‘Red Table Talk’: Fans Think Jada Pinkett Smith’s Affair With August Alsina Was ‘Gross,’ Maybe Predatory

There have always been rumors swirling around about Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s marriage. Many have posited that the two are in an open marriage, especially after rumors of infidelity started making the rounds. During a recent episode of Red Table Talk, Jada Pinkett Smith decided to get real with Will Smith and viewers about her affair with August Alsina. And while she does lay it all out on the table, it seems as if fans are not impressed with her explanation of what went down. 

Who did Jada Pinkett Smith cheat with?

During their chat during Red Table Talk, Jada Pinkett Smith delved into her relationship with August Alsina, an artist who turned to the Smiths during a time of emotional need.

Will Smith started out by telling Jada, “I think you need to say clearly what happened. You and I decided we were gonna take our space and what happened?”

“Yeah and then I got into an entanglement with August,” said Jada.

“An entanglement?” Will laughed.

“A relationship, yes, it was a relationship absolutely,” she replied. 

August Alsina told Entertainment Tonight, “People can have whatever ideas that they like, but what I’m not OK with is my character being in question,” he said. “I’m not a troublemaker. I don’t like drama. Drama actually makes me nauseous. I also don’t think that it’s ever important for people to know what I do, who I sleep with, who I date, right? But, in this instance, it’s very different, ’cause as I said, there is so many people that are side-eyeing me, looking at me questionable about it.”

“I truly and really, really deeply loved, and have a ton of love for her. I devoted myself to it, I gave my full self to it. So much so to the point that I can die right now and be OK with knowing that I truly gave myself to somebody. I really loved the person that I experienced that [with] and know what [that feels] like,” he added.

Jada Pinkett Smith explains her affair to Will Smith 

Jada went on to tell Will more about what went down with her, personally, before she turned to August Alsina during the Red Table Talk episode. 

She told Will, “I was in a lot of pain and I was very broken. And in the process of that relationship I definitely realized that you can’t find happiness outside of yourself. And luckily enough you and I were going through a process of healing in a very different manner. I would definitely say that we did everything we could to get away from each other only to realize that that wasn’t possible.”

“I guess about four and a half years ago, I started a friendship with August. And we actually became really really good friends. And it all started with him just needing some help, and me just wanting to help his health and mental state,” Jada went on to add.

Will interjected, “Cause for me that was the thing, when Aug first came around he was really sick. And the outpouring for him from our family was initially about his health.”

“What do you feel like you were looking for?” asked Will.

Jada replied, “I just wanted to feel good. It had been so long since I felt good. And it was really a joy to help heal somebody. I think that has a lot to do with my codependency which is another thing I had to learn to break in this cycle. Needing to fix, and being drawn to people that need help. … There’s something about that childhood trauma that feels like it can be fixed through fixing people, versus fixing me.”

Fans react to the ‘Red Table Talk’ episode

Fans have not been particularly forgiving of Jada Pinkett Smith after the Red Table Talk episode. If anything, some feel the episode was self-serving, and that Jada’s behavior was predatory.

On Reddit, a user wrote, “Imagine having to hear how your mom f*cked the family friend not much older than you?”

Another user pointed out how Jada Pinkett Smith’s behavior was somewhat predatory. They wrote, “Is it not strange to anyone how Jada mentions they were helping this kid through an illness? On top of all the sh*tty things here – she was taking what she wanted, he was considerably younger – she was first and foremost a support figure for a sick kid (well, like, 21 or 22). I just find that super gross, and it says something about her character.”

“Oh my god THIS! It’s crazy how many people are focusing on the ‘affair’ part. He was 21, Jaden’s best friend at the time, and was dealing with mental illness. The Smiths were allegedly getting him help and it ended with Jada sleeping with him. Imagine if the situation was reversed and Will had taken advantage of a mentally ill family friend 20 years his junior,” replied a second Redditor.

“She wants to sound like this was a learning process and healing and all the crap but in reality she slept with a young kid with a mental illness,” opined one user.