As the long-awaited Tupac Shakur biopic All Eyez On Me hits theaters today (June 16), Jada Pinkett Smith is expressing her disappointment over the inaccurate portrayal of her relationship with the late icon.
In a series of tweets, the actress who shared a special bond with ‘Pac since before they were famous, explains how the movie got their connection wrong.
“Forgive me,” she began. “My relationship to Pac is too precious to me for the scenes in All Eyez On Me to stand as truth. Pac never read me that poem. I didn’t know that poem existed until it was printed in his book. Pac never said goodbye to me before leaving for LA. He had to leave abruptly and it wasn’t to pursue his career.”
The scene Pinkett is referring to was released in a trailer before the film dropped. It shows Pac reading a poem that he wrote about Jada to her before moving to California. Eventually, the poem appeared in The Rose That Grew From Concrete, a book released in 2000.
But that wasn’t the only scene that Jada criticized. She continued: “I’ve never been to any of Pac’s shows by his request. We never had an argument backstage. The reimagining of my relationship to Pac has been deeply hurtful.”
Jada was quick to celebrate Kat Graham and Demetrius Shipp Jr. — the actors who portrayed Smith and Shakur — explaining that they were not to blame.
“To @KatGraham and @Dshippjr this is no fault of yours,” she added. “Thank you for bringing so much heart and spirit to your roles. You both did a beautiful job with what you were given. Thank you both.”
Smith met Shakur at Baltimore School of the Arts, back when they were teenagers. “He was like a magnet,” she once recalled. “Once you paid attention to him, he sucked you in, and we hit it off from that moment on.”
Over time, their bond blossomed. “He was one of my best friends,” she said. “He was like a brother. It was beyond friendship for us, as far as just, it’s really difficult to explain because the type of relationship we had, you only get that once in a lifetime. He was like a brother-father figure to me. Very protective. We took really good care of each other, the best that we could. We gave each other a lot.”
Despite rumors, Smith has maintained that their relationship was never romantic. In 2015, she told Howard Stern that they had “no physical chemistry” between them. “There was a time when I was like, ‘Just kiss me! Let’s just see how this goes,'” she said. “When I tell you, it had to be the most disgusting kiss for us both…The only way I can put it is that the higher power did not want it at all. If Pac and I had any kind of sexual chemistry, we might have killed each other because we were both so passionate. And you know, we loved deeply. It was hard enough with us just being friends. It was a volatile relationship.”
Smith ended today’s series of tweets by honoring Tupac on what would have been his 46th birthday. “Happy birthday Pac,” she added. “You are cradled in my heart for eternity. I love you.”