With their marriage under social media scrutiny, Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith reaffirmed their commitment to each other as Pinkett Smith admitted to having a relationship with musician August Alsina when she and Smith were separated. In a one-on-one conversation Friday on Pinkett Smith’s series “Red Table Talk,” she said she was reluctantly discussing Alsina’s reported comments because of the public speculation they provoked. What started as a friendship and a family effort to help Alsina with his health about four years ago became a “different kind of entanglement” at a time when she and Smith thought their marriage was over, Pinkett Smith said. “An entanglement? A relationship,” Smith said, prodding his wife to be more specific, alluding to the Facebook Watch show’s dedication to candid discussion. “Yes, it was a relationship. Absolutely. I was in a lot of pain. I was very broken,” she replied. “Now, in the process of that relationship, I definitely realize that you can’t find happiness outside of yourself. … I would definitely say we did everything that we could to get away from each other, only to realize that that wasn’t possible.” At one point in the conversation they echoed each other, saying: “We ride together. We die together. Bad marriage for life,” an allusion to a catchphrase in Smith’s “Bad Boys” franchise. The two have been married since 1997 and have two children, Jaden and Willow. A representative for Alsina didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Composer William “Bill” Conti and his wife, Shelby Cox Conti, are donating a lifetime of original scores to Louisiana State University, where they met as students. The Oscar- and Emmy Award-winning composer wrote scores for movies including “Rocky,” “The Right Stuff” and “The Karate Kid.” The William and Shelby Conti Papers are expected to arrive sometime in the fall, LSU Libraries spokeswoman Sigrid Kelsey said in an email Thursday. “We are proud to be stewards of the life’s work of one of our own graduates and honored to have been part of Bill’s remarkable journey as a musician. His and Shelby’s generosity will make Bill’s renowned scores accessible to our students, faculty and staff, strengthening our programs in musicology and music theory,” Todd Queen, dean of LSU’s College of Music & Dramatic Arts, said in a news release. Conti, who grew up in Miami, went to LSU on a bassoon scholarship, but he also played piccolo in the marching band and piano for dance team auditions. He met Shelby Cox at a dance team audition. They now live in Los Angeles. One of their five grandchildren is now in the LSU music school.