LAist is part of Southern California Public Radio (SCPR), a member-supported public media network. Hear our news on-air at our partner site:
Last week, we reported that everyone's favorite musical, "Annie," is about to be redone by Will Smith and Jay-Z for the next generation of film-goers. Willow Smith was slated to star as the title character, but initial reports noted that she had aged out of the role.
Well, some new shit has come to light. It turns out that Smith dropped out not because of her age, but because -- at least, this according to her father -- she wanted to have a shot at a normal childhood.
Entertainment Tonight reports that while giving a speech at Temple University in Philadelphia, the elder Smith told the audience the following:
"Willow was supposed to be doing Annie, we got Jay-Z to do the movie, got the studio to come in and Willow had such a difficult time on tour with Whip My Hair and she said, 'You know Daddy, I don't think so,' and I said, 'Baby, hold up!' I said, 'No, no, no, listen, you'll be in New York with all of your friends and Beyoncé will be there. You will be singing and dancing,' and she looked at me and said, 'Daddy, I have a better idea, how about I just be 12.'
In other words, Willow had to force Will not to force her to do a movie she didn't really want to do cause she had a shitty time being famous on her first go-round.
"Annie" would not have been Willow's first film -- the youngest member of the Smith clan has also appeared in "I Am Legend," "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" and "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl."
She didn't hit it big, though, until the ripe age of nine, when she released her first single, "Whip My Hair."