Willow Smith Experienced A "Dark Path" Of "Sadness" As A Child Star And "Just Knew Everything Felt Wrong"
21-year-old Willow Smith has been in the spotlight for most of her life. She's the daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, and she started acting and singing at a young age. She opens up about the troubles she faced from her experience as a child star and how she stopped herself from going down a dark road.
Willow and her brother Jaden Smith were creating music and starring in movies from a young age. It was considered normal for them especially because both of their parents were in the industry as well. But in an interview on SiriusXM's "Bevelations," Willow admitted that it wasn't easy being a child star. In fact, it nearly destroyed her.
Willow Smith Experienced a "Dark Path" of "Sadness" as a Child Star and "Just Knew Everything Felt Wrong"
In 2010 when Willow was only 10 years old, she released a hit single called "Whip My Hair." It catapulted her into a level of stardom that very few children experience. Willow has kept her love for music and currently performs as a singer and musician today, but the early fame she experienced affected her greatly as a child.
“I saw at a very young age … the dark path I could have gone down,” Willow said. “I kind of caught myself before my coping mechanisms started too early.” When she was only 12 years old, she "touched a sadness" she didn't even think could be real. That's when she knew something was wrong.
“That was terrifying. Because I was like, ‘I’ve never felt this before. … This is obviously not healthy and I need to stop this before it becomes a darker place,’” she said. “Realistically in my young mind … I just knew it felt wrong. I just knew it. I just knew everything felt wrong.”
She said her higher self told her, "No. This is going to be bad for you." She learned to listen to that voice from a young age. Her mother admitted in an episode of "Red Table Talk" that she struggled to understand Willow's anxiety. “It took me a long time to understand Willow … just her anxiety,” Jada said. “I had a very difficult time relating because two things: her lifestyle and how she was brought up was very different than mine.”
Willow sports a shaved head and septum piercing and she performs regularly. Like her brother, she has spoken out about political issues and publicly supported BLM.
Willow has also opened up about her mental health struggles on "Red Table Talk," which she hosts with her mother and grandmother. She once said that she even harmed herself on the wrist shortly after "Whip My Hair" became a hit. She kept it a secret for a while, but finally mustered up the courage to talk about it.
She shared that physical exercise has helped her manage her mental health struggles. She has shared videos of herself doing yoga in the past, a practice that helps her relieve stress and anxiety.