Known to be particularly vocal about societal issues, Jada Pinkett-Smith spoke out on Facebook about 16-year-old Jada, whose alleged rape was viciously mocked on social media.
Following her social media post, the 42-year-old wife and mom further championed justice for the teenager by raising awareness about sexual assault and sharing with US Weekly a personal story that connects to young Jada’s horrifying experience.
“My niece was given a date rape drug that weekend. She’s 20-years-old — thank God nothing happened because she was with some responsible guys that took care of her,” she said to reporters at a panel. “She was safe because she was with a group of friends that realized — she said, “Oh, my God, I can’t feel my.. ” and she started losing consciousness. Thank God the people she was with put her in a room, closed the door and she didn’t come to for three and a half hours.”
Pinkett-Smith went on to encourage young girls to be safe because there’s “an epidemic going on out here in regards to the treatment of women.” She also described teaching 13-year-old daughter Willow about self-empowerment, taking pride in being the “unconventional parent.”
“What I do with Willow is I give her the opportunity to be empowered by [putting] herself first,” she explained to US Weekly. “Because when you allow a person to be an individual and you allow a person to have power within and have confidence on who they are, you’ll never have to look into the eyes of a man and question whether it’s a ‘yes’ or a ‘no.'”
Needless to say, we’re on Jada’s side. Both of them.
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Photo: WENN
