Willow Smith Reveals Her Mental Health Problems — She Had to ‘Forgive’ Her Mother Jada Pinkett Smith

Mental health issues are no joke. But when you don’t feel supported by your loved ones, they get significantly harder to deal with. Unfortunately, Willow Smith knows it firsthand.

Willow Smith, the daughter of Hollywood power couple Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith, never ceases to make headlines. She shot to stardom in 2010 with her single “Whip My Hair” but then took some time off the music industry.

In 2018, she joined her famous mother on the Facebook Watch talk show “Red Table Talk,” where she, her family, and their guests frequently share personal details of their lives.

Willow Smith on May 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California | Source: Getty Images

On April 25, 2022, Willow attracted a lot of attention for revealing that she didn’t feel supported by Jada when she dealt with anxiety as a child. 

Willow and Ireland Baldwin, Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin’s daughter, talked about how stressful it was for them to grow up in the public eye, especially with such famous parents.

Trey Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith, and Will Smith on May 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California | Source: Getty Images

After Ireland shared her struggles and how she could always ask her mom for help with her mental health issues, Willow admitted she didn’t have that privilege with Jada growing up.

The “Transparent Soul” singer revealed Jada didn’t understand her anxiety because of the things she faced growing up. Willow said her mom went through so many hardships – including seeing her friends die – that she felt Willow’s struggles were smaller.

It was understandably frustrating for the young Willow, and she couldn’t help it because her mom could not identify and relate to her emotional struggles.

Willow only understood why Jada handled the situation the way she did when they had a candid conversation about it as adults. She learned that her mom also experienced anxiety even though she didn’t know it. Willow added: 

“She was pushing [the anxiety] down for so many years. She had no idea. So, I had to forgive her a little bit for being like, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah…I get it, but it’s really not that bad.'”

It was not the first time Willow Smith’s anxiety made headlines. In 2021, she confessed her early music career made her feel insecure, unsafe, and unprotected. 

Willow understands that Jada and Will are living their truth.

When she was nine or ten years old, she had an anxiety attack on stage. Willow couldn’t stop feeling people thought she was an ungrateful “brat.”

Sadly, everyone around her downplayed it as a tantrum. Willow’s worries resurfaced as an adult, and she kept telling herself she was no longer a nine-year-old child but a grown woman.

Although Willow acknowledged her mental health was fragile and needed training, she was convinced it would someday grow in “a really awesome way.”

The Smith family is not strange to controversies. In 2020, Jada revealed on the “Red Table Talk” that she was in a relationship with musician August Alsina while she and Will were on a break.

Instead of horrifying by their parents’ uncommon marriage, Willow understands that Jada and Will are living their truth. Apart from being her parents, they are also human beings with their own emotions and identities and have the right to explore them.  

Anomama