooed: ‘Now about Oscar night, my deepest hope is that these two intelligent, capable men have an opportunity to heal, talk this out and reconcile.’
Her firstborn: Jaden, who raised eyebrows by tweeting after this year’s Oscars: ‘And That’s How We Do It,’ is pictured with his mother on his sister’s Insta Stories
Meanwhile, a month after the slap Will surfaced in India, where a People source said he was planning to meditate, do yoga and focus on spirituality.
At the end of July he issued an agonizing apology video for his ‘unacceptable’ conduct at the Oscars and confirmed that Chris was ‘not ready to talk.’
Will himself released a self-titled memoir near the end of 2021, whereupon it spent 15 weeks on the USA Today bestseller list.