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Will Smith ‘gave blessing for wife Jada Pinkett Smith to have affair’ with singer August Alsina

Alsina claims the couple’s marriage has become a ‘life partnership’, as a representative for Pinkett Smith says his account is ‘absolutely not true’

Jacob Stolworthy
Thursday 02 July 2020 09:35 BST
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August Alsina claims Will Smith 'gave his blessing' for relationship with Jada Pinkett Smith

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Will Smith gave singer August Alsina “his blessing” to have a relationship with the actor’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith, it has been claimed.

Alsina, 27, addressed the long-standing rumours he was once romantically linked with Pinkett Smith during a new interview on The Breakfast Club.

He claimed the I Am Legend actor, 51, approved the relationship after his marriage to Pinkett Smith “transformed” into what he described as a non-romantic “life partnership”.

“I actually sat down with Will [Smith] and had a conversation,” Alsina said. “He gave me his blessing.”

Pinkett Smith’s representative has since said that Alsina’s claims are “absolutely not true”.

The singer is said to have met Pinkett Smith, 48, after being introduced by her son, Jaden Smith, in 2015.

Reports of a potential romance between Alsina and Pinkett Smith escalated after the singer cryptically “received a text” from a person referred to by the actor’s middle name in the music video of his 2019 song “Nunya”

Now, he has come forward with claims that he was with Pinkett Smith for “years” during her marriage to the actor.

“I totally gave myself to that relationship for years of my life, and I truly and really, really, deeply loved and have a ton of love for her,” Alsina, who recently released his new album, The Product III:stateofEMERGEncy, said.

He described the breakdown of their alleged romance as “probably... the hardest thing” he’s ever experienced “in this lifetime”.

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“It almost killed me. Not almost. It did—it pushed me into being another person,” Alsina said, stating that he had “never been in love in that way” before.

Smith married Jada Pinkett in 1997 after divorcing actor Sheree Zampino two years earlier.

Rumours that the couple have an open relationship began circulating after Pinkett Smith told The Huffington Post in 2013: “Will is his own man. I’m here as his partner, but he is his own man.”

She elaborated upon her quotes while speaking to Howard Stern in 2015. “At the end of the day, I’m not here to be anybody’s watcher,” she said. “I trust that Will is a man of integrity. So, he’s got all the freedom in the world.”

However, after rumours about the couple’s relationship continued, Pinkett Smith wrote on her Facebook page: “Will and I BOTH can do WHATEVER we want, because we TRUST each other to do so. This does NOT mean we have an open relationship... this means we have a GROWN one.”

Smith and Pinkett first met after her failed auditioned for a role as Smith’s character’s girlfriend on the 1990s series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Willl Smith with wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, and children, Willow and Jaden
Willl Smith with wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, and children, Willow and Jaden (Getty Images)

Will Smith’s high-profile film credits include action blockbuster Independence Day (1996), the Men in Black franchise (1997-2012) and romantic comedy Hitch (2005).

Pinkett Smith’s roles include The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and successful comedies Bad Moms (2016) and Girls Trip (2017).

The pair worked together on 2001 Muhammad Ali biopic Ali, for which Smith received a Best Actor Oscar-nomination.

Smith and Pinkett have two children together: Jaden Smith – who was born in 1998 – and his daughter, Willow, who was born in 2000.

Both have successful careers in the film and music industry, with the latter releasing hit song “Whip My Hair” in 2011.

Jaden’s film roles include The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), which he starred in with his father, and a remake of The Karate Kid in 2010. He has also received acclaim as a rapper.

August Alsina pictured with Jada Pinkett Smith in 2017
August Alsina pictured with Jada Pinkett Smith in 2017

Alsina – who has released three studio albums – said that he “loves” Pinkett Smith’s family like his own.

“I don’t have a bad thing to say about them,” he said. “They are beautiful people.”

During Alsina’s interview, he addressed the backlash he received after reports of his relationship with Pinkett Smith first surfaced.

“Contrary to what some people may believe, I’m not a troublemaker,” he said. “I don’t like drama. Drama actually makes me nauseous.”

The Independent has contacted Will Smith for additional comment.

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