Entertainment

‘Magic Mike’ Taught Pinkett Smith to be Playful with Husband

Published

11 years ago

June 29, 2015

Jada Pinkett Smith arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of “Magic Mike XXL” at the TCL Chinese Theatre on Thursday, June 25, 2015. (Photo by Paul A. Hebert/Invision/AP)

Lindsey Bahr, ASSOCIATED PRESS

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Jada Pinkett Smith wasn’t exactly sure what she was getting into when she signed on for “Magic Mike XXL,” but she certainly didn’t expect to come out of a movie about male strippers with some new theories on her own marriage.

“It really taught me how to be more playful with my husband,” she says of Will Smith, her husband of 18 years.

On set, Pinkett Smith says she tried to fall back and not get in the way of the antics of the male-dominated cast. A friend had told her that women don’t know how to share space, that they dominate space. She took it to heart.

“I really felt like this was a space for bro-time,” she said in a recent interview. “I tried to be respectful of that and I really enjoyed watching the men. It was so much fun to see and to realize men really need boy time.”

Co-star Channing Tatum, seated nearby, chimed in to agree. He recounted a chat with a female friend who told him that when women get together with their girlfriends, they want to talk about life. About careers, kids, relationships, everything.

“Guys don’t do that at all. We do the opposite. We do everything but talk about that,” said Tatum. “We create another little world. It’s like a pressure release. … Men are just like monkeys beating on the walls of the cage.”

But, Pinkett Smith said she learned that there can be a balance.

Normally, she said, she’d just default to sitting back and watch her husband play.

“He’s a silly man all day long. He’s the guy who hides behind the door and jumps out. He’s that guy. All day,” she said, laughing. “He’s just a big freaking kid. I always play the role of like, ‘OK, you be the kid. OK, that’s cute.'”

But after “Magic Mike,” Pinkett Smith says she’s “learned to enjoy that playfulness in him much more and participate in it versus, like, tolerate it.”

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Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Oakland Post: Week of September 30 – October 6, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of September 30 – October 6, 2026

Published

5 days ago

October 4, 2026

Oakland Post

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From Historic Memories to New Possibilities: Oakland Celebrates Coliseum 60

More than 75 people gathered at Youth UpRising in East Oakland on Friday, September 18, for Coliseum 60, an event marking six decades of sports, entertainment, employment, and community memories at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Complex. Held 60 years to the day after the Coliseum first opened, the celebration featured cultural performances and a mini-documentary highlighting its history. Speakers reflected on the venue’s significant role in the community and its future possibilities. Read more to learn about the individuals and stories honored during this special event.

Published

2 weeks ago

September 27, 2026

Post News Group

Quixote Atkins of VillageGIVE moderates a panel discussion at the Coliseum 60 celebration at Youth UpRising featuring Keith Brown, a member of IATSE Local 107; author, historian and former Black Panther Party member Tareka Lewis; and African American Sports and Entertainment Group President Ray Bobbitt.

By Carla Thomas

More than 75 people gathered at Youth UpRising in East Oakland on Friday, Sept. 18, for Coliseum 60, a celebration honoring six decades of sports, entertainment, employment and community memories connected to the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Complex.

Held 60 years to the day after the Coliseum opened, the event carried the theme, “One Community. One Legacy. One Future. Forward Together.”

The celebration opened with the national anthem performed by sisters Anese Jade, Amina Benjamin and Zaza Benjamin. Diamano Coura West African Dance Company contributed African dance and drumming, bringing movement, rhythm and cultural expression to the program.

A mini documentary highlighted the Coliseum’s sports history and its broader role as an entertainment destination. Archival material recalled performances by Prince and Tina Turner, along with memorable games featuring the Warriors, Oakland A’s and Raiders.

“The Coliseum 60 is about much more than celebrating a building or looking back at 60 years of history,” said event organizer Quixote Atkins of VillageGIVE.

“It’s about the people who made that history possible: the families, workers, athletes, artists, community leaders, fans and generations who gathered there and created memories together.”

A panel exploring that history featured author, historian and former Black Panther Party member Tareka Lewis; stagehand and union representative Keith Brown; and Ray Bobbitt, president of the African American Sports and Entertainment Group AASEG. Lewis described her family as fourth-generation Bay Area pioneers.

“My family and Black families who arrived even earlier helped build the Bay Area, grew businesses and established culture here,” Lewis said. “This should be taught in the public schools.”

Lewis recalled Oakland’s influence on sports, music and literature, from the Raiders’ beginnings at Laney College to stars such as The Pointer Sisters and Rickey Henderson who attended Oakland public schools. She also advocated for school museums, historical timelines, entrepreneurship training and investments benefiting corridors such as Bancroft Avenue and High Street.

Keith Brown, a member of Local 107 of the International Alliance of Theater and Stage Employees (IATSE) who began working at the Coliseum in 2011, remembered the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the Ice Capades, baseball bat giveaways and Nelson Mandela’s 1990 appearance.

“The special events are amazing, but it’s the workers that make the memories real for everyone,” Brown said. “They make the magic happen at the Coliseum.”

The program recognized longtime workers, including beer-stand manager Robert Preston, who served for 40 years, and Kenyatta Gentry, who worked as a vendor for 24 years and used her earnings to purchase her first apartment. Union workers Jose Gonzales and Carmen Sandoval were also honored. Speakers emphasized that Coliseum employment provided generations of residents with union wages and benefits.

Dr. Denise Saddler, the superintendent of the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) was also honored. Saddler shared her family’s history of working at the Coliseum.

District 7 Oakland City Councilmember Ken Houston discussed the complex ownership arrangements involving the city, county and private interests.

“This was the most complex deal of its kind in the country,” Houston said.

Prior to moving from the East Coast, Alameda County Supervisor and Coliseum Joint Powers Authority Chair Nate Miley recalled learning about Oakland through its three professional sports teams. As an elected official and public servant, Miley fought hard to keep the Golden State Warriors, Oakland As, and the Raiders, but he is hopeful for the future.

“The story is not over for the Coliseum,” Miley said. “We’re entering a new chapter.”

Bobbitt said the departure of three teams had once seemed unimaginable, but he maintained that Oakland’s future remains bright.

“Oakland is a cultural superpower worldwide,” Bobbitt said. “We’re going to write the future where we participate and drive the redevelopment.”

Bobbitt highlighted AASEG’s four-year partnership with Castlemont High School’s architecture program, which engages students in reimagining and creating redevelopment concepts for the Coliseum property. “The youth will always move us forward. They are the future.”

In closing, Atkins said, “September 18 is the celebration, but what we build together afterward is the legacy.”