Jada Pinkett Smith On Relationship With Tupac: ‘We Had A Very Volatile Relationship’
Jada Pinkett Smith has opened up about her relationship two decades ago with rapper Tupac Shakur, saying that the two had no physical chemistry and that their friendship was “very volatile,” Us Weekly is reporting.
Speaking on SiriusXM, Smith detailed how the two met as teens at the Baltimore School for the Arts. The two quickly became friends — just friends, Jada insists.
“You know, it’s so funny. Now being older, I have more of an understanding of what that was between us. When you have two young people that have very strong feelings, but there was no physical chemistry between us at all, and it wasn’t even just for me! It was him too. There was a time when I was like, ‘Just kiss me! Let’s just see how this goes.’ When I tell you it had to be the most disgusting kiss for us both.”
Jada spoke nostalgically about how the two friends, both aspiring entertainers, were both flat broke before they started rising to superstardom.
“I’ve had never in my life met a person like Pac. He had so much charisma. And he was poor… When I met Pac, he owned two pairs of pants and two sweaters… He used to tell me all the time. He was like, ‘Jada, you’re a superstar.’ He didn’t say it about himself.”
Once Jada and Tupac started making money in the 90s, however, the two friends found themselves on different paths. Jada Pinkett Smith started steady work in TV and movies — most notably on the Cosby Show spinoff, A Different World. Tupac, on the other hand, started getting into trouble with the law. Jada says that Tupac’s stints in jail changed their relationship, according to the Urban Daily.
“There was a lot of things that transpired once he went to jail. It was really once he came out that he changed quite a bit. Jail was a very difficult experience for him, and of course, we were on two sides of the spectrum. Pac and I have always had very intense conversations [laughs]. If we disagree with each other, we disagree hardcore.”
In fact, the two weren’t speaking to each other when Tupac died. Jada says that, to this day, she regrets never having had the opportunity to make things right with Tupac before he died.
“I don’t think I was guilty as much as I felt just sadness, for not having the opportunity to tell him that I loved him. But, I know he knew that. It wasn’t the first time that we had had a bad argument and stopped speaking. That was a constant in our relationship. It definitely taught me a lesson, which is life is too short. Do not let disagreements stand in between you and people that you love and care about.”
What are your thoughts on Jada Pinkett Smith and Tupac Shakur’s relationship?
[Images courtesy of: Getty Images / Chris Weeks, Kevin Winter]