Will Smith jokes that he encouraged his children to express themselves ‘too much’

The Men In Black star was discussing his unique parenting style when it comes to his two youngest, Willow, 15, and 17-year-old Jaden.

Speaking to BBC Radio 1 Xtra DJ A.Dot, the 47-year-old confessed that he and wife Jada may have ‘made a mistake’ in the way they have reared the two teens.

Bringing up the subject, the host inquired: ‘Your kids seem to have a lot of freedom of expression, is that something you consciously encourage them to have?’

‘Yeah, I think it might have been a mistake. We may have gone too far,’ the 47-year-old father-of-three responded.

A. Dot – real name is Ashley Charles – then directly addressed the issue of Jaden’s well-documented gender fluidity.

On the potential backlash concerning his son wearing women’s clothing – Jaden was named the new face of Louis Vuitton’s womenswear campaign in January – Will revealed the youngster is ‘100 per cent fearless’ – a quality which both scares and inspires him.

The actor explained: ‘There’s a really powerful internal quality as an artist that as parents we encourage.

‘You’ve got to get out on the edge. You have to try things, you have to be comfortable doing things people don’t agree with and you have to be comfortable with doing things that you could fail.


‘And Jaden is 100 per cent fearless. He will do anything. As a parent, it’s scary, it’s really terrifying but he is completely willing to live and die by his own artistic decisions and he just doesn’t concern himself with what people think.’

Will then admitted Jada struggled to raise Willow the same as her older brother Jaden and half-brother Trey, 23, his first marriage to Sheree Zampino.

‘You’re hitting on a really difficult issue in my house,’ with regards to the 15-year-old having a set curfew.

He finished: ‘The boys’ freedom is slightly different to Willow – they’re surrounded by dudes when they go out.

‘Willow’s a 15-year-old girl. We try to have the same rules but it’s a different world. We’ve been struggling with that.’

He also touched on Jada’s Oscar boycott after the Academy Awards failed to nominate a black star in the acting categories for a second year running.

Will – who is also refusing to attend the biggest night in Hollywood – explained: ‘It’s so far not about me.

‘It’s not about us going to a show or not. For me this is a much bigger social issue. I’m noticing the narowing of tolerance in America.

‘My concern is Hollywood is reflecting a regressive trend. Hollywood is supposed to lead. Hollywood is supposed to be the most diverse, the most inclusive. I think it’s an absolute necessity that Hollywood leads.’ Daily Mail