Feeling ‘betrayed’ by his father Will Smith, Jaden Smith inquired about ‘being an emancipated minor’.
Jaden, the son of actors Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, ventured into the entertainment industry, mirroring his parents’ careers, with his role in the 2006 film The Pursuit of Happyness, where he starred alongside his father.
However, another collaboration between the father-son duo did not receive the same acclaim.
In 2013, Will and Jaden took on roles in the post-apocalyptic action-adventure film After Earth.
This movie was loosely inspired by an idea of Will’s about a father and son journeying into the wilderness. The concept evolved into a sci-fi narrative set 1,000 years in the future, where an environmental disaster on Earth forces humans to relocate to another planet. It was written by M. Night Shyamalan and Gary Whitta.
Will and Jaden starred in the film, which was also produced by Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, Caleeb Pinkett, and James Lassiter.
Unfortunately, After Earth was heavily criticized, and its ratings reflect this lack of approval.
The film has a Rotten Tomatoes tomatometer score of 12 percent and a popcornmeter score of just 36 percent.
The poor reception from critics and the audience affected not only the film but also the performances of Will and Jaden, as well as their personal relationship.
In Will’s memoir titled “Will,” released in November 2021, he described After Earth as ‘an abysmal box office and critical failure’.
Will stated: “And what was worse was that Jaden took the hit. Fans and the press were absolutely vicious; they said and printed things about Jaden that I refuse to repeat.
“Jaden had faithfully done everything that I’d instructed him to do, and I had coached him into the worst public mauling he’d ever experienced.”
Will acknowledged that while they ‘never discussed it’, he was aware his son ‘felt betrayed’ and ‘misled’, resulting in a loss of trust in Will’s leadership.
He further explained: “At fifteen years old, when Jaden asked about being an emancipated minor, my heart shattered. He ultimately decided against it, but it sucks to feel like you’ve hurt your kids.”
Since this incident, Jaden has continued his career with appearances in various films and TV shows, including the 2016 Netflix series The Get Down and movies such as Skate Kitchen (2018), Life in a Year (2020), and Entergalactic (2022). However, he has not shared the screen with his father again.