Jada Pinkett Smith had come a long way from her teenage years. The 52-year-old actress-turned-talk show host had reached a point in her life where she could reflect on her past with a newfound perspective. In a candid interview gracing the cover of People magazine, Jada opened up about her early life, shedding light on the dark corners of her past. It was a story of survival, independence, and the relentless pursuit of something more. As a teenager, Jada explained how she had found herself caught in the mix of the drug epidemic of Baltimore. She says during the interview that it was her mother who taught her and encouraged her to never depend on a man for finances, so she felt like she had to result to other things.
She then developed the mindset of maintaining financial independence by any means necessary. “What if something happens to my mother?” she recalled during the interview. “What if she doesn’t come home one night? Either overdosed, arrested, whatever. And so, I decided to sell drugs. I decided to sell crack cocaine.” Jada emphasized that drugs were prominent throughout the city. “Drugs were going to touch you, period,” she continued. “You could use them, you could sell them, but there was no being in an environment like that and drugs not touch you. And I’m not saying that it’s right, of course, now being in a whole different mindset. But when you’re living in a war zone and you just thinking about survival, I wasn’t trying to use drugs. I surely wasn’t going to be a drug dealer’s girlfriend. But I wanted money so that I could be independent. I wanted to take care of myself.”
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Jada Pinkett Smith Graces “People” Magazine
She had ventured into the world of selling drugs, not by choice but out of necessity. Jada discussed how her childhood had been anything but easy, growing up under the shadow of her parents’ drug addiction. With her parents both partaking in substance abuse, Jada had found peace of mind in her grandmother’s arms. She says it was her grandmother who had provided her with the love, care, and stability that were lacking elsewhere in her life. She often wondered what it would be like to have parents who were not battling addiction. “When you aren’t the priority of your parents you don’t know how to be a priority to yourself,” she said. “I had parents who were addicted to drugs.”
Over the years, Jada has clearly transformed her life. She rose above the hardships of her youth, emerging as a powerful force in the entertainment industry. Her journey was a testament to her strength and determination, a beacon of hope for those who had faced similar challenges. Looking back, Jada’s story was a reminder that the past does not define the future. Despite the darkness of her early years, she had found her way to the light, proving that with resilience and determination, one could overcome even the most daunting obstacles.
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