Willow Smith's drastic act of rebellion struck her dad Will with terror

Will Smith is a father to three children, but it was a lesson from his youngest daughter, Willow, that became a wake-up call as a parent.

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith‘s family life has been under media scrutiny in recent weeks after the actress revealed the couple have been separated and living apart since 2016. Will Smith has remained close with his children – Trey, Jade, and Willow – but one moment during the latter’s childhood transformed his parenting approach.

Will Smith remembers ‘explosive’ moment after Willow shaved her head

In November 2021, Will released a self-titled memoir discussing his transformation from a West Philadelphia kid to a Hollywood leading man. His press tour included the intimate event, Will Smith: An Evening of Stories with Friends, in New York City, during which he opened up about his youngest child and only daughter, Willow.

Born October 31, 2000, Willow entered the spotlight acting alongside her father in I Am Legend in 2007. But it was her debut single, Whip My Hair, that solidified the then-10-year-old as a star in her own right. The music release led to a gig as Justin Bieber’s supporting tour act, and it was around the same time she chose to shave her head bald.

At the time, Will believed he was “doing really, really well as a father,” but his daughter’s act of rebellion made him realize she was overworked.

When Willow completed her tour performance, she told Will: “Thank you, Daddy. I’m finished.” Smith proceeded to tell her that she had to continue performing, to which she replied: “It doesn’t matter to you that I’m done, Daddy?”

One morning, Willow “shaved her entire head bald,” and recognized that he had disregarded her feelings.

“I’m looking and I’m like, ‘Got it. I got it, baby. I’m sorry. I apologize. You can stop,'” he said. “It was terrifying. I felt like I had been texting looking at my phone and stepped out into the street in front of a bus and Willow snatched me back.”

Will continued: “As strange as it sounds, at that moment I discovered feelings. I had to really think about the question she was asking me. The question she was really asking was ‘Daddy, does it matter to you how I feel?’ It was so explosive in my mind. That was like a deep, existential question.”

“My parenting style changed in that moment,” he recalled.

Willow admits shaving her head was ‘the most radical thing’

The then-pint-size popstar was known for long braided locks that perfectly accompanied her hair-whipping track, but in 2023, a buzzcut became Willow’s signature style.

Aside from her frustrations of being overworked, the Wait A Minute singer admitted that she kept the style because she enjoys seeing a “glare” on her scalp as the light bounces off her fresh cut.

“Shaving my head is maybe the most radical thing I’ve done in the name of beauty,” she told Glamour. But as a fashion chameleon, Willow has become a representation of women who live as their authentic selves.

“My only goal is to embody pure love and acceptance,” she explained. “And to inspire other people to find that place within themselves, and do the same.”