Jada Pinkett Smith is shutting down recent rumors of infidelity within her marriage to Will Smith.
The couple, who have been married since 1997, have always been candid about the trials and tribulations of their marriage, an openness that resulted in tabloid rumors about them having an open marriage persisting over the years. Amid Jada’s recent revelation of their years-long private separation, the speculation of their extramarital affairs has reached a fever pitch.
The latest allegation of infidelity stems from a video interview released Wednesday between YouTuber Latasha Kebe, who goes by the name of Tasha K, and Will’s alleged former assistant and “ex-best friend,” Brother Bilal.
Bilal claims he caught Will, 55, and All of Us actor Duane Martin, 58, having sex in Duane’s dressing room “years ago.” Bilal described the alleged scene in graphic detail.
In response to Bilal’s allegations, Jada, 52, told hosts of The Breakfast Club that she and her husband plan to take legal action.
During Jada’s appearance to discuss her memoir, Worthy, on Thursday’s episode of the radio show, Charlamagne tha God asked the Girls Trip actress about having to address the numerous rumors that have plagued her marriage, such as the couple being swingers or gay.
The host asked how it feels for Jada to confront “those same rumors out about people you love like Will and Duane” in 2023.
“Let me just say this. It’s ridiculous, right? And it’s nonsense. And this is a person who tried a shakedown, a money shakedown that didn’t work,” Jada alleged of Bilal.
“We’re gonna take legal action,” she added. “Because it’s one thing to have your opinion about somebody, versus just making up salacious, malicious stories. So, that’s actionable. So we ‘gon roll with that.”
Jada emphasized that the allegations are “not true,” claiming that Bilal had previously worked with Will on a book and felt he was not properly paid for his efforts.
“It’s based around this person’s idea that they, in some way, were doing business around Will’s book, and that they spent money, or what have you, and that they needed to be compensated. So he already tried to do this money shakedown,” she claimed. “Will was willing to give him a certain amount, and he didn’t take it. So, this whole situation is based on that.”
The Set It Off actress said that she didn’t know the details about the alleged business deal between her husband and Bilal, but added, “Like I told you, we ’bout to take legal action.”
A rep for Will told People, “This story is completely fabricated and the claim is unequivocally false.”
Martin has not publicly acknowledged the allegations.
Jada and Will have fielded rumors about their marriage for decades. During a 2009 appearance on The Bert Show on Atlanta’s Q100, Jada said that they didn’t bother her.
“I’ve heard all the things — their marriage is not real, he’s gay, she’s gay, they swing,” she said. “But at the end of the day, people have to believe what they have to believe. One thing Will and I are not here to do, is like, what’s real for us is what’s real for us, so you can either get on that bandwagon or not.”
“I’ll tell you what, it’s too hard to be in a pretend marriage,” she continued. “Life’s too short for that one.”
In 2017, Jada had a sense of humor about all the rumors when she appeared on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, and a caller asked her about the craziest thing she’d ever heard about her family. Jada replied, “That Will and I are swingers. It’s constant.”
Jada didn’t take offense to the claims, adding, “And I’m like, ‘Yo, I wish!'”
“Will and I just have amazing chemistry on a lot of different levels,” she continued. “We love to laugh together, we love to learn together, and we just love each other. We just have a good time together. Yeah, I guess that’s the secret. Yeah, we just really like each other!”
But the two have revealed that they engaged in sexual relationships outside of their marriage — most notably after singer August Alsina — who has previously appeared on Red Table Talk as a close friend of Jada’s — claimed he was romantically linked to her, and that Will gave him his blessing.
Jada acknowledged she had a past relationship with August on an incredibly candid episode of Red Table Talk with Will that aired July 2020.
Jada and Will stressed that there have never been secrets in their marriage, and Jada said she didn’t consider what she did a “transgression,” noting that she learned so much from it. Both Jada and Will said they continue to have “unconditional love” for one another.
The next year, WIll made headlines when he told GQ that Jada wasn’t the only one who had sexual relationships outside of their marriage.
“We have given each other trust and freedom, with the belief that everybody has to find their own way,” Will said of his and Jada’s arrangement. “And marriage for us can’t be a prison. And I don’t suggest our road for anybody. I don’t suggest this road for anybody. But the experiences that the freedoms that we’ve given one another and the unconditional support, to me, is the highest definition of love.”
In an interview with Gayle King for CBS Sunday Morning in March 2022, Will reiterated the sentiment, insisting that there has never been infidelity in their marriage.
“Jada and I talk about everything, and we have never surprised one another with anything ever,” he said.
More recently, Jada shocked the world when she revealed in Worthy that she and the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star privately decided to separate in 2016.
In a November interview for CBS Mornings, Jada admitted that following Will’s appearance on her Red Table Talk, where they infamously revealed her “entanglement,” she publicly took on the false narrative as a cheating wife to protect his privacy.
“That was Will’s choice,” she said about the candid appearance. “I think at that particular point in time we were both going through a process of dissolving this idea of what a relationship should look like and really just be honest about the difficulties that comes with being in a long-term relationship. At that time, I decided to take the hit, an untruth of being … as being an adulteress wife, which was not true.”
As for the lesson she wants people to take away from her and Will’s decades-long love story? That loving someone unconditionally is the most important aspect.
“People need to take away this fantasy that relationships should be perfect. This fantasy that people should be perfect. Life is nuanced, life is complicated. And what’s most important is that when you have somebody with you that’s willing to learn how to love, and you two are willing to learn how to love each other — ride it out,” she said.
And Will and Jada’s love appears to still be strong. Last month, they took to their respective Instagram accounts to share pictures featuring them together with their children at a celebration for Jada’s mother, Adrienne “Gammy” Banfield-Norris’, 70th birthday.
Watch Jada’s full interview on The Breakfast Club below.
In addition to Bilal possibly facing legal action for his remarks about Will, Kebe is most known for being on the losing side of a defamation lawsuit filed by GRAMMY winner Cardi B in 2019. Cardi accused Kebe of attempting to defame her with dozens of YouTube videos where she made salacious allegations, including that Cardi has herpes.
In January 2022, the 31-year-old rapper was awarded a total of $1.25 million in damages by a federal jury in Atlanta, Georgia, after they found Kebe guilty on the claims of defamation, false light, and emotional distress. The jury awarded Cardi $1.5 million in punitive damages and $1,338,753.47 for her legal fees, for a total of over $4 million in the case.
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