Many celebrities have struggled with addiction. Whether their drug of choice was drugs, alcohol, or some combination thereof, many have stepped up to publicly address the dangers of substance abuse. Girls Trip actress Jada Pinkett Smith has dealt with alcoholism in the past and recently shared her experiences – including one particularly memorable incident on the set of the hit Eddie Murphy film The Nutty Professor.
On the latest episode of Red Table Talk, Jada Pinkett Smith sat down with her mother Gammy and daughter Willow Smith to discuss the dangers of alcohol, especially for women. Jada Pinkett Smith admitted to using multiple substances as a young adult; however, she didn’t worry about it until it began to affect her acting career. Apparently the actress had an ‘incident’ on the set of The Nutty Professor back in the '90’s that irrevocably changed her attitude towards drugs. Below is a transcript of the conversation:
Jada: So I wasn’t the type of person that was drinking every day. You know, I was, like, a weekend party girl.Willow: TotallyJada: You know what I mean? So it’s like, yo, Thursday to Monday morning. Thursday to Monday morning, I would go. Like, just-Gammy: Yeah, but it never got to the point where it interfered with your being able to go to work? Did you ever, like–Willow: There was one incident.Jada: I had one incident. That was an eye-opening incident for me as well. I had one incident on Nutty Professor. I passed out. Makeup trailer.Willow: When you told me that story, that’s when I was like, no.Gammy: You never told me that. Wow.Jada: I passed out. I went to work high, and it was a bad batch of ecstasy.
Honestly, that sounds really scary. Imagine taking a drug you thought you were used to, only to wake up realizing you had passed out – and at work, no less. At the time, Jada Pinkett Smith was still an up-and-coming actress. One disaster might have ended her career. Luckily, she was able to dust herself off and make it to the set. But how did she explain her fainting spell? The conversation continued:
Jada: And I passed out. And I told everybody that I had taken–I must’ve had old medication in a vitamin bottle. That’s what I said.Gammy: We will think up some lies, won’t we?Jada: But I tell you what I did though. Got my ass together and got on that set. That was the last time.
No judgement here. You gotta do what you gotta do. In any event, the Nutty Professor incident seemed to set Jada Pinkett Smith on the right track. ‘The last time’ she’s referring to is the last time she touched any drugs. Quitting cold turkey isn’t feasible for everyone with an addiction, but Pinkett Smith was able to go down a new path – one that led to fame, fortune, and a gaggle of talented kids.
