Jada Pinkett Smith has been speaking her mind since she burst on the scene as Lena, the ultra-conscious Hillman College student on A Different World. Since then, the actress has advocated for a range of issues including women’s rights, Black Hollywood, moms, and for victims of human trafficking.
In a serious throwback, Pinkett Smith shared a video of what went down when she met rapper Eazy-E for the very first time. And spoiler alert: she didn’t tell him how much she loved him.
Eazy-E, who passed award from AIDS complications in 1995, was one of the founding members of N.W.A, a group known for ushering in an era of “gangsta rap.” Though N.W.A. is often remembered for documenting the tenuous relationship between police and the Black community in the Los Angeles area, the group also recorded a slew of misogynistic tunes–a fact Pinkett Smith wasn’t scared to call out when she met Eazy-E.
“I told him that before I met him today, I thought he was a woman-hater because of his music,” the actress said in a clip she posted to Instagram.
“He, owning his own record company, can make a change within his community to uplift us,” a young Pinkett Smith continued. “When I listen to his music I want to feel good about myself, I want to feel good about my people, and I said ‘Eric, you have the power to do that.”
After calling Eazy-E out, the rapper said he would change the music he produced “to a certain extent” but it’s not clear if Pinkett Smith’s words had an impact on the entertainer.
While Eazy continued to release “gangsta” hits for artists like Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Pinkett Smith said that after that day, the two “became the best of friends.”