Jada Pinkett Smith has been revealing a lot about her life as she promotes her new book, Worthy. The first revelation was the fact that Jada and her husband, Will Smith, have technically been separated since 2016 made the news, and shortly after, Jada shared that Chris Rock previously hit on her.
In a recent conversation with People, Jada Pinkett Smith also revealed that she used to be a drug dealer. Speaking with the publication, she shared that having parents who were addicted to drugs impacted the way she saw herself.
"When you aren't the priority of your parents, you don't know how to be a priority to yourself," she shared with the publication. Although her parents were not positive role models, she still had someone in her life who was able to offer better guidance: her maternal grandmother.
Her grandmother taught her many valuable lessons, but one of the lessons she learned was that she could not depend on a partner to provide for her. Seeking financial independence, Jada told People, "I decided to sell drugs."
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Determined to support herself, Jada started working "legit jobs" (not selling drugs) at the young age of 12. But she observed that drug dealers seemed financially successful. She was also in dire circumstances since her mom, who was a heroin addict, was struggling. “Growing up, the drug dealers were the ones that had affluence," Jada explained to People. "That’s what we readily saw as success."
It also didn't help that she was living in Baltimore in the 1980s, where Jada said "everybody" was affected by drugs. "You could use them, you could sell them, but there was no being in an environment like that and drugs not touch you," she explained.
She explained to People that she didn't have any interest in doing drugs or dating a drug dealer. She was interested in supporting herself, and considering the circumstances, selling drugs seemed like the way to achieve that.
"That was my solution at that particular time to survive," she admitted to People. She also understands that it was a dangerous choice, one that affected her personal safety and damaged some of her relationships with others.
Her decision to sell drugs was also fear-based. Worried about her mother, selling drugs, in a way, seemed to offer her more security at the time. "What if something happens to my mother? 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," she told People.
She described her life and mindset at the time as "living in a war zone" and "just thinking about survival." In some ways, she reflected, it was like she was a different person. "I was rollin’ with some really high rollers at the time. That's a whole ‘nother Jada, a whole ‘nother Jada that would chase somebody down the alley with a switchblade because they stole $700. Or the Jada that would sell crack cocaine and then get set up and two dudes come in with nine-millimeters and she gets a gun put to her head," she said to People.
Many have been quick to point out that Jada seems to conveniently have a lot of confessions to make ahead of the release of her book. However, that hasn't stopped her from sharing her stories. Her new book, Worthy, is out October 17.
