Jada Pinkett Smith reportedly used her relationship with August Alsina to further amplify her Facebook Watch show, Red Table Talk .
On Friday, July 10, Jada and her husband, Will Smith, confirmed that she and August dated in 2016. In the video, Jada said the relationship transpired because she, Will, and their children, Jaden and Willow, wanted to help August with his health concerns.
The singer has spoken up about his battle with autoimmune disease, in addition to several other ongoing matters. The Smiths shared their views on the rocky time in their marriage, and Jada said she hasn’t spoken to August since the relationship ended.
According to Page Six , the honest discussion between Jada and Will was a “strategic” move on their part. An insider claimed while Jada said she doesn’t have anything negative to say against her ex, the experience is still painful for August. He also reportedly still has a large amount of love and respect for Jada and her family, which was why he shied away from going into too much detail regarding their relationship.
“You can look at August and see that there’s a certain amount of pain that he is feeling, and you can hear in his words that he’s trying to speak his truth while still protecting the Smiths,” the source said. “Jada [previously] said she was mentoring him.?.?. what kind of mentoring was she giving him where he felt he gave his all to a relationship that has left him devastated and hurt? You did not help him, you helped destroy him.”
Angela Yee, who interviewed August regarding his affair, also said she believes he still wants to protect the Smith family, specifically the Set It Off actress. During the interview, August didn’t go into detail regarding his romance with Jada. Instead, he acknowledged that the relationship happened and also said that Will gave his “blessing” at the time.
“I think he could’ve said a lot more regarding Jada and he didn’t,” Yee said. “I believe he was truly hurt about his break-up with Jada.”
August stayed with the Smiths at their Southern California home for multiple years. He also went on trips with the family, including a vacation to Hawaii. The singer was also Jada’s plus-one at the 2017 BET Awards, where they were snapped in several photos together. While the rumors about the status of his relationship with Jada were ongoing, sources claim the romance didn’t occur while he lived with the family.
As The Inquisitr previously shared, the episode of Red Table Talk featuring the Smiths was a record-breaking moment for Facebook Watch. The episode had a reported 15 million views within its first 24 hours online.