Willow Smith’s honesty is always refreshing. And during a recent interview, the “transparent soul” opened up about her journey to ensure her mental health remains intact.
The mental health of Black women is finally being addressed in a very real way, much in part to several high-profile sportswomen who have chosen to prioritize themselves over societal pressures.
“I have seen for so many years, the hate that not just Black women but people of different colours, that aren’t white, that want to come into rock music and into this space,” Willow said on the Yungblud Podcast.
I just hope that I can show young Black girls that despite the fact that people are telling us ‘We shouldn’t listen to this music, we shouldn’t dress this way, we shouldn’t sing this way’, we do it! And do it to the fullest! And it’s kinda the best that it’s ever been done.”
Willow is the daughter of Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith — both Hollywood giants. Some might assume that her parentage may mean the rising rock star would have an easy time acclimating herself in the music industry, but she says that was not the case.
“For so long, I had a lot of fear,” Willow said. “I felt extremely unsafe in my music career in the past and that feeling of insecurity or unsafety, like I didn’t feel protected, which went really deep.”
“It’s interesting because all of those memories and emotions have just been resurfacing.”
She recalled a time when she performed on Jimmy Fallon’s show and suffered a panic attack. Those around her were unsympathetic.
“They didn’t see it as an anxiety attack — they saw it as a tantrum, and now I look back and know it was an anxiety attack,” she added. “[I] tell myself that, ‘You’re not 9, you’re a grown-ass woman.’ I have to retrain my mind. My mental health is in a very fragile state, but I think it’s in a state where it’s about to grow in a really awesome way.”
