“I never want to be the thing that was once done to me.”
Jada Pinkett-Smith’s words resonated on the latest episode of Red Table Talk, it was her reason for having Olivia Jade Giannulli, daughter of convicted scammers Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli, on her show. She touted a message she’s shared on her platform before, that we should all treat each other equally regardless of race.
At the show’s opening, she discusses the backlash she knows is coming, with her mother, affectionately called Gammy, and her daughter Willow Smith.
Willow agrees with her mother’s sentiment, Giannulli deserves to share her story, and who other than three women whose platform is dedicated to uplifting women and mental health? But Gammy disagrees asking why Giannulli needed their table in particular. “I just found it really ironic that she chose three Black women to reach out to for her redemption story.”
And who could disagree with why she feels that way? For centuries, black women have had little to no space for themselves. No place where they could share ideas, their similar interests and showcase black faces that looked like their viewers. The Red Table Talk, while it doesn’t advertise as a black show, has a following of black women, and they discuss race frequently.
“I just found it really ironic that she chose three Black women to reach out to for her redemption story.”
Why does Giannulli need redemption? Her parents went to jail for a couple weeks. She’s not going to lose her house after this blows over, her parents will still have money, and she could probably still go to college if she really wanted to. So why is she seeking the Red Table Talk to share her story? A story, I might add, that we already have heard.
Too often white women use tears and victim hood to justify their actions. Before her parents were convicted, Giannulli was on YouTube sharing videos about how she was going to school to party, and probably wouldn’t attend classes. She even admitted she was confused as to what her parents did wrong. Someone had to sit her down and explain why paying to get into schools and programs that you weren’t accepted to, is a crime.
All this, while kids of all races and classes, but black kids in particular are struggling to get into schools despite good grades and even the money to do so.
Jada herself, in my opinion, could not get away with a crime like that without getting caught, and the backlash would be much fierce, her career would be on the line.
Yet, to satiate her desire to bring kindness and equality to all, the episode ends up being a space for Giannulli to show her ignorance to the situation again, while black women nod in understanding.
They should have just let her go whatever couple months needed to go by before everyone forgot about it, and moved on. Which will likely still happen. Her parents will still be known for their achievements, and she can go back to her lavish life.
Meanwhile the Red Table Talk has opened themselves up as the next redemption stop, green lighting what I believe is un-needed empathy to people who are not victims.