Chapter 606: Jada Smith

Martin, Leonardo, and Will Smith stood chatting together, quickly drawing a crowd.

Anne Hathaway held onto Martin's arm, her expression full of pride as she noticed the envious glances from the surrounding female stars. Every now and then, she'd laugh at something the men said, or lean in to whisper something affectionate in Martin's ear—deliberately showing off their close relationship.

The expressions on some of the other actresses' faces said it all. In their minds, they were muttering things like, "Bitch," "Vixen," or "What a schemer."

Martin, after all, was Hollywood's most sought-after prize—hottest piece of Hollywood. Many of these women were here tonight with only one goal: to get close to him.

In their seductive little minds, if they could strike up a conversation after the premiere—maybe even cozy up to him—things might move in a more intimate direction.

But Anne Hathaway's fiercely possessive attitude left them with little hope. That alone was enough to stir up resentment.

Of course Anne Hathaway knew exactly what was going on around her. Those witches? Let them seethe. She was flaunting her territory on purpose—hmph.

It was nearing 7 p.m.

Martin checked his watch and ended the conversation.

The group began heading toward the theater, moving together in a grand procession.

Martin took the opportunity to glance at Jada Smith, who was hovering near Will Smith, doing her best to draw attention.

Don't get him wrong—Martin had zero interest in Will Smith's wife. He was just curious: Since when did she go bald? The lush hair she had now—was it real, or just a wig?

"Wow, the theater is packed," Will Smith remarked. "You know, whenever there's a premiere for a project you're involved in, Martin, it's always standing room only. And don't forget—there are nearly a thousand fans outside. Couldn't get a ticket, so they're out there waiting in the cold."

You had to hand it to Will—he really knew how to flatter someone. It was a little much.

"Come on," Martin said with a laugh. "There's no cold wind in L.A. winters. And it's not just me—the whole crew worked hard on this movie. Nolan, Ben, everyone. Plus, you forgot to mention that Batman has always been one of the world's top three comic book heroes. The fan base is massive. Batman's never short on people willing to show up and pay."

"Unless," Will said, spreading his hands theatrically, "Batman gets turned into a male model and the movie turns into a fashion show."

He was clearly taking a jab at Joel Schumacher's Batman & Robin.

Martin chuckled. "I'll be sure to pass that on to Schumacher. And George Clooney too, while I'm at it."

"Hey, bro, don't take it so seriously," Will grinned. "I was just joking. Keep it between us."

The two laughed, playing along. Truthfully, given his status, Will didn't need to worry about stepping on toes—but still, mocking Batman & Robin in public wasn't exactly subtle.

As they talked, they arrived at the front row of the screening hall.

Will Smith's seats were in the third row. He said to Martin, "Jada and I are heading over. Let's catch up again soon. My son Jaden's a huge fan of yours."

Martin didn't care much for Will's troubled eldest son, but he didn't show it. He had bigger things in mind—if he wanted to enter politics down the line, he needed the support of the Black community. And as Michael Jackson's cultural successor, Will Smith held enormous influence in that space. Making friends was the smart move.

"Wait a sec, Will."

Martin called him back before he reached his seat. After a quick thought, he said:

"Once the premiere's over, I'll be on a promotional tour with the crew—probably about a month to six weeks. But when I'm back in L.A., I'll be throwing a big party at my place. Bring the whole family. It's a serious party."

"No doubt. I'll be there for sure," Will said, trying to contain his excitement. "I love parties—especially serious ones. Right, Jada?!"

The house Martin referred to was his Beverly Hills mansion. Even though he tried to keep it under wraps, the paparazzi had already exposed it. Lately, he'd been thinking of finding a new place nearby to stash both himself and his growing collection (Harem).

After wrapping up with Will, Martin led Anne Hathaway to their seats in the very center of the front row.

Leonardo and his girlfriend were stuck in the second row. With so many industry heavyweights attending tonight, there just wasn't enough room up front.

Before sitting down, Anne paused deliberately, scanned the room with a proud smile, and practically radiated confidence. She thrived on these little moments—tiny ways of showing off her status. Even if that status was borrowed from Martin, it didn't matter. It still worked.

A few rows back, Jada Smith glanced at Anne and scoffed.

"I don't like that woman," she muttered.

Will's heart skipped. He quickly looked around, then leaned in and whispered, "Keep your voice down. If possible, you should try to maintain a good relationship with Ms. Hathaway."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Jada said, clearly dismissive.

Jada Smith had a reputation in Hollywood for her low emotional intelligence. Time and again, she'd made careless public remarks that ended up forcing Will to clean up the mess.

She was… difficult.

She once publicly claimed that acclaimed Black director Spike Lee "couldn't direct for shit"—forcing Will to apologize in person.

She even said Kobe Bryant's wife Vanessa "had no fashion sense." Luckily, Vanessa was gracious enough to let it go—but Will still had to apologize again.

Then came the 2022 Oscars.

Chris Rock cracked an inappropriate joke about Jada's bald head on live TV, and Will, furious, got up and slapped him on stage. It shocked the world—and devastated Will's career.

But later, in her memoir, Jada wrote that she "didn't care" about Chris's comment and didn't need Will to defend her.

She added that the Oscars joke was just typical comedian banter. In fact, she revealed that she and Will had actually separated in 2016 and no longer considered themselves husband and wife. She was "shocked" to hear him refer to her that way during the broadcast.

In an interview with foreign media, Jada even said her ex-boyfriend Tupac was her "soulmate." The rapper had been gunned down in 1996.

She also claimed that, like her, Tupac had suffered from alopecia and started losing his hair early in life.

As for why she and Will kept their breakup quiet, she said, "I wasn't ready yet," and that she was "still figuring out how the two of us could function together" and behave in public.

Whatever the reality, even after all this, Will Smith never spoke ill of Jada. He said: "She's living a far richer life than I ever imagined. She's resilient, intelligent, and deeply compassionate."

She also turned out to be a far better actor than people gave her credit for—at least in public appearances.