Willow Smith Had To Forgive Her Mother For Not Validating Her Struggles As A Child

"It was rough," she said. "I feel like when I was growing up, she didn't understand my anxiety because she, growing up, had seen her friends die. She had been through so much stuff that my issues to her kinda felt [smaller]."

"And that was very frustrating for me as a child, because I was like, 'How can you not see my internal, emotional struggle?'"

Jada didn’t understand Willow’s struggle as she had experienced a more complex upbringing in Baltimore in comparison to her daughter. She described her neighborhood as a war zone and admitted that she "did not even really realize that until my life changed when I started to look at how my kids were growing up versus me."

"I don't know what it's like to be a child under hot lights," Jada said later. "And then just really not knowing how to comfort her, not knowing what help she needed, not understanding the behavior."

"In having to deal with and learn about her anxiety, I've had to look at some of my own behavior and behaviors of my mother and go, 'Well, of course, I probably would have some anxiety in regards to how I grew up,'" she added. "It was very difficult."

Following a conversation they had recently, the “Transparent Soul” singer said she was able to forgive her mom. "She had no idea," she said. "So, I kinda had to forgive her a little bit.”

"When you told me that you actually do experience anxiety, that changed my life. You're my best friend, what can I say," Willow concluded.

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