Will Smith Says 'After Earth' Fallout Was So Bad Jaden Wanted Out Of The Smith Family

Will Smith starred with his son Jaden Smith in the 2013 M. Night Shyamalan film After Earth.

It was supposed to establish Jaden as the next Smith family movie star.

Instead, the movie bombed and Jaden's performance was savaged.

According to Will, things got so bad that the then 15-year-old Jaden wanted out of the Smith family.

“Fans and the press were absolutely vicious; they said and printed things about Jaden that I refuse to repeat. Jaden had faithfully done everything that I’d instructed him to do, and I had coached him into the worst public mauling he’d ever experienced," Will writes in his new memior.

“We never discussed it, but I know he felt betrayed. He felt misled, and he lost his trust in my leadership,” Smith continues. “At fifteen years old, when Jaden asked about being an emancipated minor, my heart shattered. He ultimately decided against it, but it sucks to feel like you’ve hurt your kids.”

Years later, Jaden would lose the Smith and become just Jaden.  But that was because he thinks of himself as a one-name wonder, not due to family-related shame.