
Jada Pinkett Smith Says She's 'A Walking Miracle' After Coming Clean About Past Substance Abuse

By now, we are all well aware of just how much Jada Pinkett Smith is the Queen of Transparency. And if there's one thing about transparency, revelations of your truths aren't always pretty. From vaginal rejuvenations to entanglements, Jada isn't afraid to leave it all on the table for the sake of progressive dialogue. And on a recent episode of her hit Facebook Watch show Red Table Talk, she dug deep to add her two cents to the collection plate about an unhealthy coping mechanism rearing its ugly head this past year: alcohol abuse.
Drinking excessively is something that Jada surprisingly knows a thing or two about, as she revealed to co-hosts mother, Adrienne Banfield-Norris and daughter, Willow Smith, that she used to rely heavy on the bottle. She also dabbled in drugs. Both vices were things she indulged in for years, and she even likened her wine fix to "Kool-Aid." Eventually, those indulgences would prove to be the gateway into her misuse and reliance on heavier substances.
Her move to LA marked a change in her and she found herself experimenting with different "cocktails" she created. She often told herself that the things she was doing weren't "hard" drugs, so in her mind, she didn't have a problem.
"Drinking red wine for me was like drinking glasses of water. Because I'm used to that hard hit. I was drinking hard in high school, too, and when I got out here I was doing cocktails. So, ecstasy, alcohol, weed. Let me tell you, I was having myself a little ball. But it was like, 'This is not cocaine. This is not heroin.'
"I wasn't doing things that I thought were addictive. But I would do those three together, that was my cocktail. Your threshold becomes so high that what it takes for you to get to the place you need to get to — it'll take me two bottles to get to … OK, if I do ecstasy, weed and alcohol at the same time, I'm gonna get there faster and I can keep the high going."
The 49-year-old actress/host also noted that her drinking was so bad back in the day that she even used to out-drink her husband, Will. Trading in her wine for hard liquor, she noted:
"I was a–you know, a brown liquor drinker, vodka–like, I was a hard liquor drinker. Like, I could drink almost anybody under the table.Will specifically. Now, Will's a lightweight."
For her lifestyle, the entertainer would wait until the weekend to get her binge on, calling herself a "weekend party girl" who would drink and do drugs from Thursday to Monday. Jada noted that people in her life tried to get her to a place where she stopped her bad habits, but not even Debbie Allen.
She recalled a time during her stint on A Different World in the early 90's where she was vomiting but said it still wasn't enough to lead her down a path she wasn't ready for. Jada had to hit her rock bottom.
For her, that involved some bad ecstasy and passing out in The Nutty Professor trailer while on set.
"I had one incident. That was an eye-opening incident for me as well. I had one incident on 'Nutty Professor.' I passed out. Makeup trailer. I passed out. I went to work high, and it was a bad batch of ecstasy. I passed out. And I told everybody that I had taken – 'I must've had old medication in a vitamin bottle.' That's what I said."
In addition to her addiction to alcohol and drugs, Jada has revealed in the past an addiction to porn and has also dealt with addiction by way of her mom's history with substance abuse and heroin.
Ultimately, her rock bottom moment on The Nutty Professor set would serve as one of the catalysts to make her quit drinking and drugs cold turkey. The other was self-awareness about just how bad her dependence on wine had been becoming.
"I got it quick. Literally, I got it quick. Like, once I was going for that third bottle of wine, I said, 'You've got a problem.' And it was cold turkey that day. That day. I just stopped."
These days, Jada allows herself to have a glass of wine every now and then, but for the most part has stayed true to her cold turkey approach to substance abuse. The star can't touch dark liquor, and notes rum and vodka as triggers that she "cannot touch."
Jada is a reminder that it is not how you begin, it's how you end. And while we all have flaws, it is always possible to write a new story in the life that you lead.
She concludes, "I think back on my life, like, I am a walking miracle, no doubt about that. People will not believe."
Featured image by Jason Koerner/Getty Images
Adrian Marcel On Purpose, Sacrifice, And The 'Signs Of Life'
In this week's episode of xoMAN, host Kiara Walker talked with R&B artist Adrian Marcel, who opened up, full of heart and authenticity, about his personal evolution. He discussed his days transitioning from a young Bay Area singer on the come-up to becoming a grounded husband and father of four.
With honesty and introspection, Marcel reflected on how life, love, and loss have shaped the man he is today.
On ‘Life’s Subtle Signals’
Much of the conversation centered around purpose, sacrifice, and listening to life’s subtle signals. “I think that you really have to pay attention to the signs of life,” Marcel said. “Because as much as we need to make money, we are not necessarily on this Earth for that sole purpose, you know what I mean?” While he acknowledged his ambitions, adding, “that is not me saying at all I’m not trying to ball out,” he emphasized that fulfillment goes deeper.
“We are here to be happy. We are here [to] fulfill a purpose that we are put on here for.”
On Passion vs. Survival
Adrian spoke candidly about the tension between passion and survival, describing how hardship can sometimes point us away from misaligned paths. “If you find it’s constantly hurting you… that’s telling you something. That’s telling you that you’re going outside of your purpose.”
Marcel’s path hasn’t been without detours. A promising athlete in his youth, he recalled, “Early on in my career, I was still doing sports… I was good… I had a scholarship.” An injury changed everything. “My femur broke. Hence why I always say, you know, I’m gonna keep you hip like a femur.” After the injury, he pivoted to explore other careers, including teaching and corporate jobs.
“It just did not get me—even with any success that happened in anything—those times, back then, I was so unhappy. And you know, to a different degree. Like not just like, ‘I really want to be a singer so that’s why I’m unhappy.’ Nah, it was like, it was not fulfilling me in any form or fashion.”
On Connection Between Pursuing Music & Fatherhood
He recalled performing old-school songs at age 12 to impress girls, then his father challenged him: “You can lie to these girls all you want, but you're really just lying to yourself. You ain't growing.” That push led him to the piano—and eventually, to his truth. “Music is my love,” Marcel affirmed. “I wouldn’t be a happy husband if I was here trying to do anything else just to appease her [his wife].”
Want more real talk from xoMAN? Catch the full audio episodes every Tuesday on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and don’t miss the full video drops every Wednesday on YouTube. Hit follow, subscribe, and stay tapped in.
Featured image by xoNecole/YouTube
Colman Domingo’s Career Advice Is A Reminder That Our Words Shape Our Reality
When it comes to life, we are always here for a good reminder to shift our mindsets, and Colman Domingo just gave us one we didn't know we needed.
In a resurfaced clip from an appearance at NewFest shared as a repost via Micheaux Film Festival, the Emmy award winner dropped a gem on how he has navigated his decades-spanning career in Hollywood. The gem in question? Well, Colman has never identified with "struggle" in his career. Let that sit.
Colman Domingo On Not Claiming Struggle
"I’ve never said that this career was tough. I’ve never said it was difficult. I’ve never said it was hard," Colman said. "Other people would say that—‘oh, you're in a very difficult industry. It's very hard to get work and book work.’ I’m like, I’ve never believed that."
Instead of allowing himself to be defined by other people's projections about their perceptions of what the industry is or was, Colman dared to believe differently even if his reality was playing catch up with his dreams:
"Like Maya Angelou said words are things. And if you believe that, then that's actually what it is. Actually I've just never believed it. Someone told me some years ago, they said, 'I remember you were, you're a struggling actor.' I'm like, 'I don't.'"
"I wasn't attached to a struggle. I was attached to living..."
He continued:
"Even when I was bartending and hustling and not having opportunities or anything, I never believed that I was struggling because I wasn't attached to a struggle. I was attached to living and creating and being curious."
Colman’s philosophy of attaching to living instead of struggle has blossomed into an enduring career. He first made his mark on stage in acclaimed Broadway productions before transitioning to the screen, where his star began to rise in the 2010s following his role as Victor Strand in Fear The Walking Dead. From there, his presence only grew, landing memorable supporting roles in If Beale Street Could Talk, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and the hit series Euphoria.
In more recent years, Colman has stepped fully into the spotlight with standout leading performances in Rustin and Sing Sing, both of which earned him widespread critical acclaim and Academy Award nominations for Best Actor.
With all that said, Colman's advice is no doubt powerful, especially for those who are chasing their dreams, building something from the ground up, or have question marks about what's next in their careers. Words shape our realities, and how we speak about our journeys even in passing matters.
Words Create Our Reality & Colman Is Living Proof
"I tell young people that. To remember the words that you say about yourself and your career are true. So, I choose to make it full of light and love and it's interesting and every day I'm going to learn something new even if it looks like I don't have what I want but it's important to be in the moment... you really build on the moments moment to moment.
"And you're looking back at your career as I've been in it for what 33 years and you're like, 'Wow, that's what I've been doing.' And I've stayed strong to that so I think that is truly my advice."
Let this be your sign to give your path a reframe. When the path you're on feels uncertain, the journey is still unfolding. Like Colman said: "I wasn't attached to a struggle. I was attached to living."
That's a Black king right there.
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