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Will Smith’s blockbuster-filled career may look like an endless highlight reel, but one flop left him devastated—not for himself, but for his son, Jaden. In his memoir, Will, the King Richard star opens up about a painful chapter from 2013 when he and Jaden took a chance with After Earth.
The After Earth Fallout: Will and Jaden Smith’s Toughest Challenge
After Earth wasn’t just a box-office bomb; it shook Will and Jaden Smith’s bond to the core. The father-son duo hoped to deliver sci-fi magic, but critics—and audiences—were unimpressed. Instead of a cinematic triumph, they faced one of Hollywood’s harshest flops, forever altering their on-screen dreams. To add salt to the wound, Jaden—just 15 at the time—was receiving harsh media and fan backlash. “Fans and the press were vicious; they said and printed things about Jaden that I refuse to repeat,” Will writes, recalling the sting of those brutal reviews.
Will describes his heartbreak watching Jaden bear the brunt of the film’s failure. Despite faithfully following his father’s guidance, Jaden was caught in the harsh glare of public scrutiny.
“Jaden had followed every piece of advice I gave him, only to face the harshest public backlash of his life,” Will confesses, laying bare the deep regret he’s carried over the years for guiding his son into such a tough spotlight.
The pain intensified when Jaden brought up the possibility of becoming an emancipated minor. “Hearing that from my fifteen-year-old broke my heart,” Will recalls, marking a profoundly difficult moment for their relationship.
After Earth may have flopped, but it marked a significant shift in the Smith household. Once Hollywood’s picture-perfect father-son duo (they’d previously shared the screen in The Pursuit of Happyness), this rough patch saw them drift apart. Will acknowledges the strain, admitting that they never thoroughly discussed the incident but that he could feel his son’s sense of betrayal.
Though After Earth put a strain on their relationship, Jaden eventually found his own footing in Hollywood, stepping out from his father’s shadow. Notably, the two haven’t appeared together on screen since. That challenging experience may have changed their dynamic but also motivated Jaden to build his own career.
Over time, Will’s views on fatherhood have grown and shifted, shaped by both triumphs and mistakes. Looking back on this difficult period, he openly shares, “It’s painful to feel like you’ve let your children down.”
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