Jada Pinkett Smith ‘Heartbroken’ When Jaden Smith Asked For Emancipation At 15

Jada Pinkett Smith recalled one of the most heartbreaking moments in her life as a mother on the latest episode of her Facebook show “Red Table Talk.”

The 46-year-old Hollywood actress revealed that she was “devastated” when her son Jaden Smith asked to be legally emancipated at 15. “I remember this day specifically, it’s probably one of the most heartbreaking moments of my life. You got to a point where you told me straight up, you were like, ‘Mom, I have to leave here to live my life,’” Smith addressed Jaden, who was present on the Monday episode of their show.

Smith then shared that she was hurt by Jaden’s gesture, but she thought that he might be right. “I remembered thinking to myself, as devastated as I was, I was ‘He’s right.’ The time is now. He’s 15. It’s time for him to leave the house,” the former “Gotham” star said.

Smith admitted that she felt comfortable letting go of Jaden at the time because of the latter’s maturity level. She also understood why her son wanted out of the Hollywood bubble. “Every child needs something different,” she said while looking at her mother and co-host Adrienne Banfield-Jones. “Being in this lifestyle, in this world is a bubble and he wanted out … I knew the sooner I let him go, the faster he was going to come back.”

The “Karate Kid” actor voiced out his sentiments upon hearing his mother’s confession. “It just makes you appreciate being at home, being with your parents, spending quality time with your family. You get out into the world and you just understand things,” Jaden said.

Jaden, now 19, did not push through with his desire to be emancipated, and he explained why when he and his father, Will Smith, made a guest appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” in 2013. “See, here’s the thing. I’m not going anywhere … I can get anything and everything at his house, so I’m going to be there for 20, 30 years. [My father] says as soon as I have a movie that’s bigger than one of his movies, I can get my own house.”

The Smiths’ parenting style has sparked some criticism in the past. Many questioned why they gave Jaden and daughter Willow Smith too much freedom. Interestingly, Will acknowledged the problem with their parenting in a 2016 interview with BBC Radio 1Xtra. At the time, he said that he and his wife may have “gone too far” and that their parenting approach may have been a “mistake.”