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Will Smith reveals his heart 'shattered' when son Jaden made a shock request

Will Smith has spoken of the heartbreak he felt when his son Jaden asked to become an emancipated minor at the age of 15.

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The actor, who starred alongside his son in the box office dud After Earth, revealed how he felt his son was "betrayed" by his father's actions after it was Will who had "coached" him through the film.

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"After Earth was an abysmal box office and critical failure, 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," he wrote in his memoir, Will.

"We never discussed it, but I know he felt betrayed. He felt misled, and he lost his trust in my leadership," the father-of-three-continued.

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"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."

Will is father to Jaden, now 24, 21-year-old daughter Willow, and son Trey, 30, whom he welcomed during his first marriage to Sheree Zampino.

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will-smith-children

Will is father to three

Will revealed when Jaden was a teen that he had asked for the paperwork for his birthday, but at the time did not reveal the intimate details of the why.

But while times were tough for the father-son duo previously, this year, after Will Smith's now-infamous behaviour at the 2022 Oscars, where he slapped host Chris Rock, Jaden has proven himself to be standing firmly on his father's side.

Taking to Twitter shortly after the event, the young actor wrote a short, simple message which read: "And that's how we do it." The 24-year-old's message on social media has since been retweeted and 'liked' by thousands and prompted many replies underneath.

Will, 54, has been married for 24 years to Jada Pinkett Smith and last year confirmed in an interview with GQ magazine that the two are in an open marriage, admitting they decided against monogamy because they were "both miserable".

willsmith-bok
willsmith-bok

Will is available to buy on Amazon

"There were significant endless discussions about, what is relational perfection? What is the perfect way to interact as a couple?" he said.

"And for the large part of our relationship, monogamy was what we chose, not thinking of monogamy as the only relational perfection.

"We have given each other trust and freedom, with the belief that everybody has to find their own way. And marriage for us can’t be a prison."

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