The brainchild of Jada Pinkett Smith, Red Table Talk premiered on Facebook Watch in
2018. The show is beloved for its rare ability to personally connect with viewers. However,
there's still plenty to learn about this groundbreaking project. Here's the untold truth of Red Table
Talk.
The origins of Red Table Talk can be traced back to conversations between Jada Pinkett
Smith, her mother, Adrienne Banfield-Norris, and Smith's daughter, Willow Smith.
Explaining her daughter's inspiration for the series, Banfield-Norris told the New York
Times,
"Willow had been asking questions, and it dawned on Jada that there's a lot of things
that Willow just doesn't know about us."
As fans of the show know, Red Table Talk is admired for the raw, unfiltered, often emotional
conversations held between the three generations of women who seem to share a super close-knit,
loving, and unbreakable bond. However, what viewers see on the screen doesn't exactly
reflect the real-life relationships between the hosts.
According to Banfield-Norris, the open and honest nature of the hosting trio might lead
some viewers to mischaracterize the relationship she has with her daughter, Pinkett Smith.
Banfield-Norris told The New York Times,
"I think people have this idea that Jada and I are so close, and it's this amazing mother-daughter
relationship, [but] it absolutely is not. I think people [just] want to believe that
it is that."
There's no question that Red Table Talk has connected with viewers, sparking vibrant conversations
about often-taboo topics that nonetheless need to be talked about.
"The first time I went to rehab I was 19."
"Got it."
"Wow."
"And I've been going in and out of those places ever since."
However, the popular talk show has also allowed Jada Pinkett Smith to continue on the personal
voyage of self-discovery that led her to create the show in the first place.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Pinkett Smith said,
"I have a lot more transparency to go, a lot more stories to tell."
Agreeing that she experienced a "deep comfort level" when speaking with her mother and daughter,
Pinkett Smith revealed,
"There's always those deeper levels because as you go, you realize you don't know yourself
as well as you think. And that's real talk."
As Pinkett Smith explained to the Associated Press, the conversations she's had on her
show have allowed some, quote, "new doors" to be flung open in her mind, inspiring epiphanies
about herself while also helping her to uncover revelations about her personal relationships.
She said the process of self-discovery is never-ending, telling the reporter,
"I'm discovering myself every single day."
After Red Table Talk received a 2019 Daytime Emmy nomination in the informative talk-show
category, Jada Pinkett Smith spoke with the Associated Press about what she thought made
Red Table Talk stand out from the other nominees in that category, which included the likes
of NBC's Today Show with Kathie Lee & Hoda and The Dr. Oz Show.
Pinkett Smith explained,
"I think it's more of a storytelling show. It's just exchanging of stories and life lessons
learned from those stories."
"In my friend group, I'm the only polyamorous person."
According to Pinkett Smith, that element of her show fostered a different type of conversation
than what's usually seen in traditional talk shows, which often feature a simple question-and-answer
format between the host and guests. She said,
"It's like we're immersed in it as a two-way communication experience."
The star shared the same opinion during an interview about Red Table Talk on The Late
Show with Stephen Colbert.
"So I just like people to come and share an experience of some kind."
In November 2019, Red Table Talk introduced a special Red Table Talk-themed expansion
pack to the We're Not Really Strangers card game, described as a, quote, "purpose driven"
game featuring questions intended to inspire connections between the players.
The expansion pack featured several curated questions from Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow
Smith, and Adrienne Banfield-Norris that were specially crafted to encourage deeper relationships,
particularly between family members.
"I really liked it a lot because it's a game where you can get to know people that you,
get to know strangers, actually."
Pinkett Smith told People,
"Red Table Talk has been an incredible platform to share my journey, be vulnerable and have
real conversations. When Willow discovered We're Not Really Strangers, we knew it was
special and had the ability to open the lines of communication in such an accessible and
fun way to get deeper and raw with one another."
The point of the expansion pack, according to Pinkett Smith, was to create an avenue
to encourage viewers of the show to create their own Red Table Talk experience. She explained,
"It's all about families and inter-generations coming together and just connecting in a way
that reflects the types of discussions we are having on the show."
Red Table Talk is certainly a one-of-a-kind show. However, its unique format initially
made it difficult for the show to find a network willing to give it a home.
When Jada Pinkett Smith began pitching Red Table Talk as a television show, she quickly
realized that broadcast networks were simply not going to provide the kind of nurturing
home required for the raw, candid conversations she envisioned unfolding across her red table.
As Pinkett Smith told The Guardian, she decided to bring her project to Facebook Watch because
other outlets, quote, "all wanted to add a dancing bear to it." She added,
"I just wanted us sitting around a table."
According to Pinkett Smith, the free-spirited nature of Willow is another reason why mainstream
television would never work for her show. Pinkett Smith told The Guardian,
"Willow is not built for that kind of conventional set-up."
Comparing her daughter to a butterfly, Pinkett Smith continued,
"That's part of her mental health, she needs freedom. You've just got to let her fly."
When Red Table Talk launched in May 2018, Facebook Watch was still in its infancy. However,
the talk show quickly attracted a larger audience to the streaming platform.
In fact, the show proved to be such a hit that Facebook Watch renewed the series for
three more years in January 2020, prompting fans to get excited for more real and raw
conversations between Jada Pinkett Smith, Adrienne Banfield-Norris, Willow Smith, and
celebrity guests until at least 2022.
A Red Table Talk spinoff called Red Table Talk: The Estefans debuted in October 2020,
featuring pop star Gloria Estefan, musician daughter Emily Estefan, and niece Lili Estefan.
In a statement made when the show was announced, Pinkett Smith said,
"I'm incredibly proud of Red Table Talk, and thrilled to build upon this franchise with
my family and with Gloria, Emily and Lili. I'm excited to see the Estefans put their
spin on the franchise and take it to new places."
Red Table Talk and the open, honest conversations it engenders are a direct result of Jada Pinkett
Smith's own personal journey of self-discovery, according to the star herself.
She told NPR,
"I guess at this point in my life, I've really been doing a lot of interior work."
A big part of her own personal growth, she revealed, has come from discussions with other
women whose honesty about their own experiences has assisted her in her own voyage of self-development
and uncovering the truth about self-confidence. Pinkett Smith told NPR,
"I was like: Why don't we talk about this more often? Why is it such a secret of what
people go through?"
While Pinkett Smith is well aware that simply watching a TV show isn't going to change someone's
life, she remains hopeful that the show could at least play some small role in helping viewers
facilitate change in their own lives. She told NPR,
"I want to be part of that journey."
Viewers of Red Table Talk have seen Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith, and Adrienne Banfield-Norris
embrace the show's ethos of candid openness by touching on the kind of topics that usually
go unaddressed on television. From Banfield-Norris opening up about overcoming substance abuse
to Pinkett Smith revealing her own battle with adult film addiction, there's nothing
these women won't discuss.
"Alcoholism and drug addiction runs through my family, and I've had my own addictions
that I've had to get over."
However, in a January 2019 interview with NPR, Pinkett Smith revealed that the trio
had been struggling to figure out the best way to approach one particular topic: infidelity.
She said,
"We're looking at different doctors and different specialists to come and talk about infidelity,
you know, and how to actually produce it, and who will be willing to come and talk about
experiences of infidelity."
According to Pinkett Smith, she wanted any discussion of cheating to delve far deeper
than, quote, "sex-crazed men who don't know how to control themselves."
Later, in June 2019, Red Table Talk debuted an episode focused on infidelity with couples
therapist Esther Perel.
"So many people of the people that I see have been faithful for decades, and then one day
they cross the line that they never thought they would cross."
Red Table Talk has seen major stars join Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith, and Adrienne
Banfield-Norris at the titular table. However, if you're expecting Meghan Markle to appear
as a guest and perhaps discuss how she and Prince Harry really feel about their lives
after leaving the royal family, don't hold your breath.
While Pinkett Smith told BANG Showbiz that she'd love for Markle to be a guest, the host
revealed she's not one to force appearances for ratings, as doing so would run counter
to the organic nature of the show.
She said,
"The red table is for everybody, but at a certain time. So even for me personally, I
never go, 'I really wanna have [...] you know, Meghan Markle on the show.' It doesn't work
like that."
Though Pinkett Smith would welcome Markle to her show with open arms, the host made
it clear to BANG Showbiz that such an appearance will only happen if and when Markle finds
herself willing to open up and put it all on the table — pun intended.
Perhaps the most personal episode of Red Table Talk took place in March 2019, when Jada Pinkett
Smith invited viewers to the table to learn about Jordyn Woods. At the time, Woods was
at the center of allegations reporting that she'd hooked up with a pregnant Khloe Kardashian's
partner Tristan Thompson. However, while Woods had famously been BFFs with Kylie Jenner before
the scandal, the Kardashian-Jenner clan wasn't the only famous family in Woods' life.
According to People, Pinket Smith's husband, Will Smith, first met Woods' father, John
Woods, while starring on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. John Woods was a sound engineer
on the show, and Will Smith remained close to him until Wood's death in 2017. However,
when Jordyn Woods approached Pinkett Smith about sharing her side of the story on Red
Table Talk, the host was initially reluctant. She told People,
"It actually wasn't something I wanted to do because it was very close [to home]."
In an interview with Metro UK, Pinkett Smith revealed,
"I really wanted to see if someone else would do the interview because I also didn't want
it to feel exploitative."
Fortunately for both Woods and Pinkett Smith, the interview was well-received.
"I don't have anything to hide."
When Jada Pinkett Smith first envisioned televising the frank discussions she'd been having with
her daughter and mother, she imagined the project would be a fun hobby — not an incredibly
popular, ongoing talk show that would eclipse her career as an actress.
Pinkett Smith told Fast Company,
"I did not expect this kind of response and this kind of success with Red Table Talk,
but it's the one [part of my career] that I'm most passionate about."
However, while she never intended for the show to take her career in an unforeseen direction,
Pinkett Smith revealed she couldn't be more thrilled with the show's success, saying,
"This is the thing I want to do."
While Pinkett Smith hasn't closed the door on her acting career, she admitted to Fast
Company that her show has certainly refocused her priorities, saying,
"['Red Table Talk' is] what I enjoy most. In this part of my life, it's like [you] just
do what you love."
While Red Table Talk was the cumulative result of years of self-reflection by Jada Pinkett
Smith, the show also wound up having a positive impact on her mother.
Speaking with Essence, Banfield-Norris revealed that — while the raw, unfiltered truths
she, her daughter, and granddaughter share over the red table may be eye-opening for
viewers — the conversations often feel like an old hat for the trio. Banfield-Norris told
Essence,
"This is stuff we've been living with. We've been in a seven-year transformation, so these
are old truths that we're willing to share."
Admitting it took work to get to a place where she felt willing to share, Banfield-Norris
said learning to be vulnerable was difficult due to the generation in which she was raised.
She told Essence,
"I come from a world of judgement. It was difficult for me to let that go, but that's
what the Red Table has done for me. It's given me a freedom and kind of released me from
all of that concern about what other people think of me."
"I'm so excited."
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