‘Red Table Talk’s Jada Pinkett Smith Reveals She “Had an Unhealthy Relationship to Porn”

It’s not every day that you get to talk about porn with your mom and grandmother, but in a new episode of Red Table Talk, Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith, and Adrienne Banfield Norris do just that. “Does Porn Ruin Relationships?,” the most recent episode of the Facebook Watch talk show, features an in-depth discussion with the mother-daughter duos about pornography, and it doesn’t take long before things veer into TMI territory. After matriarch Banfield Norris (aka “Gammy”) revealed that pornography has been “freeing” for her, Pinkett Smith explained that she prefers “porn that’s more sensual” and “artistic.” Later, the Red Table Talk hosts spoke with a husband and wife whose marriage was almost destroyed by his lifelong porn addiction. “I’ve gotten a real education today,” said Pinkett Smith.

Rather than begin at the table, “Does Porn Ruin Relationships?” begins in the dressing room, where the women discuss the episode they’re about to tape. “If I was still on my porn game, I’d be able to show you some good porn. ‘Cause back in the day, I had a little porn addiction,” said Pinkett Smith. “This is a lot for me,” joked Banfield Norris. The 18-year-old Smith then chimed in, adding, “Because I had you and Daddy [Will Smith] to actually have real conversations with, that stuff didn’t really affect me. Because I had a connection with people that I could talk to about it and knew what the reality of it was.” Smith added that she’s “done seen’t some stuff” on her brothers’ computers, an admission that both her mother and grandmother wished they hadn’t heard. “That’s a TMI moment,” said Pinkett Smith.

Once they made it to the table, Pinkett Smith clarified her earlier remarks, saying, “I feel like I was using addiction a little lightly. And maybe I will say now that I had an unhealthy relationship to porn.” She explained that at the time, she thought porn was “filling like, an emptiness,” but now, she knows that “it’s actually not.” The group talked about how porn can cause “unrealistic expectations” about sex, particularly for men. “In pornography, you’re never tired. There’s never a ‘no,'” said Pinkett Smith.

“Gammy” Banfield Norris said that she has some “qualms” about porn, but acknowledged that “it’s been beneficial for [her], too.” Her granddaughter was shocked. “Has it?” asked Smith with a smile. “Yeah. I grew up in a household that just created a lot of shame,” recalled Banfield Norris. “So you felt that porn helped break the shame?” asked Pinkett Smith. “Yeah. There’s something about it that was freeing,” Banfield Norris replied. “You know what, Adrienne? It’s okay for you to watch a little porn,” said Pinkett Smith.

Banfield Norris added that she doesn’t like to watch specific types of porn, including things that show “abuse” and “slapping women in the face.” Pinkett Smith agreed, saying, “And then you have porn that’s more sensual. It’s very sensual, done in a very artistic way … More about love making instead of abuse and aggression.”

“I cannot believe that I’m having this conversation with my daughter and my granddaughter,” said Banfield Norris. Same Gammy, same.

Check out a clip of Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith, and Adrienne Banfield’s porn discussion above. You can stream the entire Red Table Talk episode, “Does Porn Ruin Relationships?,” on Facebook Watch.

Watch Red Table Talk "Does Porn Ruin Relationships?" on Facebook Watch