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Jaden Smith seems to have a close relationship with his famous parents, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. As a child, Jaden worked on films with his father, and he seemed to respect his mother a lot. But when Jaden was just 11 years old, he admitted he was probably a “mom’s boy” and felt closer to Jada than he did to Will. Here’s what he said.

Jaden Smith visited ‘The Late Show’ with David Letterman in 2010

Jaden Smith attends ''The Karate Kid' photocall
Jaden Smith attends ‘The Karate Kid’ photocall | Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images

Back in 2010, Jaden was getting a ton of press thanks to his film adaption of The Karate Kid. The young star had already made headlines for the excellent work he did playing Will’s son in The Pursuit of Happyness. And it’s clear Jaden was destined for stardom, as he was incredibly comfortable in front of the camera starting at a young age.

The same year The Karate Kid debuted, Jaden went on The Late Show to talk to David Letterman about his budding career.

Letterman started off the conversation by asking Jaden to tell the audience a bit about himself.

“[I’m] 11, I like to hang out with my friends, yeah,” Jaden said. Talk of his acting career and family continued after. Letterman took out a photo of Jaden’s entire family and asked Jaden to talk about each person in the photo.

Jaden said he had a stronger relationship with Jada Pinkett Smith than Will Smith at the time

Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith, and children Jaden Smith and Willow Smith
Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith, and children Jaden Smith and Willow Smith | Michael Loccisano/FilmMagic

While talking about family, Jaden briefly discussed his relationship with his step-brother, Trey Smith, his sister, Willow Smith, and his parents. After talking about how Willow “bullies” him, he claimed to have a much closer relationship with Trey.

Finally, Jaden talked about Will and Jada. “He’s guiding me, he’s helping me a lot, and I really love him and he’s a great guy,” Jaden said of Will.

“That’s very sweet of you to say,” Letterman noted. “And your mom?”

“I really like her,” Jaden added. “I think I’m a mom’s boy more than I am a dad’s boy because my dad, when we’re shooting movies, he will just push me to the edge of death.”

Letterman than asked Jaden if Will pushes him “in a good way.” And Jaden explained that it’s only in a good way some of the time, though he does receive plenty of good acting tips from his dad.

Jada thought Will pushed Jaden too hard when Jaden was young

Jada Pinkett Smith, Jaden Smith, and Willow Smith sing on stage
Jada Pinkett Smith, Jaden Smith, and Willow Smith sing on stage | Chris Jackson/Getty Images
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While Jaden clearly has a great relationship with both of his parents, it’s clear Will was the one to push Jaden more than Jada was. And Jada once touched on this during Red Table Talk. Back when Jaden was filming The Karate Kid, she thought her son was getting pushed too hard, and it caused issues between her and Will.

On the show, Jada said she and Will were “in constant conflict” over how to treat Jaden. “I remember being on set with Will and it was such a struggle between he and I in regards to Jaden,” Jada said. “And I understand why men take their sons away for like whatever kind of warrior training, because it is completely, utterly, unfair and unnatural for a woman to have to sit and watch anything like that for her son.”

Despite the issues, Jaden persevered. And it seems Jada and Will’s parenting styles work perfectly together. As for if Jaden gets along better with Jada or Will now, we might never know — but it seems they all love and respect each other no matter what.

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