Adrienne Banfield-Norris, 67, is getting major attention after not hesitating to reveal she was against interviewing Olivia Jade, 21, on Red Table Talk, the Facebook show she hosts with daughter Jada Pinkett Smith, 49, and granddaughter Willow Smith, 20. The confident beauty, who is also known as “Gammy”, explained that she “fought tooth and nail” to not have Olivia, the daughter of Lori Loughlin, 56, and Mossimo Giannulli, 57, on the show to discuss the college admissions scandal that her parents are now serving time in jail for, because of some concerns she had about the intent.
“I just found it really ironic that she chose three black women to reach out to for her redemption story,” Adrienne said about Olivia at the red table before she was brought out. “I feel like here we are, white women coming to black women for support when we don’t get the same from them. It’s just bothersome to me on so many levels. Her being here is the epitome of privilege to me.”
i found the debate over whether #RedTableTalk should give Olivia Jade a platform infinitely more interesting than anything Olivia had to say. pic.twitter.com/OWO9lzXb8M
— Jarett Wieselman (@JarettSays) December 8, 2020
Although Jada explained that she understood where her mom was coming from, she admitted she didn’t want to continue a “cycle” of treating white women the way her mom feels like black women have been treated. “It’s not our responsibility to raise her consciousness,” Adrienne, still standing her ground, responded.
Here are five things you should know about Adrienne and her background.
Adrienne has had a few small parts as an actress
Adrienne has appeared in the comedy Bad Moms as herself in 2016 and had an uncredited part that’s been labeled “woman from Detroit” in the 2010 remake of Karate Kid, in which her grandson Jaden Smith, 22, played the main part.
Adrienne has served as a co-host on ‘Red Table Talk’ since it started
The show premiered in May 2018 and since its inception, Adrienne, Jada, and Willow have taken on some intense and insightful interviews about controversial topics with various celebrities, including family members such as Jaden and Jada’s husband, Will Smith, as well as Jordyn Woods, Snoop Dogg, and Demi Moore.
Adrienne’s Instagram page is full of throwback photos
The doting mom and grandmother loves to share epic older pics of her family and herself on a regular basis. Whether it’s a snapshot of her enjoying a cute moment with her dog when she was younger, or one of Willow dressed up for Halloween when she was a baby, she’s always showing off incredible posts.
Adrienne said growing up in a Black middle class family has given her perspectives on ‘race, infidelity, and forgiveness’ that may come off as ‘harsh’
“I’m still dealing with the effects of segregation and the civil rights movement and all kinds of topics around the issue of race,” the Baltimore native told The New York Times in March 2020. “And then in the state that the country is in right now, it just sends you back. It sends you back when you’re trying to move forward. Sometimes I think, too, part of my issue is that I am very old school in my thinking.”
She often expresses her sometimes unpopular views on Red Table Talk and it’s led to her having many online supporters who agree with her.
Adrienne has been sober for 29 years after struggling with a heroin addiction
The honest television personality was in the midst of the addiction when she graduated at the top of her nursing school class at Coppin State University. She is now sober and maintains a healthy and active lifestyle, that includes going to the gym, swing dancing, and rollerskating, to help her stay that way. “I think there is so much stigma attached to addiction, and people have in their mind’s eye about what they think that person looks like, where they came from, who that person is,” she told The New York Times about her previous experience and the life she has now. “You have no idea.”