“I’ve never been called N-word by a smart person”
Will Smith has opened up about his experiences with racism, saying that he has never met a racist person who seemed to be clever
The actor and rapper has been promoting new Netflix show Amend: The Fight For America, and reccntly appeared on the Pod Save America podcast
Smith said that he had been called the N-word “five or six times” to his face in his life.
“Fortunately for my psyche, I’ve never been called N-word by a smart person,” Smith told the podcast. “So I grew up with the impression that racists and racism are stupid and they are easy to get around, I just had to be smarter.”
He went on to say that he has never looked looked into the eyes of a racist person, “and saw anything I perceived as intellect.”
He went to explain that as he got older, he “started seeing the ideas of systemic racism, but at the core of it, I noticed a difference between ignorance and evil.”
He said that he believes that the two “are twins, for sure,” but that “ignorance can be educated.”
“Fortunately, ignorance is more prevalent than blatant evil, so I’ve always been encouraged that the process of education and understanding could alleviate some of the more dangerous and difficult aspects of racism that have unfortunately been embedded in the very fibers of our country.”
Will Smith also said that running for office at some point in his future is a possibility.
“I think for now I’ll let that office get cleaned up a little bit and then I’ll consider that at some point down the line.”
“I don’t know, it’s like, I absolutely have an opinion, I’m optimistic, I’m hopeful, I believe in understanding between people and I believe in the possibility of harmony,” he continued, saying that he will “certainly do my part, whether it remains artistic or, or, at some point venture into the political arena.”
