Noted author Terry McMillan stirred up a hornet’s nest of controversy yesterday on her Twitter page when she referred to the children of Will and Jada Smith as “arrogant.”
Bloggers such as myself applauded Ms. McMillan for being brave enough to voice her opinion on the way Will and Jada push their children into the public eye.
I’m personally disappointed that McMillan caved in to the pressure from her industry friends and retracted her statements.
A certain Superstar asked me for my opinion on this issue this morning. I told her that the mother of Will’s oldest child, Trey, obviously instilled values in him and taught him to have high self-esteem. Unlike Jada Pinkett-Smith, who treats her kids like they are her friends.
Here’s what Ms. McMillan tweeted today:
I apologize for using the word pimp and exploit in referring to the Smith children. It was insensitive of me and wrong. Twitter is not the best forum to express some things. I didn’t know folks would take my opinion so personally. It is amazing, though, how fast an unflattering comment gets retweeted versus one that’s flattering. I’m done with this issue. My opinion isn’t going to change anything.
There are a lot more important things going on in the world right now. My Mama used to say: “They’ll talk about you if you do. And talk about you if you don’t. Let ‘em talk.” Some folks look for a reason to criticize you. They’re getting off on it and are saying much worse things than I did. I’ve got work to do. I hope everybody who has something important to do today besides worry about the Smith children, does it.
And for those of you who were so offended by what I said or thought I was being disrespectful, unfollow me.
