Willow Smith says that she was told to 'suck it up' when she experienced anxiety attacks after the success of 'Whip My Hair'
- Willow Smith spoke about the anxiety attacks she experienced after the success of "Whip My Hair."
- The musician said that she was "brainwashed into thinking, 'No, you're being a brat, suck it up.'"
Willow Smith said that the anxiety attacks she experienced after the success of her 2010 pop song "Whip My Hair" were dismissed and she was told to "suck it up."
"That was crazy," Smith, 21, said of the anxiety attacks in a new interview with The Independent. "I was brainwashed into thinking, 'No, you're being a brat, suck it up.' Then I grew up, and I realized it was something that needed to be dealt with."
"Whip My Hair" was released in late-October 2010, shortly before the star's 10th birthday, and went double-platinum. Its popularity resulted in live performances, a record deal with Jay-Z's Roc Nation label, and a tour with Justin Bieber.
While on the aforementioned tour, Smith told her father, Will Smith, that she was no longer interested in continuing because she didn't feel like it — despite making a commitment. They got into a disagreement and Willow shaved her hair off in an act of defiance.
The Smith family has addressed "Whip My Hair" and Willow's haircut a few times in the past.
In 2018 during an interview with Haute Living, Will said that Willow "really tested him" following the success of the song.
Then, during a December 2018 episode of "Red Table Talk" (the Facebook Watch talk show that's hosted by the young star, her mother Jada Pinkett Smith, and her grandmother Adrienne Banfield Norris), Willow said that her dad was "harsh" at the time, but she's since learned to forgive him.
"It was like, a couple of years trying to regain trust for not feeling like I was listened to, or no one cared what I felt during that time," she said.
In an "RTT" episode released in June 2020, Will said that it was "so devastating" when Willow shaved her head. The "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" star said that the act felt like a "protest against me" and "a sign from the gods" that she didn't want to adhere to his rules.
Will also said that the fallout of "Whip My Hair" caused him to "put a pause button" on the "overt parenting" that he learned from his father.
Willow looked back at the success of "Whip My Hair" in a cover story for the July 2021 issue of L'Officiel magazine.
"For so long, I wanted to condemn that time of my life and forget it, just kind of push it under the rug," she said. "I really regretted it."
Since then, the musician has come to terms with the hit track.
"I realized that the content in my songs has always been centered around self-love and the universe and our humanity's divine path, about expressing oneself and being unapologetic," she said.
She continued: "I listened to 'Whip My Hair' not too long ago, after many years, and realized that it's the same message. I'm not saying anything that's against my values, and on top of that, I'm saying things that are in harmony with my values. Now, I would never take it back."