“You went to a performing arts high school”: Jada Pinkett Smith gets trolled online after revealing why she sold drugs as a teen

American actress and talk show host Jada Pinkett Smith had a lot to say about her teen years in Baltimore. In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, published on October 11, 2023, the actress spoke about selling crack cocaine. The interview was a promotion for her memoir Worthy which is set to be released on October 17, 2023.

Jada said that during that time, she needed financial freedom and her parents were drug addicts while she was growing up. The actress added:

"I knew that anything that I needed was something I needed to provide for. I decided to sell drugs."

Fans had a lot to say about the actress's comments about her struggles growing up. They took to X, formerly Twitter, to point out that she was a performing arts student, which is typically seen as a prestigious form of education.

A fan pointed out Jada's educational background. (Image via Instagram/@hollywoodunlocked)

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Jada Pinkett Smith talks about her childhood challenges and dealing drugs

Jada Pinkett Smith reportedly had a rough childhood followed by just as rough a teenage life. PEOPLE reported that she led a double life as a promising performer at school while also dealing drugs to earn some money.

Her grandmother Marion Banfield was her primary role model growing up while her mother Adrienne Banfield-Norris, was a heroin addict. It is worth noting that Adrienne eventually got sober and "became a mainstay in her and her children's lives." Jada Pinkett Smith's father Robsol Pinkett Jr., who passed away in 2010, would walk in and out of her life and was violent at times.

Jada opened up about this in her recent interview with PEOPLE.

"When you aren't the priority of your parents, you don't know how to be a priority to yourself. I had parents who were addicted to drugs. Not having a healthy foundation, as I would come to find out way into my adulthood, had some really strong effects in regard to how I saw myself," she said.

Jada explained that her parents weren't responsible for her "wholeness," but owing to her past with them, she didn't know how to create healthy relationships and boundaries. The Red Table Talk co-host said that the reason behind her selling drugs as a teenager was her mother's unstable addiction to heroin.

Jada Pinkett Smith said that while she was growing up, it was the drugs dealers who had "affluence" which was what she "readily saw as success."

"And so for me, considering my circumstances at the time, my mother was not doing well. She was a high-functioning heroin addict. We didn't have the things that we should have. The home we lived in was not taken care of," Jada added.

Jada Pinkett Smith said she had multiple jobs that were legit from the age of twelve as she believed that having money in her pocket was "a must." The actress worked as a telemarketer and at The Gap because she wanted financial freedom.

However, it was her comments about dealing drugs in the past that garnered a lot of attention online. Netizens wondered what the reason behind the revelation was while others mocked her for the same. They also noted that given all the information she was giving in the interviews, they wouldn't need to read her book.

Netizens make fun of her drug-dealing past. (Image via Instagram/@hollywoodunclocked)

Fans talk about the recent interviews. (Image via Instagram/@hollywoodunclocked)

Netizens express their irritation. (Image via Instagram/@hollywoodunclocked)

Jada Pinkett Smith revealed that she started to sell crack or cocaine as a contingency plan as she worried about her mother not returning home one night.

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Jada Pinkett Smith talks about her grandmother

According to PEOPLE, Marion Banfield, her grandmother, gave Jada Pinkett Smith many pivotal lessons. She wanted the actress to be well-rounded so she could relate to anyone.

"So whether it was through reading books or hobbies, understanding different kinds of religion, she wanted me to always have an entry point to be able to have a common ground with another person," Jada noted.

Marion also taught Jada how to clean bathrooms and floorboards in order to keep a "pristine house." She taught the actress to not depend on a man for pleasure or for money.

As mentioned earlier, Jada Pinkett Smith's book Worthy is set to be released on October 17, 2023.