BREAKING: Will Smith Reflected On Heartbreak As A Father After Jaden’s Emancipation Request Following After Earth Flop: ‘He Felt Misled, & Lost His… see more

Will Smith’s blockbuster-filled career may look like an endless highlight reel, but one flop left him devastated—not for himself, but for his son, Jaden. In his memoir, Will, the King Richard star opens up about a painful chapter from 2013 when he and Jaden took a chance with After Earth.

After Earth wasn’t just a box-office bomb; it shook Will and Jaden Smith’s bond to the core. The father-son duo hoped to deliver sci-fi magic, but critics—and audiences—were unimpressed. Instead of a cinematic triumph, they faced one of Hollywood’s harshest flops, forever altering their on-screen dreams. To add salt to the wound, Jaden—just 15 at the time—was receiving harsh media and fan backlash. “Fans and the press were vicious; they said and printed things about Jaden that I refuse to repeat,” Will writes, recalling the sting of those brutal reviews.

Will describes his heartbreak watching Jaden bear the brunt of the film’s failure. Despite faithfully following his father’s guidance, Jaden was caught in the harsh glare of public scrutiny. “Jaden had faithfully done everything that I’d instructed him to do, and I had coached him into the worst public mauling he’d ever experienced,” Will shares. Those words alone reveal the weight of regret he’s carried since, feeling responsible for leading his son into a career storm he didn’t deserve.

Things took a painful turn when Jaden broached the idea of legal emancipation. For Will, it was a moment of sheer heartbreak. “At fifteen years old, when Jaden asked about being an emancipated minor, my heart shattered,” he admits.

After Earth may have flopped, but it marked a significant shift in the Smith household. Once Hollywood’s picture-perfect father-son duo (they’d previously shared the screen in The Pursuit of Happyness), this rough patch saw them drift apart. Will acknowledges the strain, admitting that they never thoroughly discussed the incident but that he could feel his son’s sense of betrayal.

Although the aftermath of After Earth strained their bond, Jaden eventually carved out his own space in the industry, distancing himself from his father’s shadow. Yet, it’s telling that Jaden and Will haven’t shared the screen again. The experience of After Earth may have reshaped their relationship, but it also pushed Jaden to forge his path.

In the years since, Will’s perspective on fatherhood has evolved, shaped by his successes and missteps. Reflecting on this painful chapter, he candidly admits, “It sucks to feel like you’ve hurt your kids.”