Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
I feel like the Black community’s main response to Jada Pinkett Smith’s many, many recent revelations has been, “Take me out the group chat.” People are like, “Why she out here telling all her business? No one asked!” But, nah, you guys. I gotta push back against all that. Since when are we ok with telling a Black woman to shut up about her truth?
Pinkett Smith wrote her memoir, and in doing so she went deep into herself and pulled out the stories people would want to hear from her. Knowing and loving Tupac. Meeting Will. Struggling in her marriage to Will. Deciding to change their marriage. Dealing with the Oscars. Jada is spilling her tea because that’s what you do when you do your memoir. We’ve seen this before.
Is your issue that Pinkett Smith told her story too much? Like she did too many interviews promoting her book? I’m sure Pinkett Smith commanded a hefty fee for her book, and when the book publisher gives you a lot they demand a lot, which means you’ve gotta dig deep and tell your best stories and then promote the book like crazy.
After her blitz of interviews, everyone in the world knows this book exists. Garnering that level of attention for a book is really hard nowadays. But more than that, Pinkett Smith appears to have made sure that she told her story to as many Black media figures as possible, including Hoda Kotb and Jonathan Capehart. They’ve been successful for a while, but it’s still valuable for them to get a lot of eyeballs on something they’ve done, and any interview with…
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