Will Smith Recalls How He ‘Lost Everything’ Before ‘Fresh Prince’ Fame

Will Smith has revealed that he nearly “lost everything” and even ended up in jail before his Fresh Prince Of Bel Air success. 

Speaking to Oprah Winfrey on Apple TV+’s The Oprah Conversation: Will Smith, the actor recalled how his life was in a “downward spiral” after getting into a fight at a radio station.

In a clip from the show, shared exclusively by Entertainment Tonight, Oprah opens the conversation with Smith by asking about how in his upcoming memoir, he mentions that he “basically lost everything” at one point in his life.

“So right before Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, I think people would be surprised to know, this is the first time, I realised you basically lost everything,” Oprah says.

She continues: “What was at the root of that downfall, Will? And the life lesson you took from it?”

Smith replies to Oprah: “When it rains, it pours. So getting into the fight at the radio station, Charlie punching the dude that landed me in jail, so the money is gone, the car is gone.”

“I am laying on the floor in a jail cell and I am like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me!’ I won a Grammy eight months ago. Like, what is happening? And it’s just the spiral when it starts going the other way. It’s like, sometimes you just have to get out the way and wait until the downward spiral stops,” he added.

Watch the full clip of the interview on Entertainment Tonight here.

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