BREAKING NEWS: Will Smith Reflected On Heartbreak As A Father After Jaden’s Emancipation Request Following After Earth Flop: ‘He Felt Misled, & Lost His Trust.’..see more

Will Smith’s blockbuster-filled career may look like an endless highlight reel, but one flop left him devastated—not for himself, but for his son, Jaden. In his memoir, Will, the King Richard star opens up about a painful chapter from 2013 when he and Jaden took a chance with After Earth.

After Earth wasn’t just a box-office bomb; it shook Will and Jaden Smith’s bond to the core. The father-son duo hoped to deliver sci-fi magic, but critics—and audiences—were unimpressed. Instead of a cinematic triumph, they faced one of Hollywood’s harshest flops, forever altering their on-screen dreams.

To add salt to the wound, Jaden—just 15 at the time—was receiving harsh media and fan backlash. “Fans and the press were vicious; they said and printed things about Jaden that I refuse to repeat,” Will writes, recalling the sting of those brutal reviews.

Will describes his heartbreak watching Jaden bear the brunt of the film’s failure. Despite faithfully following his father’s guidance, Jaden was caught in the harsh glare of public scrutiny.