Will Smith has disclosed that he once contemplated murdering his father for making his mother suffer. An exclusive excerpt released this week details the traumatic memories of the actor involving his father that have haunted him his whole life. Titled Will, the memoir will be out on November 9.
Will Smith recalls the violence of his teenage years. He describes repressed childhood memories in his formative years. as a 9-year-old, he remembers his father Williard Caroll Smith Jr. punching his mother Caroline Bright in the head so hard that she collapsed. The memory of that incident haunted him for long.
Will Smith recalls that though his father was vicious when drunk, he stayed sober at every play, game, or recital. The actor writes that though an alcoholic, his father turned up clear-headed at every movie premiere. He attended every recording and visited all studios.
Will Smith says that while this intense perfectionism led him to terrorize his family, it also helped provide for them all their life.
Will Smith Reveals That The Memory Of The Horrific Incident Has Endured All His Life
The excerpt reveals that the four siblings, including Will Smith, were raised by their parents in Philadelphia. But it is the horrific act perpetrated by his father that endures in his memory.
He recalled his father punching his mother on the head, and she fell hard. He remembered her spitting blood. He says that was a defining moment of his life.
Every’s achievement since that day has been his way of apologizing to his mother for that incident. The accolades and awards have all been his way of repenting for standing by on that day. He considers himself a coward for that incident. Everything after that, his larger-than-life persona on the screen, was designed to shield himself and hide from the world, he says.
His parents separated when Will was still a teen and eventually broke up in 2000. While Smith managed to keep his resentment repressed, the traumatic incident finally surfaced.
