Yesterday we talked about a photo of Willow Smith, 13, laying across a bed while a shirtless Disney actor, Moises Arias, 20, was seen laughing right behind her on the bed. The photo raised a lot of questions about Willow’s relationship with Moises and what she was doing hanging out with 20 year-olds, presumably unsupervised. Even if the photo was completely innocent, and it appeared to be, it still brought Willow’s parenting to question. We’ve heard many times from Will and Jada Pinkett Smith that they’re letting their kids do whatever they want, basically. Their parenting philosophy seems pulled right out of an L. Ron Hubbard manual, and we know what a great dad he was.
Moises has addressed the controversy over the photo. He told Gossip Cop that his brother is the one who took the picture and that he thinks of Willow as his “little sister” and considers The Smiths his “second family.” So are Moises and his brother practically raising Willow and her slightly older brother, Jaden? Because it doesn’t sound like their parents consider that their job at all. TMZ got some quotes from The Smiths, who are all “whatever, we trust Willow.”
Sources connected to the Smith family tell TMZ … Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith believe their daughter is “very mature” … enough so to make her own decisions, as long as they don’t clearly cross the line.
Will and Jada view the now-famous photo of Willow in bed with 20-year-old “Hannah Montana” star Moises Arias as innocent fun … an expression of art.
The Smiths have known Moises for years, and he’s best friends with 15-year-old Jaden.
Bottom line … Will and Jada have NO issue with the pic.
Of course Willow is “very mature” for her age, no one is parenting her! She doesn’t have anyone giving her boundaries and guidelines, and she has to determine her own rules. She’s had family therapy sessions videotaped and broadcast to the world. She’s been treated like an adult since she was a child, and that’s so unfair to her. Children don’t have the emotional maturity or wherewithal to parent themselves.
My friend who has a 13 year-old daughter considers this outrageous. She monitors her daughter’s activity online, has her daughter’s Facebook and Twitter passwords, and knows the other kids she’s hanging out with. To me that is parenting, not sending your 13 year-old kid to Coachella with her 15 year-old brother and his older buddies. I wouldn’t let a 15 year-old kid go to a sleepover music festival without an adult either.
After I wrote all that, TMZ published a new story featuring Jada going off about this controversy. She was asked for a comment by the paparazzi at the airport and she slurred “Here’s the deal. There was nothing sexual about that picture or that situation. You guys are projecting your trash onto it. And you’re acting like covert pedophiles and that’s not cool.” She sounded a little tipsy to me. In Jada’s mind it’s all everyone else’s fault for not understanding her special enlightened family. That’s how the Co$ roll.
photo credit: WENN.com and FameFlynet
The 20 year old is best friends with the 15 year old? Really? This situation, this family, is just odd.
I know right? We’ve been so focused on Willow, but that friendship isn’t very appropriate either.
Now that I think on it-isn’t he super chummy with Justin Bieber too? The Smiths need to step up their parenting game.
What normal 20 year old hangs out with children that young?
yes exactly!!!
+1
Right! Unless he’s babysitting, which in that case, at least someone is watching them.
just what I said downthread.
like it’s OK for a 15 year old to be hanging out with a 20 year old? the fact that he’s the son’s friend makes it OK?!
when I was 20, a 15 year old was “a kid”, and no 20 year olds I knew thought it was OK or cool to hang out with a 15 year old. even if the 15 year old WAS the little brother or little sister. it was like “stop following me, kid”.
these Smith kids have millions, cool digs and a big HW last name, so I bet many hangers on will try to be chummy with them as long as they have them.
For them, the gain is that they are going out to clubs and hanging with the “older” crowd, they probably fancy themselves oh-so-mature.
Well, they are probably at least more mature than their nincompoop parents.
See: Tay Tay Swift.
Why did they have kids? I don’t care how mature this kid is, she’s still 13! It never crossed my mind about pedophiles, that’s where the mom went. This is ridiculous!
Exactly, I question any adult (20 year old) who wants to hang out with teens. That who situation is weird to me.
Actually, Willow has pulled out of the Hollywood limelight for the most part. She mostly hangs around with her girlfriends and she seems to be a nice kid. She doesn’t seem to be doing anything skanky at all. Her clothes are normal; she’s not hanging out of them, nor is she caked with makeup on a daily basis . There’s been no photos of her drunk and disorderly.
You’re speculating about this family when you really know little about their lives. Move on to something more salacious that you can really sink your teeth into.
Yes, like all of you I too wonder why a 20 year old would willingly hang out with a 15 year old. It’s one thing if they actually ARE siblings who grew up together, but they aren’t. The only theory I can come up with is that the 20 year is very likely emotionally/mentally stunted at around the same age as the Smith kids. He was a Disney kid, right? How many Disney kids were taught proper social skills and allowed to just be kids and grow up normally? Again, I’m assuming that he’s at the same maturity level as the Smith kids.
I have to side with the Smiths on this one. Everyone is projecting their own issues onto the situation – I don’t think it’s odd at all. My brother and I used to hang out with teens in our neighborhood when we were 20. We used to play music and play sports with them. When we were teens, we hung out with the 20-somethings occasionally too. And we used to play with people much older as well. Again, music and art and sports were always a uniting factor but eventually you build bonds with people regardless of age and are able to appreciate them for their unique perspective on life, and their perspective on behalf of their generation. And yes, at the age of 23, my best friends are a a woman my age, a man in his late 30s and another man in his 50s.
I agree. Children need mentors and friends of all ages. And since when did a man without a shirt on = sexual impropriety?
I have to agree with Kitty.. when I was 14 I used to hang out with older kids (18, 19 years old), and they actually treated me like their baby sister, protecting me and making sure I studied, that I never skipped classes… all of them smoked and drank beers… I wasn’t allowed by them… If I ever tried to order a beer, they would turn to the waiter ” She’s underaged, bring her an orange juice”… If other guys tried to make a pass on me or something of the sort, they would immediately ask “What do you want from her.. take a hike”…
I felt like I had lots of older sisters and brothers watching over me… 🙂
I completely agree. I don’t get why people get so hung up on age differences. I think it’s good to hang out with people of all ages. When I was a kid I hung out with both older and younger kids all the time. I’m 22. Among my friends is a 30-year old, a 15-year old and a 72-year old. It only makes things wrong if someone has the wrong intentions. But that’s not tied to any age.
They are Scientologists. They let their children make their own decisions as if they were adults.
Thank you MICHELLE. That’s the point here.
The 13 year old brain is not even finished growing and wiring itself up. Some brains take until age 25 to be completely “done.” This is why kids need adult supervision. They are NOT NOT NOT miniature adults – it isn’t even physiologically possible.
How old is the oldest, Trey? Is he on the Co$ trip as well? Asking because I think it’d be great if he took care of his younger siblings, taking them away from those crazy parents.
Yes it is! And what media and Jada are forgetting is that this 20 yr old titled that pic “Nahla & Simba”. That’s not an innocent brother sister reference. This is all too creepy for me but parents are offended when you question their parenting skills. Time will tell how these kids turn out.
Yeaaaaaaah…. I suspect these kids are gonna have serious issues.
I’m feeling a Disney child star type spiral, being 22-something years old and finally being able to be a teenager.
No amount of money or fame can replace a happy and safe childhood. At least in my book.
This is truly messed up, i would never expected such nonsense years ago from the Smiths.
Same here, same here.
I’m really bummed because I’ve always thought Will Smith had his head on straight because he was from Philly… but that’s because I had him on a pedestal. Jada seems like a flake though. It seems like they are asleep at the wheel. I remember when Jaden wanted to be emancipated at 14… why? Its not like he has boundaries. Kids that are never told no will always be trouble. Their son Jaden has a permanent Douche face. I just want to punch him every time I see a picture. What an entitled little sh*t. Will’s oldest seems okay though — different mom and upbringing. Coincidence?
Several things:
1. Being Emancipated makes him a legal adult which enables him to work adult hours.
2. Child labour laws are very strict and strictly enforced. Many child entertainers emancipate themselves so that they are able to work longer hours. In hollywood, it’s very rarely about parental control or boundaries and more to do with how much money people can make.
3. When they were doing the AFTER EARTH press tour, Will said he wanted the kids to make their own money so they could pay for themselves. And Jaden said he was saving his money so he could buy a house asap. Will was very clear that the money he makes was for himself and not the kids.
3. That interview didn’t feel like they were joking. so it doesn’t surprise me that Jaden wishes to be emancipated. it was a very strange interview. i wish i could remember which publication specifically without having to go look through all the press cuttings.
4. I tend to agree and nod every time someone brings up the fact that Will’s oldest child has a different mother who didn’t sign up to co$ [that we know] and who hasn’t abdicated parenting her son.
There has to be a balance. On one hand, I don’t think parents necessarily have to monitor EVERYTHING there child does and always have an eye on them. It is good to give your children some space, build trust. But I wouldn’t let them just do whatever they wanted/go wherever they wanted either. And I know, I wouldn’t be very happy if I knew my 13 year old daughter was hanging out with some 20 year old.
Agreed.
Yep, this, 100%.
My husband’s 16 year old niece is monitored like a hawk by my sister-in-law (isn’t even allowed to have Facebook, which I actually am okay with as all the young people I have on my own personal Facebook just seem to be completely awful on there). And now the 16 year old is pushing back and rebelling and everyone is upset and doesn’t understand why she’s rebelling. It’s a fine balance, and I don’t envy parents one bit. You have to watch out for them, but you do have to give them some freedom so they learn responsibilities and mature into an adult and build trust. But “control” them too much and many do rebel.
However, the Smith’s have given their kids WAY TOO MUCH freedom. You cannot treat a child like an adult and expect them to have an adult response to things when the reasoning part of their brains don’t fully develop until mid 20s.
Kids need boundaries so they can rebel. They need to learn how far they can go, how to bend some rules and how to deal with the consequences. And all of this has to happen in a safe environment, emotionally. Kids will say ” I hate you!” to their parents and scream and rebel, but they will know, deep down and truly, that they are loved, respected and that everything will be okay.
Kids who grow up without any boundaries and rules they can fight against will never know their limits. They feel like a balloon in the wind, no idea where to go, whom to agree with, whom to respect, whom to fear (am I using whom correctly? Not a native speaker *g*) Things can get pretty ugly and even dangerous, because those teenagers have no idea how far they can go. Plus, they most likely become very insecure about trust and love, because all they know is that, basically, no one cares. No one cares if they’re acting out, pissing it all away or toeing the line. It’s all the same to their parents, everything is “okay and fine”. But kids need things to be NOT okay.
Kids without boundaries don’t necessarily grow up without unwritten rules, especially when their parents are wackadoos. They often learn how to be little adults way before their time and are forced into taking on the role of parenting their immature unbalanced parents. It’s called Parentification.
Byrne et al (2000), in their study on children living with alcoholic parents, found that such youngsters assume responsibilities in their family that are inappropriate for their age. They may be forced to take on cooking, managing the home and caring for younger siblings, causing them to lose out on their childhood.
Willow is the poster child for textbook Parentification. SHE was the one who backed out of the huge vehicle “Annie”, telling Will Smith she wanted to be 12! SHE is the one who held herself with composure as her Mother tore into her Grandmother during filmed encounter sessions for the whole world to see Jada’s crazy. I could go on, but there’s not enough space in the world to describe what it’s like to take the reins of your own childhood when you are (not) being raised by out to lunch or in the bottle parents.
My heart breaks for her.
I guess this is one way to stay relevant in Hollyweird.
this is the best (and only?) PR that ex-kid from Hannah Montana has ever had.
Looking forward to the interviews these teens will do in 5 years’ time discussing what is was really like living with celebrity parents on another planet. Will & Jada haven’t been living in the real world for a while now.
I think there is a middle ground between the Smiths’ laissez-faire attitude and the debilitating surveillance state your friend is running. It’s called educating them, including about risks and consequences, and being a good role model.
I agree. My parents never knew all my passwords but they taught me to develop and use my judgment. Privacy and trust are both key to the relationship.
I’m not sure what she is doing would be considered a “debilitating surveillance state”. On-line activity is a tricky situation and it’s a haven for perverts and bullies. Most of the time when I am checking my sons on-line activity it’s to make sure he’s safe, not to really track everything he does. And there have been times where I have come across some inappropriate stuff and we talk about it, what is “wrong” with it, and use it as a learning experience.
I’m with you, Delta. I check for safety reasons (all passwords have to be shared with me) because there are so many disturbing individuals out there. When we’ve found inappropriate material, my kids go “Amish,” we talk about the concerns, and eventually they get their electronics back. We haven’t had the same concerns twice, so they’re learning.
I agree Delta!!
Good parenting.
Great parenting Delta, the internet is a pretty harsh place, ask.fm is a good example of that.
I agree. It’s good parenting to at least have an idea of what is going on in their online life. I work with teens and young adults therapeutically, and being an independent, good role model will only get you so far — you have to be a hands-on parent, too. And even the smartest, best behaved kids who “know better” still sometimes cave to peer pressure and do dumb stuff, like sending naked pics of themselves to boyfriends/girlfriends. If a parent is aware of that, ideally you can stop it and have an educational moment with the kid before it spirals out of control.
Yep–I got my first email account when I was 12 and my mom knew that password. She would’ve have my FB password if I hadn’t gotten an account up until last year. But she knows my little sister and my little brother’s account passwords (or she’ll just make them tell her the password 😉 )
But my mom never obsessively checked our stuff–she’ll look if we leave it up, or if she’s suspicious of something.
Yea Delta! Happy Mother’s Day! You rock!
I have mixed feelings on that one. I never ever gave my parents passwords to anything. I chatted online, and used social media, and they never once had to intervene because I was doing something wrong. I was taught not to trust strangers, and warned about pervs, and that sort of thing. The whole, never do something that will get you into trouble kind of shtick. I was raised by people with high expectations of how I should conduct myself, and I was expected to have good morals and values. I never had a problem. If my parents had had passwords to my accounts, I’d have been mortified by them reading what I was chatting to my friends with. Nothing inappropriate per say, but also none of their business. They knew where I was at all times, and I never broke a curfew or anything. I had enough sense to not get into sketchy situations, and they didn’t NEED my info.
At some point, parents have to give their kids more credit. I say this as someone who was about 12 when I was using different social media platforms and online chatting with friends. Mom tried to outlaw MSN at home, but I was more computer savvy and found online versions. Again, never got myself into any situation that was inappropriate. Mostly, I’d be chatting with boys I went to school with who I thought were cute, or talking to my friends about crushes and stuff.
Maybe she relies on the COS to monitor her kids so she doesnt. That church ( and i use the term church super loosely) crazy!!
I have 2 girls and while they aren’t near the internet age yet when they do reach that age I will absolutely know passwords and such. It’s my job to take care of and protect my children and as an adult I can see a dangerous situation before they can. I can trust my kids all day but I don’t trust everyone else.
Times have changed from when I was a kid.
I didn’t have to deal with social media and online issues.
I know my 13 year old’s passwords, no computer or laptop in her room, I check the history.
Know why? A 13 year old boy hung himself in our town, not too long ago, maybe 7 years? There were issues, obviously, but he was also being bullied online.
I take zero chances, because unlike Hollywood, we can’t really go back in time to that one moment where the decision made the absolute worst happen.
That story about the 13 year old boy is just one of many similar stories, it’s SO heartbreaking but it’s becoming way too common, I just feel that parents can’t take any chances, when I’m a parent, I’m not gonna go for the whole “I’m a cool mum, let them be” routine, it’s way too risky because the world is a dangerous place.
Dani2: I am so not a cool mom!
but you just can’t always know until after, so I take no chances.
I only have a 2 year old when she starts getting passwords, facebook, email, blah blah I am going to be all over what she is doing. I would like to think she won’t do anything wrong but I tend to think all kids lie about something. I am sure I won’t be that strict it just isn’t in my nature, I am just not going to let her get involved in all this online, texting bs without supervision.
People who say that there kids tell them everything are so out of their minds. I tend to think the perfect kid is only perfect at fooling everyone around them.
I totally agree. My parents lectured me relentlessly about all the possible pitfalls of adolescence before I turned 13 and they trusted that I knew how to make mostly sound decisions and that I know that I could go to them if I encountered a situation I couldn’t handle. My parents knew my friends and what was going on in my life not because they were monitoring my every move but because they took the time and the effort to establish a relationship of trust with me. As a result, I never went though the rebellious phase because the only rules my parents set were completely and utterly reasonable and they gave me the freedom to try things and have fun in a safe and supportive environment.
Really, when did cyber-stalking your kids became the de facto method of parenting?
It’s not cyber stalking, it’s making sure your child is safe. The times have changed, I’m still in my 20’s and yet my childhood was completely different than what it is now. I don’t fault parents at all for monitoring what is happening in their child’s life. There are so many sick people in the world and the internet makes it so much easier for them to reach innocent children who are at the age where they aren’t fully going to understand what consequences their choices may have. I would rather know my children will be safe and be known as an overprotective mother rather than just hope and pray everything will be okay. No matter how good of a parent and no matter how much you teach your kids about safe choices, kids still make mistakes.
since the age of the internet and social media.
when absolutely anyone can create a profile and assume an identity.
when the advent of facebook and twitter became the norm, rather than the exception. when the rules changed, and if we don’t change and accommodate, kids can die. it’s that simple.
Agreed, the cyberstalking is ridiculous. It’s something easy a parent can do to make herself feel like a good mom. Plus, I think most parents who do this derive some childish satisfaction in playing spy then giving themselves a smug pat on the back.
I agree that too much parenting control can be stifling to a child…too little parenting can be dangerous for the child and I would much rather be on the safe side. And I can tell you, that if I saw a picture of my thirteen year old daughter lying in bed with a 20 year old, whether he was my son’s friend or not, there would be extreme consequences and many, many discussion with my daughter! You can trust you children to try to be good, but thirteen year olds don’t have the common sense, or maturity to always make good decisions. Especially, when trying to fit in with someone twenty years old.
I should have read further down thread here, because I said something similar above. I’ll just copy and paste:
My husband’s 16 year old niece is monitored like a hawk by my sister-in-law (isn’t even allowed to have Facebook, which I actually am okay with as all the young people I have on my own personal Facebook just seem to be completely awful on there). And now the 16 year old is pushing back and rebelling and everyone is upset and doesn’t understand why she’s rebelling. It’s a fine balance, and I don’t envy parents one bit. You have to watch out for them, but you do have to give them some freedom so they learn responsibilities and mature into an adult and build trust. But “control” them too much and many do rebel.
However, the Smith’s have given their kids WAY TOO MUCH freedom. You cannot treat a child like an adult and expect them to have an adult response to things when the reasoning part of their brains don’t fully develop until mid 20s.
To add: When I was a teenager, the internet was just starting to become something people spent time on. I remember being 13-14 and going on chat rooms and talking to complete strangers. My parents didn’t monitor me because at that time, no one really knew the danger of the internet and frankly, my parents barely knew how to turn on our computer, let alone watch what I was doing on there. Thankfully, I quickly became aware there were creeps on there and mostly ended up just talking to my own real-life friends online. I quickly lost interest with the internet and didn’t really start using it again until I was in university. I am so glad social media wasn’t around when I was on the internet as a teen, because I see how hellish it can be for my younger cousins on there.
For the parents who know their kids Facebook and email passwords, I’m very curious – at what age are you going to step back and let them change their passwords so you no longer can freely watch what they are doing online? At what age will you think they are mature enough to be able to have personal freedom and do what they want online?
Littlestar, for me, I still have all of passwords for my kids for all of their social media. My stance is, unless I feel or think I should be looking, I won’t. My youngest is 14, does not have a facebook, but is on twitter, and my rule is, you on it, you friend me period.
I think many people are like you, had some parenting prior to getting online, and a life before. Computers and online was a learned behavior for you. Where as today’s kids, they never knew life before the internet.
I am also smart enough to know, that kids can be sneaky, and create dummy accounts. Hell, I was a kid once before, and remember everything! LOL And I have told them repeatedly, what you do online, stays online. What you put out there, follows you. And remind them, that when it comes time for jobs, college ect.. many people look up your online activity. And that can hurt or help you.
Technology is a great thing, but I am very thankful I was able to grow up and fully form prior to getting online. I wouldn’t want my ‘young and dumb’ to be broadcast all over the net.
I was a teenager from 2004 – 2009. I grew up browsing the Internet and using sites like Bebo and MSN. I would have been mortified if my parents had my password because me and my friends used to say really silly things to one another or make dumb sexual comments. We never got involved in anything dangerous because we were pretty responsible. Taken out of context, these would have looked really bad to my parents. I understand that the Internet can be a very dangerous place but what do you guys actually do when you take your kids passwords? Do you browse through their accounts and private messages? I think that’s a little intrusive really.
I think it’s more important to educate your kids on the dangers of being online rather than directly monitoring every single activity they are doing. That will just cause them to rebel. Tell them horror stories about people uploading stupid photos online, warn them off the dangers of predators and make sure to emphasise that you will always be there for them if they are ever experiencing any kind of bullying and never tolerate it. Make sure that if someone says something cruel, they have the tools to simply block or ignore that other person. Bullying will never go away but there are way more tools to block out bullying in cyber space than there is blocking it out of the schoolyard.
I know many kids who were ruled with an iron fist as teenagers who went absolutely nuts once they turned 18 or who remained completely under the thumb of their parents and lacked both social skills and responsibility. I’m not saying parents should turn a blind eye like the Smiths. 13 is no age to be treated like a fully grown adult but they aren’t complete children either. They are somewhere in between, figuring out who they are and trying to be a more responsible individual in the process. Monitoring their behaviour and watching what kind of person they’re developing into is important. Trying to see how happy they are and knowing where they are is important too. Being open and encouraging them to talk to you is most important of all while also enforcing discipline from time to time. It’s about finding a balance and giving them the tools to make good decisions and develop good morals. Monitoring their every move and smothering them is not good. They need their private space and they need to figure things out on their own.
my daughter is 13. she is smart, but not so much with common sense.
book smart.
so, it will be a few years before she is on the net, free to explore around. we talk about things all the time- it’s not a case of I snoop and we don’t communicate, not at all. added to that, we home school so the learning never stops.
she might rebel, she might not. from day 1, we’ve explained WHY we do what we do to parent, so as she has grown the explanations have become more in depth. so far so good. I check every few months or so, just to make sure no one has fooled her. we don’t use parental controls for the internet, we talk about why some areas are not suitable, why “free chat” can harm, how facebook can be used as a tool for social exclusion and cliques. we adapt to her as she grows, our parenting style.
Thirteen is such a vulnerable age, even if you’re mature for thirteen. You want to be accepted by your peers more than anything else in the world. How can they say she’s old enough to make her own decisions? Some decisions, of course, but she probably needs more guidance now than ever before. Heartbreaking. What are they thinking?
Exactly, GoodNames. All those teenage hormones at work in the brain beg for direction from the parents. I wish this child the very best outcome, but the situation makes me very skeptical and so sad.
Yes I agree with this, that poor, poor kid, I feel so sorry for her, to most kids boundaries represent security, they might not like it but they need it, how insecure and lost is she going to feel without that obvious parental care?
If the parents werent rich and famous this would be seen as neglect, not a lifestyle choice – its also a cop out – they should be fully involved in all aspects of their children’s lives and give them boundaries and security especially as they are privileged hollywood kids who have access to everything they could possibly want.
yes that’s a really good point their wealth and privilege shield them from the criticisms ordinary people would be subjected to in this situation and their kids suffer as a result. I don’t care what they are like as kids, all children deserve love and care from committed parents. It seems the Smith kids just aren’t getting it to the point of living in an emotionally neglectful/abusive situation – and that hits a really raw nerve with me
Exactly. And since she’s not in school, her peers are all adults. So to fit in with her peers, she’s doing adult thing.
Peer pressure is enormous at that age. At least give a teenager the wisdom of your own experience when needed, even if he or she doesn’t end up heeding it. To just let a teen do what she wants seems neglectful.
You are so right. I recently found my collection of old Sassy magazines and a Junior High diary. So much angst!!! It was painfully embarrassing to read.
Kids need a level head at home, because it is pretty evident that their hormones are out of whack at that age.
@Sienna – yep. I’ve got journals. They just about read the same teen angst “I love him, I love him, I’m gonna die if he doesn’t call”, OMG the drama, the end-of-the-world drama. Times like that I’m blessed my mom was such a hardass. Kept me grounded.
So true PunkyMomma… and now I’m the hardass mom!
So we’re covert pedophiles? What kind of messed up logic did she use to arrive at that conclusion? She sounds like a real piece of work, I have a feeling the Smith kids are going to be really messy in the years to come, they surrounded by friends and they’ve got no parents.
Piece of work? That’s been my opinion of both parents for quite awhile. At first, I thought I was being too critical of them for hooking their kids up with record deals and movie roles, allowing so much self-expression in clothing and attitudes in their preadolescent years. But now, I think Will and Jada will be looking back in a few years at their liberal parenting skills and wishing they’d acted like responsible adults instead their kids’ agents. Off topic: Jada looks like she’s evolving from a human to a synthetic replica of herself.
This reminds me of one of my aunts, who had to always be the “cool” mom. Her home was a haven for teenage drinking and drugging. She encouraged it.
She would defend the whole situation and the kids to the point where it was useless even talking to her about it. If family members tried to say the whole situation was inappropriate she would say “you are sick, you don’t get it, you are making this a bad situation when it’s not”. It was all just awful.
And guess what? Her daughter is now an alcoholic. My aunt calls her daughter’s drinking “cute”. Some parents just do not have the strength to parent at all.
Agree. Some parents just shouldn’t be parents. You should have to show some level of common sense, and commitment before having a family. I mean animal shelters interview people before adopting a pet. They want to see that you will not be leaving the pet unattended for extended periods of time, that you will provide vet care, love, a good home etc. Perfectly understandable. Some friends of ours recently went to a shelter to adopt a dog for their children and were turned away because they both work, and the shelter felt the dog would be alone too much. They went elsewhere.
Being the cool parent to me is being the parent that looks the other way. And that scenario never winds up being a good thing. Your cousin is a good example of that. It’s sad, and I hope she gets the help she needs.
ITA – when I was a young teenager one of my parent’s friends was the same way – all the kids hung out with him and his teenage kids because he let them drink, smoke, etc. I was too young to be part of it at the time. Anyway, long story short, I was over babysitting for their youngest kid one night and he came home from a party drunk, and guess what??? He molested me! I was 13 years old and horrified – I beat it out of the house, ran home in tears, told my parents and boom, end of friendship. His wife divorced him, and he ended up a broken old alcoholic living in a long-term care facility and none of his kids will speak to him.
So the moral of the story is – kids need guidance and certain restrictions as they’re growing up.
oooohhhhhh, the 20 y.o. is “best friends” with the son…
…who is 15.
sorry, STILL NOT OK.
Those kids always look so sad and lost.
Their way of ‘parenting’ is just pure laziness, it takes a lot more to actually be hands on and raise your children to be decent human beings. Kids need and crave structure.
you think they look lost and sad?
i’ve always had the impression that they look smug and entitled.
i’m with you on how children should be raised…
with love, guidance and structure…
absolutely!
i wonder where both these kids will be in 10 yrs.
I cannot stand Jada Smith. And talk about projecting! The PUBLIC are somehow ‘covert pedophiles’? Bitch has a screw loose somewhere if that’s what she sees in this. I don’t care how mature they may think their daughter is, the fact is she is 13 years old. And even if her maturity level were that high, it shouldn’t be. She should be a 13 year old girl, who at that age is still a child. Maybe Jada and Will should stop worrying about being cool parents, and start being parents.
Look at the family pic bc you can tell that child services should do a drop by. If a normal parent gets arrested child neglecting cant big will and lushy nada?
I’m sure if her thirteen year old daughter gets pregnant, it will be our fault somehow, too!
I also think the photo / situation was harmless BUT that doesn’t mean that I don’t consider it really weird and inappropriate. I guess Will and Jada can’t distinguish between the two if they think it’s ok for a 20 year old man to be hanging out with their “very mature” 13 year old girl. SMDH.
Ah yes the “very mature” 13 year old, that always works out sooo well. Working in the legal field by “well” I mean in pregnancy/court/substance abuse/manipulated actions.
(And before you start with the ‘oh but my aunt was 14 and dated a 21 year old and they’re married 18 years…stop. For every (very limited) exception I will give you three stories that will make you sick to your stomach. So stop)
yeah, “very mature” is what pedophiles say to and about their child victims to justify their behavior.
so, Jada, WHO is the “covert pedophile”? methinks thou dost protest too much.
There is so much wrong in this situation I just feel bad for the kids. I don’t think there was anything sexual in the picture but that doesn’t mean it’s an innocent relationship. Cochella is a hotbed of drugs and alcohol and not a place for a very young teen. I think Will and Jada are so neglectful as parents that it’s literally abuse.
Lots of children get assaulted after being given drugs and alcohol. It’s sad.
As a mother to two sons, I am more aware every day of how hard it is to be a parent. And by that I mean to actually be a parent, not just pop out kids. When they’re little, it’s a lot of changing diapers and making sure they don’t fall off of things or stick things in electrical sockets. As they get older, it’s monitoring who is having an influence on them, who they spend time with, what they are doing (on-line etc.) I’m not going to lie, I don’t always enjoy what I have to do to keep an eye on my kids and make sure they are making the best choices they can, but that’s part of it. If you’re not prepared to do that, you shouldn’t be having kids. I’m looking at you Will and Jada.
So agree. They are taking the easy way out. To actually parent a teenager looks a LOT harder than just “trusting” them to make their own decisions.
Amen. I do NOT think it is crazy or controlling to have your children’s passwords or limit on line activity. I had pretty lax parents. I wish they would of checked up more on me and I grew up in the 90s. So though I found trouble it was harder to find. I am now a mom to two boys and I will be raising them under strict guidance. Im their mother. Not their friend. I will parent and protect. And when they go out in the world I hopefully wont have to apologize for the men they will be. Our society has crappy kids because the lack of parenting. So people may turn out fine regardless but kids needs parents to parent. Look at the celeb world. The most messed up kids had messed up parents.
Clearly, it sounds like this poor girl has no real parental guidance. She’s just on her own. Yeah, sounds like Scientology is the way to go. What idiots.
Right, It’s Our fault you aint using the fucking basest of common sense to parent and supervise your children and they then end up hanging with grown folk doing god knows what shady what…. But we are The Covert Pedophiles…Covert Scientolohole, Please!!
#OneOfWillow’sNewFakePrayingGrandma
This is some mess, Children need guidance, and to be taught what this are inappropriate, yes they will make mistakes because they see things through experienced eyes. I don’t care how deep or “mature” she appears to be, she is a child, period. This sickens me because even though it might not be “sexual” it show the poor judgment of a lot of people. I think it’s asking for trouble, but I hope I am wrong for her sake!
I read the headline as Jada calling herself a covert pedophile, so the actual quote, while ridiculously defensive, is an improvement! This kind of benign neglect is pretty common by this age, especially for the youngest in a family–works for some kids, not for others.
LOL I read that the same way.
They are floatin’ down denial!
I’m on the Smith’s side. I think it’s gross and embarrassing for a kid to have to deal with the crud that adults are putting out there about some kid’s instagram. She needs to be left alone.
Willow may like Moises and she put that pic up because she has a crush and it was just the two of them in the photo, or…maybe not – maybe he’s like her older bro too…but she doesn’t need the world speculating on if she’s having sex at 13 with a pic if you look closely js not inappropriate at all.
She’s fully dressed, he’s shirtless (big deal) someone is taking the picture and someone else seems to be making him laugh…that’s at least 4 other people in the room but there could have been 12 other people or just the 3 – we don’t know. Point is. There were obviously more than just them in the room, and main point nothing remotely sexual about it. People are weird. This reminds me of the Jolie brother kiss. So what she kissed her bro on the mouth in celebration for winning her Oscar a few times in front of cameras, she did not tongue or french him. But don’t tell that to pervy people projecting their crap on a close bro & sis. I think the whole thing really sucks for Willow and feel bad for her.
+1000 spot on.
I don’t think people are upset by the picture itself. And I agree that this is probably hard for Willow. But you’re missing the point of why people are upset. It’s not because they think something sexual occurred. It’s the lack of supervision of a 13 year old child. She’s allowed to “make her own decisions” without any guidance from her parents, she’s allowed to hang out with people in their twenties, she went to Coachella, where drugs and alcohol are passed around like candy. She’s too young for that. 13 year olds need their parents to be parents. Will and Jada have just abdicated their responsibility to the point that people are scared for Willow.
First of all it was put up on HIS instagram not hers. Second, he took it down pretty quickly so knew it was not appropriate. Most girls who have crushes on a guy put up just a picture of a guy, not one of them on a bed together. I’m sure there was another room they could have taken the picture. Seems to me it was done there for some publicity (maybe for him) and to get people talking. Don’t care if he is like a brother to her or not or if it was innocent. It was not an appropriate picture to take, much less display for all to see. You should feel bad for Willow because she doesn’t apparently have any boundaries and should have them.
Cause 20 year old guys always go over to other people’s houses and take their shirts off. There’s a lot of boundary red flags here.
I was on that side until I saw a link to the kid’s photography blog and he has more pictures of Willow up on his page.
There are actually two pictures of him and Willow together on the bed where Moises is shirtless. He captioned one of the pictures of him and Willow on the bed together as “Simba and Nala.”
He also has a picture of Willow posing for the camera in a string bikini on his blog. One of her standing thigh deep in a pool with a crop top and it looks like wearing boy shorts swim suit or underwear. He also has a picture of her taken when she’s sleeping in a bed. There was one of Willow swinging up on a swing and the camera taking practically a crotch shot of her wearing a t-shirt and looks like a jean skirt.
They could be totally innocent. Or not. But it’s odd to see a 20 year old hang out so much with 13, 15, 17 year olds as much as he does. And to take the types of pictures he does. IMO he has no business taking arty posed shots of a thirteen year old in a string bikini or of her sleeping in a bed IMO. Appropriate boundaries are something that her parents should address in the situation since it’s clear the 20-year old adult isn’t going to or doesn’t know himself to put up any appropriate boundaries and the thirteen year old likely doesn’t have the tools to know when or how to put up appropriate boundaries with the adults she’s hanging out with.
yeah, that is super inappropriate! I didnt know that!
Poor children, I just hope they’ll turn out allright.
Oh man, shit just got real! She brought out the diva finger and everything “Heres the deal…” She definitely sounded a little tipsy to me too. We aren’t cool you guys! We are projecting! Sure. Her kids are overindulged brats allowed to do whatever they want because they are just so wise beyond their years. Their twitter accounts are hilarious. Jaden tries to act philosophical but just reminds me of Jack Handey’s Deep Thoughts on SNL. Sad and embarrassing.
nice Jack Handey reference…always loved that bit!
These are the same people who think it’s OK that their son asks Obama about aliens and thinks education is useless. Mmmhmmm….
I don’t agree that anybody is a “covert pedophile,” but I do question the madness over this photo. I mean, I like to gossip just like the next person, and I am a longtime Scientology critic, but the reaction this pic has garnered seems a little…unbalanced or something. This story has really showcased just how freaking judgmental (and possibly sexually paranoid) we all are.
I agree with you to a certain extent. I think that some posters are genuinely alarmed/concerned that the Smith children seem to lack adult supervision and the pictures were just a trigger for that discussion. As for the pics themselves, I still think it’s much ado over nothing.
There’s a lot more people out in the world who lack boundaries and exhort that lack than in the past, I find. Having boundaries makes you critical. A laissez faire attitude suggests a mind that is so open, your brains have fallen out. That may be crude, but nothing is cruder than not worrying about a 13 year old hanging with a 20 year old and judging others for a very realistic worry given the consistent lack of discipline and guidance by the Smiths.
Hmmmmmm, he is a CLOSE family friend! They are all in the “artist/entertainment” community. They are not touching in the photo. They see each other as brother and sister….that is not a consistent lack of discipline.
I’m 20 with a younger sister who happens to be the same age who enjoys hanging around my friends when she’s at my place. She finds kids her age tease and make to much drama out of nothing, while my friends are way less judgemental and dramatic. Of course I’m there so it’s not like she’s being left alone with my friends but even if it were just my friends and sis I highly doubt anything would happen. She’s 14 and they’re 20 both sides know something is wrong with that picture. It also helps she is very mature and well educated for her age so she’s knows boundaries
I tend to be a “to each their own” kind of person when it comes to parenting, but this is just strange. I thought they were more level headed than that, and maybe it was innocent but the guy was shirtless and in bed with her, not cool. On another note, Willow looks just like Will, I mean exactly like him, lol.
Hmmm… I dunno. This is a very, very different time to when I was a kid. (Of course, but please let me continue, LOL).
When I was in kindergarten, my parents let me go to the school by myself. Surely, it was very close to my house, like only 2 blocks away. And we lived in a housing complex, provided by the state-owned company where my father worked at. I only had an adult company when we were in an outing (like going swimming/ going to a movie theater/ going to the zoo together), as per the school’s requirement. In grade school, I went by the school’s minibus or driven to school. But occasionally I had to go to school alone, or with some friends, by public transport. That was without any adult company, and it was considered very, very normal. Many of my friends came from families without any private transportation (read: cars or motorcycles) and that was how many students commuted. In developing countries like mine, going thirteen often comes with big responsibilities. Parental advisory can be minimal since parents are busy hustling, trying to make ends meet.
I’m not trying to say that it is perfectly okay, it’s just that parenting styles vary, and what works in a family may not work for others.
I just think we need to respect every parent’s parenting choices. Say what you will about Will and Jada’s hand’s off approach, but Willow and Jayden have yet to make headlines with inappropriate or dangerous behavior. They seem to have a good head on their shoulders. Yea, most parents wouldn’t let a 13 yr old girl hand out with a 20 yr old boy, but its obvious other children were in the room with them, that most-likely nothing inappropriate happened and they probably do have a brother-sister relationship. As for coachella, I don’t see any drug pictures popping up on TMZ, looks like they had good, clean fun there. So yeah, I probably wouldn’t subscribe to Will and Jada’s method of parenting, but so far it seems like the kids are okay (and let’s be honest, even the most hands on parents eff up their kids slightly!).
Good head on their shoulders? Have you seen Jayden’s twitter lol? Go, read that and lemme know what you think.
Don’t get me wrong, I think they’re good kids, but that is really the bottom line, they’re kids, them being mature for their age is great but they are fundamentally still kids.
We need to respect every parent’s parenting choice? No. No, we do not. Do you realize how many poor parents are out there? Should we truly be turning a blind eye to them all? The Smiths are not the worst parents ever but you can’t just make a blanket statement that anything goes with parenting. There should be a bar. It’s okay to have standards when it comes to parenting. The Smiths probably don’t fall too far below the bar but I think it’s perfectly acceptable to call them out for making bad choices. I’m sure the picture is innocent enough but it does illustrate that perhaps they trust Willow more than a 13 year old should be trusted and worse yet, they trust a 20 year old boy to be a good influence on her. I have a daughter and I can promise you that at 13 years old, I wouldn’t just brush off that she thought it appropriate to post a picture of herself in bed with a shirtless boy on public media. The picture isn’t that bad but it’s that she didn’t even think about the ramifications of posting it online. That’s where parents come in. It’s only one questionable parenting choice among many for them.
The kids are okay? Hollywood is rife with all sorts of users, predators and perverts. All the more reason to be protective of your kids, don’t you think?
I find it puzzling that many people do not find a 20yr old young man hanging out with 15 and 13yr olds odd. When I was 20, the last thing I wanted to do was hang out with high school aged kids. It is not normal, even IF these undercover, Scientology raised wunderkind Smith children are 40yr olds in children’s bodies. At the very least, this Moises dude has arrested development and needs to see someone. I also do not understand 20yr olds being friends with people in their 40’s as he claims he is a friend of ALL the Smiths.
I do not think anything sexual is happening at all. I just think Moises is creepy and a bit of an opportunist. Who has heard of him really before this unless you watched Hannah Montana? He took advantage of a friendship and posted that picture KNOWING it would get him press. No such thing as bad press if it gets tv shows and the internet talking about someone with a dead career again.
He was in Ender’s Game last year as well as the indie movie “the Kings of summer”. So people may know of him because of that.
I know him from The Middle haha
Never heard of that movie.
This is to Delta Juliet-
Moises is not in The Middle. That boy is called Atticus something-can’t remember his last name right now.
@Soxfan
He played Sue’s boyfriend for a few episodes, I believe it was last season. He was a wrestler, she cheered for the wrestling team. He made an impression on me because I thought of how unfortunate looking he was. Mean, I know.
Now I’m embarrassed by my “The Middle” well of knowledge lol
@SoxFan- Delta is right, he played Matt. I remember him now that she mentioned it. He was on a few episodes.
Ok, this may be going off on a tangent, but I hate when parents say things like “this photo isn’t perverted, if you think it’s perverted then you are projecting, you are the pedophile.” I have seen this with idiot parents (and those so called mommy/daddy bloggers) who post fully nude pictures of their toddlers/small children on instagram, facebook or twitter, and then go off on this holier than thou, anyone who has a problem with the photo or reported it is twisting an innocent picture, rant. To me, that is twisted logic. Serving your child up on a silver platter to the entire internet ignoring their bodily integrity (yes, I believe that a child has a right to not have their naked body put on display) is gross. Sorry for this rant, but Jada’s argument to the paps reminded me of the issue, and struck a nerve.
I really didn’t find the picture of Willow to be all that disturbing, but I can see how some may have. I find the Smith’s hands off parenting to be more troubling (and I am a huge Will Smith apologizer)
If Willow wound up expecting a child at 15.. Would they still consider it Art???
I see some very emotionally disturbed adults unable to cope when those kids are grown and face real life.
I know this isn’t what the story is about, but…
That cocky “I’m too cool” raised eyebrow look that Jaden is sporting… it needs to die. Not him, just that attitude. I’ve seen guys in my local area with that look, and it is NOT attractive… what are they thinking? However it works perfectly well for relaying to potentially interested women that he’s a douche and they should keep back, so maybe, keep doing it. He’s doing us a favour (for any of the women young enough to be interested, that is; not me).
EDIT: to be more clear, the guys I’ve seen making that face did all act like douches. I think it’s a front for their lack of confidence (which seems like the obvious conclusion). But it still irks me.
It drives me nuts too. Bieber always looks like that as well.
In total agreement.
I’m actually side-eying the fact that a 13 year old and 17 year old went to Coachella without supervision more than the photograph. The photograph was odd, but I think it was taken way out of context. She was fully dressed, there were other people in the room obviously, and the guy has a habit of never wearing a shirt. That said this is one of the many examples of social media not being worth it….and I wonder who thought “oh, what a great idea to IG this photo?”
I’m very close to one of my cousins who is several years older than me…He’s a shirtless surfer dude (or was, he toned it down a bit when he hit 30) who has a few really close buddies who used to hang out at his place all the time. Because of a family tragedy, I basically lived with him for a few months when I was 15 because my parents were in and out of the hospital. There are photos of a 15 year old me sitting around surrounded by my 23 cousin and his buddies clad in their swim trunks with wife beaters or no shirts. I can imagine that out of context it would probably look very bizarre. So I definitely think that there can be an innocent explanation for the photo
My question to you would be, did you take these pictures on a bed? Also, you’re circumstances were different than Willow’s. Plus, I bet your parents checked in and knew pretty much what was going on and trusted your cousin to take good care of you.
WTH is Jada working on or doing that she cannot parent??? where the heck is Will???
disappointing to say the least.
“what she was doing hanging out with 20 year-olds” I still think the bigger question is why a 20 year old is hanging out with a 13 year old and 15 year old.
Jada at her core must have some kind of worry or guilt about her parenting that she keeps stuffed down, or she wouldn’t get so mad and defensive and start hurling accusations. I just feel bad for Willow – Jaden seems to love all the freedoms, the spotlight, and lack of any substance, but Willow always seems looking for some guidance. I hope somewhere along the way she finds a good mentor.
This is what happens to some children who were born rich and famous and never had to work for it! For some reason this child have been craving attention any which way she could get it, outlandish hairdo’s singing career that went nowhere, this posing with a grown man is just another way of getting the attention she wants. Parents is famous so why can’t i be famous child is confused sometimes off springs just isn’t talented. Question is, Will and Jada Smith only have two kids, rich and famous so what is happening that this child so wants and needs the public acclaim.
I expected the pic to be a lot worse than it is judging by all the headlines and comments. I cant stand the Smith’s and their kids always looks so smug and entitled but I honestly dont see the big deal in the pic…idk, seems like they were all just hanging out and someone snapped a pic.
Daughter/Mother look alike …very masculine
Jada needs to lay off the fillers and cheek implants. Of course she doesn’t parent her kids…she’s too busy trying to maintain a “young” and “carefree” lifestyle for herself. Will and Jada used to be an A-list couple. What a disappointment they turned out to be.
Everyone is making a big deal over nothing. Sounds harmless to me, this kid is a family friend and people are so quick to hate on the smiths. And the post says jada sounded drunk but I doubt that, she has a point that people are sexually paranoid to immediately go THERE when they see a pic like this. Saying she sounded drunk just trying to disparage the valid point she had.
Miley … or worse if the whole CO$ machine is involved …
When I was growing up around 12/13 I started having a lot of unsupervised hang time with friends, but the minute boys got involved my Dad was there hunting me down like a super embarassing crazy person. If a boy called my house my dad shut it down. I was so sensitive and crushing on anything that moved, it is such an impressionable and weird age because you think you know what you are doing but you don’t. My dad was by no means the best, but I am grateful for him for that looking back because most of my friends were experimenting by that age and I was by no means ready for it. Not saying Willow is up to anything with this guy, but the opportunity is obv. there, and the Coachella thing is majorly shady imo. Jesus all she had to do was breathe Lindsay’s fumes and she’d have been high. The next few years are going to be interesting.
I was so sensitive and crushing on anything that moved,
Awww. I love the whole comment. We forget what very tender creatures children are at that age. And you had your father to champion you. So awesome. Gives me hope for humanity and some men! Thanks!
Gee thanks! I was just remembering that sort of end of middle school era where I was so in LOVE with various boys. I just find this whole “Smith children are mature beyond their yrs” schpeel from Will & Jada depressing. My dad was not a perfect dad by any means, he could be an alcoholic asshole, but even he knew when it was time to be a dad and not a best friend. Something the Smiths seem to think of as unnecessary in parenting. I sound like an old lady but I just can’t imagine being let loose at a freaking festival at 13. I’m sure they probably had bodyguards or something but still.
So true. Just not buying the “okay” nature of this kind of thing — no way. I’m hardly some uber-conservative, but a 13 and 17 year old unsupervised at Coachella? That is insane. Don’t parent if you don’t want to, Will and Jada. But don’t expect others to act like there’s something particularly brilliant about the approach.
how about perception vs reality
reality might be exactly like she said-they are ‘like siblings’ and there is nothing sexual or underhanded about it. And that might be the absolute truth.
the perception: their 13 year old child has no boundaries or rules. A 20 year old man is hanging out with a child, with inappropriate picture being spread ‘worldwide’
How about these two (Will and Jada) stop acting like ‘letting their children be themselves and do what they want’ is not a cover for ‘we don’t want to parent’
Innocent or not, she is a 13 year old posing in bed with a 20 year old. I’d consider that line crossed.
This breaks my heart. I love Will Smith. I love his movies, I even love his music. (I can sing all the words to Miami too, Tom Hiddleston…..Call me! Ha!) Their insane family choices make me not want to like him as much.
I checked out the rest of Moises blog and all of the pictures are black and white, with a moody and apathetic feel. Just him, the Smith kids and the Jenner girls lounging around, looking artsy. Moises captions almost all of the pictures with philosophical quotes and he loves to take pics of books on Buddhism. Apparently they are living this hippie artsy life where they hang out next to pools, balconies and highways, staring off into the distance. So when you look at this one picture in the whole context of the blog, it’s not at all inappropriate.
These people are tremendously wealthy. They are not subject to any of the daily challenges we middle class face. Willow and Jaden won’t ever face unemployment, child care issues, mortgage payments, bills that exceed their income, car notes, or only one week vacations. We have to parent our kids a certain way because they will seriously compromise their futures and earning potential if we adopted the lax attitude of the Smiths. Willow and Jaden have everything, will see more of the planet of than most of us ever will. The Smiths don’t have to parent by our middle class rules, bottom line. Their wealth shelters them.
“Their wealth shelters them” And what happens if that wealth goes away? Are they now on our level and now need to start parenting their children? You cannot not just turn parenting on and off. There are many wealthy people who parent their children like “the middle class” do – so that their children WON’T have this entitled attitude and think they don’t have to work for anything in this world. Not teaching your children to fend for themselves in the world is wrong, they need to be guided and taught how to take care of themselves, not learning it on their own at 13 & 15.
As far as I see, the Smiths are not turning their parenting off. They are parenting according to their lifestyle, just as we do. I once followed the blog of a very wealthy teenaged girl who became a fashion photographer at 16. She was friends with Phil Collins daughter, Robin Williams daughter etc. She dropped out of school at about 15, then spent her time traveling all over the world, and became an award winning fashion photographer at 16. She decided at about the age of 17 or 18 to become a mother, and she did. For a poor or middle class girl, that would have been a disastrous decision. This rich girl was actually encouraged and supported by her parents to become a teen mom, and now she and her partner and child live in the mountains, where they grow their own veggies and herbs and take pics of their charming life. So, her parents hands off approach didn’t hinder this girl at all. Why? Because her life struggles differ greatly than those of us who aren’t as wealthy. Her parents raised her according to the world they live in. I can’t say if it is right or wrong because I don’t belong to that world. Read about her here http://www.nirrimi.com.
The Smiths are bad for business period. They hide behind “the art of it” because it’s an easy cop out made to diminish valid concerns about their blatant disregard for their children. They are the new Kardashian……pathetic.
And what 20 year old is besties with a 15 year old kid? Boyfriends? maybe ….maybe not….. which might be why jada and big will think it’s ok that he’s taking pics with a 13year old “mature” but still a child nonetheless.
Two of my students have been living off as married women one since she was 13 hers old, and the other one, finally tired of doing / partying as long as she wanted, has settled at 15.
Curiously, both have chosen older men, probably the absentee father/parents in their lives.
Also remember Isabella Cruise, how she went to live with her boyfriend quite young? what else is there for them? no aspirations and total freedom.
At least the cruises for now have avoided the druggie crowd, but wit h friend like the Bieber for the Smiths…
Wow. I’m betting this will end well….
Jada is right, people with dirty minds see dirty things in everything.
I saw the photos and thought she and friends went to visit this kid who is a trusted family friend and someone took the picture of her hopping onto his bed…end of story. – Sometimes you just gotta trust you child, especially if she is a child that goes everywhere with a bodyguard.
Now if I was a pervert in training my imagination would go wild and I’d be writing my disapproval and spending sleepless night worrying about my crazy perverted fantasy.
Jada is not right just defensive. It’s natural for a horrible mother to be like that. I’ve seen many bad parents pretend they weren’t because their child was so mature…cop outs are easy…parenting is hard.
Lol your comment is hysterical and by bodyguard you mean church of stalker crazy then yes they do have a bodyguard who is not good at their job evidently. ..cough syrup and slushies anyone? 😉
She should go live with her auntie and uncle in Bel Air.
I’ll see myself out.
This story just makes me shake my head. It really reminds me of a personal story from my childhood. My family was very close friends with another family. They had kids who were the same age as me and my siblings, and we spent a lot of time with them growing up. Sadly, the parents became Scientologists, and moved away and became heavily involved with the Co$. They treated their children like “little adults” and the kids pretty much thought they were adults at a certain point. All three of their children dropped out of school, and one of their daughters got married at 16. Sixteen!!! Not surprisingly, she was divorced several years later. This was almost 15 years ago, and I’ve somewhat kept in touch with the daughter who was married at 16. She is no longer in the church and her life seems to be great now, so good for her. No idea about her siblings though. I do think her parents ended up divorcing though several years ago.
Jada’s response seems like classic CO$. Attack your accusers.
While I didn’t see the pic as sexual, I DID ask “what the heck is a 20 year old doing hanging out with a 13 year old?”
That’s more than a little weird and I seriously question a parent that DOESN’T see that as weird. Put some rules down for your kids or they’re going to end up the next Bieber. One Bieber is enough. Ugh.
That’s some stellar parenting on Jada’s part. Her daughter is 13 going on 33.
What’s wrong with letting a kid be a *kid*?
Jada’s an idiot. Her daughter is “mature”. Does that mean she thinks her daughter is mature enough to be dating a 20 year old? Who knows? But Willow always looks miserable to me. (Maybe Will is an idiot too but he’s much less blatant about it than Jada. Makes me sad because I always loved him.)
There’s that scino speech pattern again. Deflect, divert, and deteriorate the argument. She’s Tom Cruise deep.
Wouldn’t a parent who let their child do whatever, whenever with whomever make their child feel ignored, unwanted, unloved?
I wonder….
For the people that think this is a huge overreaction…would this situation be so innocent if the 20 year old was Taylor Lautner, Diggy Simmons, Patrick Schwarzenneger or any of the other 20 year olds that looks like men and not little hobbits ?
The pic is innocent enough, sure, but I do think that if Moises was a tall boy with a six pack some people would change their tune. I’m truly trying to think of a reason why a 20 year old would hang out with 15/13 year olds. People give Taylor Swift so much shit for hanging out with girls much younger than her but this situation is seen as overreacting adults ? Hmmmm
I think the “Church” of Scientology is really getting to them. The whole seeing children as mini adults thing is creepy.
I think the Smiths released this themselves, to stay in the news.
I don’t get why people are saying she’s “in bed” with him. I am not saying the picture is ok but she is dressed and on top of the covers.
Jada and Will are so caught up in their own “stuff” they appear clueless about child-rearing.
I agree it isn’t appropriate, but I don’t think the answer is to become a helicopter parent either, as some people have been suggesting. A parent should not have access to their children’s social media accounts or cell phone activity. That is an invasion of the child’s privacy, and, if anything, will cause children to rebel more.
This really seems like much ado about nothing. Moises is barely 20 (he was still 19 just a couple of weeks ago). He hangs out with his younger brother also, who is on another Disney show and closer in age to the Smith boy. They’re all into acting and photography and Moises seems interested in directing. It’s just not that unusual for actor kids, who lead a more isolated life, to be close to siblings and choose friends according to common interests. Honestly, would it be so weird if they were all cousins in a small community? Obviously they have that kind of relationship. Willow is just hanging out with her brother and his friends. Not all older siblings push the younger ones away. The woman is right- people are being weird about this, seeing things that just aren’t there.
Will Smith is probably too worried about his career. He hasn’t been in a decent film since Six Degrees of Seperation.
When you’re that age, you’re super sensitive to even a tiny difference in age so that at 13, somebody even a year older seems out if your league and way too cool. However these kids aren’t ordinary kids and Id hazard a guess that Hollywood years are a plus 10 equation so that 7 equals 17 and 13 equals 23 to normal civilians.
I am extremely protective of my two teens because my theory is this: you only get roughly 15 years of being a kid and the rest of your life to be an adult. Why rush it? There’s something about kids who see too much, too soon; they always look over it, worn out, jaded.
That kid Jaden is the perfect example. He just looks obnoxious. I tell ya what; I wouldn’t wanna swap my life with these people for quids. They are all so freakn messed up! And Will and Jada strike me as idiotic at best and negligent at worst.
“I am extremely protective of my two teens because my theory is this: you only get roughly 15 years of being a kid and the rest of your life to be an adult. Why rush it? There’s something about kids who see too much, too soon; they always look over it, worn out, jaded”
So I guess I should stop letting my 8 year old watch South Park then?
Up to you darling! Just my humble opinion.
After listening to Howard Stern deconstructing one of their their appearances on Oprah, I can’t take Will and Jada seriously.
They are completely wackadoo, pity they are raising (or not) 2 children who will probably be as wackadoo as they are.
Ps: I have some hope for Willow, she’s resisted some of the things Will and Jada have tried to push her into eg walking away from her music career and refusing to audition for Annie. I think both times she’s stated that she wished to be a child (or whatever transition state a confused adult of 12yrs per co$ dictats) can be.
no one said her kids were bad. I don’t think they are bad teenagers they seem like great kids… but we were just making comments about that photo… she should be hanging with kids her age.. don’t be eager to grow up that fast.. enjoy your youth.
Willow’s “very mature,” eh? That’s called parentalizing, Mom. It’s a trait associated with narcissists and lousy parents. It’s a great way to avoid dealing with actually “parenting”, which requires setting reasonable boundaries because you love your children and want to see them succeed. Sorry, that batch of kool-aid doesn’t pass the funk test.
So basically they had kids, got bored with parenting, and let the kids do their own thing. Why is either a 15 year old OR a 13 year old hanging out at music festivals with much older people? I’ve often wondered at people who hang out with much younger friends (if you’re 21, why do you need a 15 year old to worship you?) and why do parents allow it?