Jaden Smith walked out of an interview after the reporter mentioned Kanye West and his brand, Yeezy. Notably, “The Pursuit of Happyness” star shares a complicated history with the rapper, now known as Ye.
Jaden Smith storms off mid-interview
Jaden Smith abruptly exited the interview after a Complex journalist questioned him about Kanye West and Yeezy.
On February 11, the musician attended Druski’s screening of Coulda Been Love Season 2 in Hollywood, California. Jillian Hardeman-Webb, representing the outlet Complex, stopped him on the red carpet to ask, “I see that you’re working with Steven Smith, who designed Yeezy footwear with Ye. What are y’all cooking up?”
The “Karate Kid” star, who had been patiently listening to Hardeman-Webb’s question, simply stormed off mid-interview when he heard West’s name. The interviewer, taken aback by Smith’s behavior, paused for a second and then quipped, “I guess we’ll never find out.”
For those unversed, footwear designer Steven Smith worked with West on Yeezy for eight years before the rapper fired him in 2024 (via PEOPLE). Unsurprisingly, the video has gone viral, garnering 78.6K likes and 10.7K comments as of writing. Interestingly, the comments section is a mixed bag, with some fans taking Smith’s side while others lauded the reporter for showing grace and maturity.
One fan commented, “He’s strange. Anyway, she handled that well.” A second fan wrote, “Let’s normalize this! We are not owed an explanation to nobody!!” A third fan penned, “My girl handled that well, but that’s not cool! Lol eye rollll!” A fourth fan remarked, “Don’t like this walk-off at all!” A fifth fan chimed in, “Normalize walking away unannounced when you don’t like conversation.”
Notably, West and Steven had built a successful working partnership before the rapper fired him in 2024. At the time, Steven told Fast Company that he felt West had “lost his mind.” He said, “The whole of Yeezy is circling the drain, and this is just part of it. He has surrounded himself with toxic, C-grade losers.”
Originally reported by Anwaya Mane for Mandatory.
