Speaking about his son Jaden’s decision to wear women’s clothing in a recent interview, actor Will Smith describes the teen as “fearless.”
In an interview on Tuesday, BBC Radio 1Xtra asked Smith about the “freedom of expression” he allows his children, Jaden, 17, and Willow, 15.
Jaden has previously compared himself to both Galileo and Albert Einstein in interviews, and over the last year he has embraced wearing skirts and dresses.
In January, the teen was announced as the new face of fashion house Louis Vuitton’s Spring/Summer 2016 women’s collection. Weeks later, he appeared in a gender fluid photo shoot for Vogue Korea.
“Yeah, I think it may have been a mistake,” Smith joked in regards to he and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith allowing Jaden and Willow the freedom to express themselves. “I think we may have gone too far.”
Smith then described Jaden as an “artist” learning to “be comfortable doing things that people don’t agree with.”
“There’s a really powerful internal quality as an artist that as parents we encourage. You’ve gotta get out on the edge … you’ve got to be comfortable doing things that you could fail.”
The Concussion actor added: “Jaden is 100 percent 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 doesn’t concern himself with what people think.”
Jaden recently told told GQ in October, “I feel like it’s an honor, actually, for people to think I’m crazy.”
He added: “They thought Galileo was crazy, too, you know what I’m saying?”
Jaden has also credited late theoretical physicist Albert Einstein with inspiring him to wear dresses.
“Einstein didn’t really like to change clothes because he had too much other stuff to worry about and I’m the same,” he told Billboard. “I really look to see, do you care more about what other people think, or are you having fun?”
He also said he doesn’t think he’s “as revolutionary as Galileo,” but added, “I don’t think I’m not as revolutionary as Galileo.”
In November 2014, Willow claimed she had the ability to “control time,” and criticized the education system for making “tired” and unmotivated.
“I went to school for one year. It was the best experience but the worst experience,” she said. “The best experience because I was, like, ‘Oh, now I know why kids are so depressed.’ But it was the worst experience because I was depressed.”
Will Smith, a two-time Oscar nominee, boycotts this year’s Academy Awards with his wife Jada over the Academy’s nominating exclusively white actors for a second straight year.
Telling ABC’s Good Morning America last month he feels “diversity is the American superpower,” Smith said he would be “uncomfortable” attending the Feb. 28 ceremony.
“No, we’ve [he and Jada] discussed it, and we’re a part of this community, but at this current time, we’re uncomfortable to stand there and say this is okay,” he said.
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