It's hard to imagine Will Smith discussing the topic of alcoholism, and even harder to imagine him doing so with his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, on her talk show Red Table Talk. In an exclusive preview for ET, we can see how both actors opened up about this controversial and delicate issue.
"How often are you drinking alcohol?" Pinkett asked her husband. "That's my personal business. I respect that it's your show, but at the end of the day it's a house we share," Smith quickly responded. Considering the context of the conversation, we can stress that this was not an intervention intended to tackle any drinking problems of Will Smith, but rather a deeper question from his wife that only hints that Smith himself is burdened by such problems.
"During my rise as a movie star, I was, like, wildly disciplined, so being in this place in my life, even something as simple as taking my shirt off while I'm out of shape...like, you know, this for me allowing myself to be seen less than optimally is new," the actor went on to comment. Furthermore, last March a marathon test undertaken by Smith showed signs that he'd fallen back into the habit of drinking due to his comments that "I didn't drink for more than a decade".
Unlike Smith, his wife opened up more, talking sincerely about alcoholism and other addictions. "I remember reaching a rock bottom the time I was in the house by myself and I had those two bottles of wine and was going for the third bottle. And I was like, 'Hold up. You're in this house by yourself going onto your third bottle of wine? You might have a problem'".
A widespread issue
Issues with alcoholism are sadly commonplace in the Hollywood panorama (not to mention across the entire world). Recently, Brad Pitt also acknowledged his experiences, particularly his time with Alcoholics Anonymous. "I had taken things as far as I could take it, so I removed my drinking privileges". The meetings with Alcoholics Anonymous helped the actor enormously and meant a great deal to him. "You had all these men sitting around being open and honest in a way I have never heard. It was this safe space where there was little judgement, and therefore little judgement of yourself".
