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Jada Pinkett Smith, the artist : It's Been a Minute
Jada Pinkett Smith is the kind of celebrity that makes headlines just by breathing. But looking at those headlines — mostly about her marriage to fellow actor, Will Smith — made host Brittany Luse think that most people have gotten Jada all wrong. A graduate of the Baltimore School for the Arts, Jada’s best known for her acting, but she’s also a producer, musician, and painter. After reading her memoir, Worthy, Brittany noticed the way Jada’s artistic mind and process had been overlooked. So, she sat down with Jada to ask about it. They talked about what Jada’s painting, what she got out of her time as a rock singer, why she looks at her relationship with Will as a masterpiece, and what she wants for her future.
Interview Highlights
These highlights have been edited for length and clarity.
On Jada’s creative beginnings
BRITTANY LUSE: In your book, Worthy, you write about understanding yourself as an artist even from your early childhood. How did you know and see yourself clearly as an artist from such a young age?
JADA PINKETT SMITH: I think it had a lot to do with my grandmother; my grandmother was an artist. And my mother’s an artist, she used to make sterling silver jewelry with turquoise. And so it was considered something that was really important to have artistic expression.
BRITTANY LUSE: Artistic expression as a principle of your home — that’s huge.
JADA PINKETT SMITH: It is. It was such a norm. And I had a lot of friends who were visual artists. It just became part of my peer group get-down because we went to school for art. And so we would always get excited and want to share when we found something new and were vibing on it.
On how she feeds her creativity now
BRITTANY LUSE: What is your favorite creative outlet right now?
JADA PINKETT SMITH: Probably painting. I’ve been doing it for a while, and you don’t really need anybody else’s applause.
BRITTANY LUSE: Describe to me one of your most recent paintings.
JADA PINKETT SMITH: I love textures. So that’s what I’m playing with right now. And I love the juxtaposition of going from, like, beauty to rough and the balance of both. I love juxtaposition.
What Jada learned from Wicked Wisdom
BRITTANY LUSE: You also had a full on nu-metal band, Wicked Wisdom. You said in your book you wanted to be the female Axl Rose. And to a certain extent, you were able to have a piece of that experience through Wicked Wisdom. You toured with Britney Spears in Europe, y’all performed at OzzFest. But at the same time, you dealt with serious backlash from metal fans in the metal community, which included death threats.
JADA PINKETT SMITH: It was really intense. I mean, at that particular time, I don’t know of any other Black female in that particular genre except for [Skin from] Skunk Anansie… I had so many strikes against me. I was a woman, first of all, because even as a white woman, you have a hard time in that job. Then I’m a Black woman. And then I’m a woman from Hollywood, which is the antithesis of rock and roll. I was the representation of the machine itself. It’s a lot of hate out there, for sure. No doubt about it. But there’s also a lot of love and neutrality. And I’ll never forget going to this place somewhere in Texas, where we were performing in this shack, and these kids, they didn’t care. They were just happy we were there, seeing them having a good [expletive] time, with this Black band. They started moshing and that was it. What I love about the metal community is that you get to rage safely. We got to meet there in our rage and really have a good time with it.
BRITTANY LUSE: It’s interesting that you put those together. Love and neutrality. Talk to me about what you mean when you say that.
JADA PINKETT SMITH: You get called names, people throwing bottles, people talking [expletive]. And the neutral was like, you could win them over. If you have neutrality, there’s a space for love to grow. And then as we started going, there were people who were Wicked Wisdom fans that you would never expect. I learned a lot, and I don’t judge a book by its cover anymore.
On calling her relationship with Will a “masterpiece”
BRITTANY LUSE: To kind of turn toward a different form of creativity, you were on Fresh Air last year to talk about your memoir with the incredible Tonya Mosley, and something you said really caught my ear; a few times you described your relationship to Will Smith as a “masterpiece of connection.” And I thought it was such an interesting way to frame a relationship.
JADA PINKETT SMITH: I think everybody’s life is their own work of art, and we have many pieces within it. I have a lot of ideas around marriage; I think it can be one of the most powerful dynamics, but if you’re looking to stay in a cycle of romanticism, if you’re looking to stay in the honeymoon stage, if you’re looking to never be betrayed, if you’re looking to never be hurt, if you’re looking to not have to deal with your [expletive] or have to deal with someone else’s [expletive], don’t get married. Date.
BRITTANY LUSE: It’s like you can’t have a work of art — like when you were talking about your painting earlier — without the tension or the different colors, or the different textures. It’s not going to come together.
JADA PINKETT SMITH: In one lifetime, we’ve lived about 20. And so it’s quite a tapestry. If I had to say what kind of art piece our union is, I would say it is a tapestry. A rich tapestry.
BRITTANY LUSE: If you don’t mind, we want to make sure that we have our facts straight, what’s going on with you [and Will Smith]? Are you all back together? Still together?
JADA PINKETT SMITH: Yes, we are together, but we are together in the way that works for us. And that’s really difficult to explain. We enjoy what we are. I tell Will all the time, ‘I don’t know if anybody will ever understand,’ but it doesn’t matter. We’ve tried to be apart several times. It’s a God thing. It’s above us.
On navigating Hollywood — and what’s next for Jada
BRITTANY LUSE: I want to touch on a big conversation that has been happening lately all over Hollywood. In its most recent iteration, Taraji P. Henson kicked it off by talking about the pay disparity and just the general disrespect that even the most successful Black actresses in Hollywood have to deal with, and as a Black Hollywood veteran, does this ring true for you? And if so, how has that shaped your career?
JADA PINKETT SMITH: Absolutely. My heart broke for Taraji, and I was also happy [to see] how courageous she was to speak about it in the way that she did. One of the things with Taraji is that she is the breadwinner of her family. Her pressures would be different than mine. I have to put that out front, because if it’s time to walk away, that’s not always the solution. Because what people don’t understand with us as Black entertainers, we carry a lot of people with us.
BRITTANY LUSE: It could be parents, siblings. You’re paying for other people’s lives and comfort.
JADA PINKETT SMITH: I find that that’s unique. There are peers from other cultures that don’t necessarily do it that way.
BRITTANY LUSE: As you explained, being married to another hugely successful Hollywood megastar, it might make things financially different for you as a Black actress than others. But there’s still the matter of what Taraji was talking about with not having trailers and not having appropriate food — people being cheap with the things that you need to work every day. I mean, not being offered the same amount of money for the same work as maybe a white actress, those are still things that you’ve had to deal with, it seems like.
JADA PINKETT SMITH: Yes, people would literally say, “well, you don’t need it. You’re married to Will.”
BRITTANY LUSE: Wow.
JADA PINKETT SMITH: Yeah, I’ve heard that several times.
BRITTANY LUSE: I notice that you don’t act as much or as frequently as you used to. Is that part of why?
JADA PINKETT SMITH: That has a lot to do with it, and also wanting to get on the other side to help remedy that as a producer. It’s not to say that I won’t get in front of the camera, but what it takes for me to get in front of the camera, it’s more. Just in regards to the kind of roles that I want to play or that interest me. And I’m thinking about directing.
BRITTANY LUSE: Yeah, we’ve been talking about everything from music to acting, producing, and painting. What are you working on now? It sounds like you’re working on Jada.
JADA PINKETT SMITH: I’m always working on Jada.
This episode was produced by Liam McBain with additional support from Barton Girdwood, Alexis Williams, and Corey Antonio Rose. We had engineering support from Gilly Moon. It was edited by Jessica Placzek. Our executive producer is Veralyn Williams. Our VP of programming is Yolanda Sangweni.
Neve Campbell in Scream 7.
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The OG Scream Queen Neve Campbell returns. Scream 7 re-centers the franchise back on Sidney Prescott. She has a new life, a family, and lots of baggage. You know the drill: Someone dressing up as the masked slasher Ghostface comes for her, her family and friends. There’s lots of stabbing and murder and so many red herrings it’s practically a smorgasbord.
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Abriana Vicioso is the host of the Flower Hour, which takes place monthly.
(Jennifer McCord / For The Times)
Each flower carries a personal history. For Abriana Vicioso, the calla lily was her parents’ wedding flower — a symbol of her mother’s beauty. “She had this big, beautiful white calla lily in her hair,” Vicioso says. “I love my parents. They’re the reason I’m here. I’ll never forget where I came from.”
The Flower Hour begins with Vicioso announcing, with a warm smile: “Today is about touching grass.” The florist-by-trade gestures behind her to hundreds of flowers contained in buckets — blue thistles, ivory anemones and calla lilies painted silver — all twisted and unfurling into the air. “Tonight is going to be so sweet and intimate,” Vicioso says, eyeing the beautiful chaos at her feet. A grin buds across her face.
Moments before the workshop, participants sit at candlelit tables exchanging horoscopes and comparing their favorite flowers. A mention of the illustrious bird-of-paradise flower elicits coos and awe from the women. Izamar Vazquez, who is from Jalisco, Mexico, reveals her fondness for roses, which make her feel connected to her Mexican roots.
Vicioso hosts her flower-themed wellness workshop near the iconic Original Los Angeles Flower Market in downtown L.A. In January, the first Flower Hour event sold out, prompting her to make it a monthly series. Vicioso describes the event as a “three-part journey” where participants are invited to drink herbal tea, smoke rose-petal-rolled cannabis joints and create a floral arrangement. “The guide is to connect with the medicine of flowers,” Vicioso says.
Rose petal joints, tea and flower arranging are all part of The Flower Hour event’s offerings.
The event is hosted at the Art Club, a membership-based co-working space. “The Flower Hour is really beautiful. Everyone gets to explore their creativity while meeting new people,” says Lindsay Williams, the co-owner of the Art Club.
The idea for Flower Hour came to Vicioso during a conversation with her mother. “We joke all the time that flowers were destined to make their way into my life,” she says. She works as a florist and models on the side, even appearing in the pages of Vogue. Vicioso grew up in a Caribbean household, where flowers and offerings were part of daily life. “In my culture and religion, a lot of my family practices — an Afro-Caribbean religion — we build altars.”
Like many cultures, flowers carry sentimental value in her religion. “I’m Caribbean, so a lot of my family practices a Yoruba religion, which comes from Africa. In the Caribbean, it’s well known as Santería.”
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After a difficult year and a breakup, Vicioso wanted to marry her love of flowers with community building. Because Vicioso uses cannabis medicinally, the workshop naturally includes a smoking component. “My family has smoked cannabis for a lot of reasons for a long time. It’s a really healing plant,” she explains.
In the workshop, even the cannabis gets the floral treatment. Vicioso presents her rose-petal-wrapped joints on a silver platter at each table. She rolled each by hand. “If you’ve never smoked a rose-petal-rolled joint, the difference with this is it’s going to have roses that have a slight tobacco effect,” she announces.
During the workshop, Vicioso stresses the importance of buying cannabis from local vendors. The cannabis provided was purchased from a Northern Californian vendor. The wellness workshop aims to reclaim the healing ritual of smoking cannabis. “This is a plant that has been commercialized,” Vicioso says. “There’s a lot of Black and Brown people who are in jail for this plant.”
The resulting workshop is what Vicioso describes as “an immersive wellness experience that is the intersection of wellness, creativity, community and an appreciation of flowers.” The workshop serves as a reminder to enjoy Earth’s innate beauty in the form of flowers — including cannabis. “It’s this gift that the universe gave us for free and that I have this deep connection with,” Vicioso says.
Conversation cards to generate discussion among participants (top, letf). The workshop serves as a “third space” for Angelenos to engage in tactile creativity and community building outside of traditional nightlife settings.
After enjoying lavender chamomile tea and smoking a joint, Vicioso introduces the flowers to the group before inviting them to pick their own. She emphasizes each flower’s personality traits, describing green dianthus as a “Dr. Seuss” plant. Then, there are calla lilies with their “main character moment.” It gets personal. “Start thinking of a flower in your life that you can discover,” she says. “If you’re feeling like you need inspiration, you can always remember that these flowers have stories.”
Vicioso infuses wisdom into her instruction on floral arrangements: There are no mistakes. Let the flowers tell you where they want to go, she urges. Intuition will be your guide — the wilder, the better.
“Hecho in Mexico” reads a sticker on a bunch of green stems. “Like me,” says Vazquez with a laugh. “They’re all doing their own thing. Like a family,” she says later, arranging stems.
The Flower Hour participants and Vicioso, center, chat as they build their own floral arrangements at the sold-out event.
Two participants — Vazquez and Rebeca Alvarado — are friends who run a floral design company together called Izza Rose. Like Vicioso, the friends have a connection to flowers through their Latin American culture. They met Vicioso in the floral industry and were overjoyed to discover her workshop.
“This is a great way to connect with other people,” says Vazquez.
Alvarado agrees, adding: “You’re getting to know people outside of going to bars. You can connect in different ways when there’s an activity.”
Vazquez uses flowers to stay connected to her Mexican heritage, adding that she prefers to support Mexican vendors. In recent months, the downtown L.A. flower market has struggled to recover from ongoing ICE raids. “Some are scared to come back,” says Vazquez.
Hand-rolled cannabis joints wrapped in rose petals are presented on a silver platter at The ArtClub (top, right). The Flower Hour aims to reclaim the healing rituals of cannabis and flowers.
Another participant, Barbara Rios, was attracted to the workshop for stress relief. “You can hang out with your friends, but it’s nice to do things with your hands,” she says. “I work a stressful job, and it’s nice to have that third space that we’re all craving.”
On this February night, the participants were predominantly women, save for one man. In the future, Vicioso hopes that more men learn to engage with flowers. “There’s a statistic about men receiving flowers for the first time at their funerals, and I think we have changed that,” she says.
To conclude the workshop, Vicioso encourages participants to build lasting friendships and incorporate flower arranging into their daily practice — even if it’s just with a small, inexpensive bouquet.
“Get some flowers together, go to the park, hang out with each other and hang out with me,” she says. Participants leave with flower arrangements in hand. In the darkness of the night air, it briefly looks as though the women carry silver calla lilies that are blooming from their palms.
An underwater view shows US’ Lilly King competing in a heat of the women’s 200m breaststroke swimming event during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, west of Paris, on July 31, 2024. (Photo by François-Xavier MARIT / AFP) (Photo by FRANCOIS-XAVIER MARIT/AFP via Getty Images)
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This week’s show was recorded in Bloomington, Indiana with host Peter Sagal, judge and scorekeeper Bill Kurtis, Not My Job guest Lilly King and panelists Alonzo Bodden, Josh Gondelman, and Faith Salie. Click the audio link above to hear the whole show.
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