Inside August Alsina's Relationship With Jada Pinkett Smith
Red Table Talk host Jada Pinkett Smith caused a stir when she gave an eyebrow-raising interview in April 2013 about her relationship with actor Will Smith, seemingly suggesting that they had an open marriage. "I've always told Will, 'You can do whatever you want as long as you can look at yourself in the mirror and be okay.' Because at the end of the day, Will is his own man," she said during a chat with Marc Lamont Hill for HuffPost Live. "I'm here as his partner, but he is his own man. He has to decide who he wants to be and that's not for me to do for him. Or vice versa."
The statement sparked questions about whether the two have an open marriage, a notion Pinkett Smith clarified ASAP via Facebook. "Will and I BOTH can do WHATEVER we want, because we TRUST each other to do so," she explained. "This does NOT mean we have an open relationship...this means we have a GROWN one."
Despite her denial, rumors of an open marriage have not left Pinkett Smith and her husband, who she married in 1997. Case in point: In June 2020, musician August Alsina alleged to Angela Yee from The Breakfast Club that he had a long-term love affair with Pinkett Smith, and his claims are understandably making waves.
Keep reading to find out the details of what Alisina said.
How the rumors about Jada Pinkett Smith and August Alsina first started
Before we get into the June 2020 interview, here's a little backstory about musician August Alsina and Jada Pinkett Smith's relationship. According to TMZ, they met each other in 2015 after being introduced by her son with Will Smith, Jaden Smith.
Alsina first sparked rumors about a romantic connection with Pinkett Smith via his 2019 song, "Nunya," according to Complex. The music video showed a text message from someone named "Koren," which is Pinkett Smith's "birth-given middle name," per the outlet. The lyrics also struck people as suspicious, especially the lines: "You got me feeling like it was an act, you're just an actress/Putting on a show 'cause you don't want the world to know."
Alsina denied this on his social media on April 10, 2019, saying (via XXL): "So Here's To Clarity, The Song is not about Jada. It's simply JUST A SONG, & a free artistic expression of a made up narrative already put in place by its ORIGINAL format. Thank you for all of your love around the music & more is to come but please know that Me & my BEST (@jadapinkettsmith) are good!!!"
But when Alsina sat down with Angela Yee on June 30, 2020, he had a different story to tell.
Jada Pinkett Smith denies August Alsina's account
August Alsina sat down with Angela Yee on June 30, 2020, and spoke about a whole host of topics, but the one that quickly got the most attention was his alleged affair with Jada Pinkett Smith.
When Yee asked about the rumors, Alsina's response was very different from his denials the year before. About 17 minutes into the interview, Alsina responded to Yee, "People can have whatever ideas that they like. But what I'm not OK with is my character being in question... I think it's because people don't necessarily know the truth. But I've never done anything wrong. I love those people [the Smiths]."
He then made a big claim about Will Smith, sharing, "I actually sat down with Will [Smith] and had a conversation ... He gave me his blessing. And I totally gave myself to that relationship for years of my life, and I truly and really, really, deeply loved and have a ton of love for her [Jada]. I devoted myself to it. I gave my full self to it." Will's rep denied this account to The Sun.
Alsina also spoke about the end of their relationship, admitting, "Walking away from it butchered me ... It almost killed me. Not almost. It did — it pushed me into being another person ... It broke me down."
Pinkett Smith's reps told Page Six that Alsina's claims are a "total lie," making this situation a case of he said, she said.
Jada Pinkett Smith and August Alsina took to social media to share their sides
Not only did Jada Pinkett Smith's reps vehemently deny romance rumors to Page Six, but the star herself came forward via Twitter on July 2, 2020, with a thinly veiled response to August Alsina's statements. Referring to her Facebook Watch show, Red Table Talk, Pinkett Smith wrote: "There's some healing that needs to happen ... so I'm bringing myself to The Red Table."
One day later, Alsina posted a lengthy message to Instagram, including a photo of himself with The Breakfast Club's Angela Yee. In the post, Alsina spoke pointedly to a "you" but didn't explicitly mention Pinkett Smith or her husband, Will Smith. "... [A]nything that differentiates from your 'idea' & 'image' feels like an attack. & I get it; not only do i get it but I'm also sorry you feel that way, BUT, The only attack here is against the invisible walls of silent societal construct and 'code' we place upon each other & upon ourselves," Alsina wrote.
He added, "My truth is MY truth, & its mine to own. There is no right or wrong here, it simply just IS. & I make room and have acceptance for your thoughts and opinions, regardless if I agree or not ... My heart has no malice or hate toward anyone on this planet."
We guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens on Red Table Talk!