Will Smith hasn’t been on Instagram very long. Not all celebrities were made for Instagram. Some celebrities were born for Instagram. What was the first sign for you that Will Smith would be great on Instagram? I nominate this, for obvious reasons:
But I also love this one below, not just because of the sweater (which I’ve already mentioned I wanted to buy at Christmas for next) but because of that expression on his face. We are familiar with Will’s face. We watched it for years on TV. We’ve seen it in movies. He’s that kind of movie star with that kind of accessibility. One expression can tell you exactly which scene from which film. His expression here? Bad Boys …with a dash of Independence Day.
Will’s Instagram greatest hit, however, was just posted last night. It’s a dad’s tribute to his son, only not the way the Beckhams do it. Will Smith here is shouting out Jaden Smith for his 100,000,000 Spotify streams… by parodying him.
Jaden, as we’ve seen, has his own flavour, his own vibe. And it’s awesome. We have celebrated Jaden here before. What makes Jaden’s Jaden-ness awesome is that, sometimes, it’s absurd. And exhausting. If it’s that way for us, can you imagine what it’s like for his parents? For any parents, really. I don’t have kids, but I’ve been a kid. I also have young nephews and nieces. And between, say, 11 and 24, kids will grind you down. Their superpower is energy suckage. And patience-theft.
So for Will, this is a message of love…but it’s also parent payback. Specific and universal. Enjoy.
