We bet Jada Pinkett Smith never expected to receive death threats over her heavy-metal band, Wicked Wisdom. She’s now speaking out about the courage it took to forgo her fears and prove everyone wrong. After forming the band in 2002, the then-newbie rockers were invited to play the Ozzy Osbourne–created “Ozzfest.” When attendees received news of the lineup, the group received tons of violent threats urging them not to play the annual festival. The actress/singer told Britain’s Metro newspaper that fans didn’t believe in her group. 

"When I played metal music, I was mocked. I got death threats when I was added to the Ozzfest lineup, but I stuck with it. At the end of that, people got on board. Me doing metal was one of my biggest learning experiences. A lot of my success is down to not being afraid.... The Ozzfest kids were like, 'Hell no....' I didn't pay attention to them."

But her husband did. Megastar Will Smith wasn’t too comfortable with Jada moving forward with the performance, but he had enough respect for his wife’s dream to let her handle the issue. "Will dealt with it. I just thought it was people on their computers with nothing better to do than spew stupid crap."

Wicked Wisdom’s last album was recorded in 2006. No word as to whether or not they’ll ever record again, but Jada's staying busy. The rocker and full-time mother most recently toured with daughter Willow Smith when she opened for the European leg of Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never tour.

(Photo:  Paul Hawthorne/Getty Images)