Willow Smith Reflects On Feeling "Sadness That I Didn't Know Existed" After Early Stardom

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Environmental Media Association 2nd Annual Honors Benefit Gala
PACIFIC PALISADES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 28: Willow Smith attends the Environmental Media Association 2nd Annual Honors Benefit Gala at Private Residence on September 28, 2019 in Pacific Palisades, California. (Photo by Andrew Toth/Getty Images for The Environmental Media Association)
Willow Smith spoke candidly about the "dark path" her life could have gone down after becoming famous as a kid.

Willow Smith, who was thrust into stardom at the age of 10 years old following the release of "Whip My Hair," says her life could've gone down a dark path. Smith reflected on her childhood fame during a recent interview with Sirius XM's Bevelations.

"I saw the dark path I could have gone down. I think I kind of caught myself before my coping mechanisms started too early," Smith told host Bevy Smith, as caught by E! News. "I knew I needed to be a kid."

(Photo by Jerritt Clark/Getty Images for Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 2 Presented by Amazon Prime Video)

She added: "I had touched a sadness that I didn't know existed. And that was terrifying. Because I was like, 'I've never felt this before. I don't know, this is obviously not healthy.' 'I need to stop this before it becomes a darker, a darker place.'"

"And realistically in my young mind, I really didn't know," Willow continued. "I just knew it felt wrong. I just knew it. I just knew everything felt wrong."

Willow eventually returned to music in 2015 to release her debut studio album, Ardipithecus. Her newest album, Coping Mechanism, was released on Oct. 7. A day after the project was released, Willow performed "Ur a Stranger" and "Curious/Furious" on Saturday Night Live.

Elsewhere in the interview, Willow discussed the series Red Table Talk, which she hosts with her mother Jada Pinkett Smith, and grandmother Adrienne Banfield-Norris.

[Via]

About The Author
Cole Blake is a current staff writer at HotNewHipHop based out of New York City. He began writing for the site as an intern back in 2018 while finishing his B.A. in Journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s covered a number of breaking stories for HNHH. These include the ongoing YSL RICO trial, the allegations surrounding Diddy, and much more. His work also extends outside of hip-hop, having written extensively about a myriad of topics including politics, sports, and pop culture. He’s attended several music festivals to provide coverage for the site as well, such as Rolling Loud and Governors Ball.
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