When Love Hurts.

As a person who took only a passing interest in the relationship of the Smith family, the whole 'August' debacle left little impression on me. I know the story; Jada slept with her son's friend, August Alsina, a rapper/singer and spoke about the affair on her podcast. The resulting confession left her husband, Will, looking somewhat foolish and emasculated.

For the few - very few - who do not know who Will Smith is, he is a rapper-cum-actor. Best known for the television show, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and the Men in Black film series, Smith was already a star when he moved to film and television.

Smith's spouse, Jada, is an interesting character. Before her utterances regarding her relations with Alsina, her persona had always been one of being Smith's wife. An accomplished, successful actor, Jada was not one - before her Facebook show - to cultivate a public presence. This is diametrically opposed to Will's persona.

Raised by her mother and grandmother, Jada was a woman from the streets. With an aptitude for performance, her grandmother encouraged her in that direction. At performing arts school, Jada met and found a kindred spirit in the late rapper, Tupac Shakur.

Shakur did not pander to or crave public approval. Whereas Smith's raps were happy and comforting, with radio-friendly lyrics that even school children could listen to, Shakur's raps were not. He rapped about life on the streets in a language and lexicon that spoke to that life. After his death in nineteen-ninety-six, Shakur's star continued to rise, his music influencing upcoming rappers and selling in the millions.

Tupac and Jada never had a carnal relationship, their relationship was strictly platonic. She admired him; his personality and charisma. He felt the same way about her.

Though Jada was already in a relationship with Will, she never hid her love for Shakur. At the time of his death, the two had become estranged, Jada pulling away from the street life and people that Shakur continued to embrace. Such was their bond, neither expected that they would never see the other again.

The untimely death left their relationship journey incomplete. There is no way of knowing whether they would have reconciled, whether the friendship would have evolved into something where they could respect the differing paths their lives were moving in. What is evident is the shadow it has cast over Smiths' relationship.

Will has admitted that he finds Jada's love for Tupac difficult to deal with. He also understands that it is something he has to accept. Unfortunately, battling the memory and influence of a dead man is a thankless task.

Shakur embodied many of the qualities that Jada admires in a man. He was his own man and knew his mind. He defended what he believed and those he loved and, having come from a similar environment, understood her. Mentally and spiritually the two clicked.

Will was the goal. He was young, charming, successful and, importantly, accepted in an industry that does not have many young black superstars. Tall at six-two, he also met the hardwired, intrinsic pull of finding the best mate.

Social media has not been kind to the Smiths. Before it, Will was one of the biggest stars on the planet. Even less favourably received films - Wild, Wild West anyone? - did not derail his ascendancy.

Unfortunately, social media is a curated reality. It is a curated reality that his children have grown up with, along with having to be the offspring of famous parents and the interest that brings. If Jaden was not related to Will, his unique take on life would have been a minor curiosity, no more noteworthy than any other creative youth.

The Smith connection, however, created a certain expectation. Daddy Will was one of television's coolest teenagers. He grew up to become one of film and television's coolest adults, portraying a world-saving pilot in the hit film, Independence Day and cool everyman in Men in Black.

Will was Obama before Obama. Except he wasn't. In a society where the fracturing of a black family is portrayed as commonplace, his union with Jada was a beautiful thing. Jada, Willow and Jaden were the beautiful, accompanying, black family, to the upwardly mobile, enigmatic Will. He was a black man heading up his family.

An actor/entertainer at heart, Will is, by necessity, a people pleaser. As such, the people closest to him are the ones he would try his hardest to please. This pleasing is, perhaps, the reason for his present suffering and predicament.

The Academy Awards are not what they used to be. In a post-pandemic world, the ceremony is seen as archaic and out of touch. I have a longstanding interest in anything film and even I only took a passing interest in the event. It just does not have the same kudos it carried before.

Will's impromptu intervention of Chris Rock's monologue and subsequent verbal posturing, probably got the Academy Awards the most traction it has had in over a decade. Everybody is talking about the slap/punch/assault; 'Chris should press charges!' 'It was assault!' 'The Academy is up in arms!' Nonsense.

The only person harmed during the incident was Chris Rock and that was mostly pride. That people flocked to Smith in the aftermath was awkward. One would have though he had damaged his hand on Rock's granite chin.

Will diminished himself with his impulsive act. Did Jada jump to his defence? Not so much. She was annoyed at the joke from Rock but seemed content to accept the jibe. Will swaggered back to his seat and then proceed to shout obscenities, compounding his tomfoolery.

Will reacted to his wife's reaction. That is a bad look in anybody's book. He felt compelled to commit that act of bravado to please her. He wanted to please her because she is the person he loves most in the world. There is nothing wrong with that but it made him look foolish.

On what should have been one of the greatest nights of his life, in a three-decade career, he risked career suicide to try and prove to his wife that he is an Alpha. It did the opposite.