I was fascinated to learn that the woman I met as Lena James, on "A Different World," used to sell crack, but I did not know what to expect going into  Jada Pinkett Smith’s new interview with NBC News’ Hoda Kotb to promote her new memoir Worthy.

After watching it, though, I was reminded of how much of a fascinating life she has led – and why she has every reason to talk about it as she pleases.  That said, I can understand some of the exhaustion or flat-out annoyance with what portion of her life is most covered. 

As we learned in the viral clip of the NBC special released before Friday night’s airing, Jada revealed that she and her husband, Will Smith, have been leading separate lives since 2016.  Hoda asked Jada if she was the straight shooter she says she is, why not be forthright about the state of their marriage? 

She answered that she was not ready for what would follow.

Much as I thought I was exhausted by what feels like quarterly reports on the Smith marriage, this revelation shouldn’t be dismissed as another instance of an overshare. It’s a correction for those who wrongly blamed Jada for the actions of other men. I still don’t quite get her “entanglement” with August Alsina, but when it came up, Jada did acknowledge her role in “the false narrative I helped create on Red Table as the adulteress wife.”

I never liked the categorization that she emasculated Will Smith in their Red Table Talk episode about her relationship with Alsina, but that’s been a longstanding critique. He may have felt a way about the situation spilling into the public, but participating in the interview was always his choice. 

Now we know it was his idea, too.

So, he played an equally active role in this false representation of their marriage to the public – a charade that probably would have continued if not for Will Smith slapping the hell out of Chris Rock at the Oscars.

And yelling, “KEEP MY WIFE’S NAME OUT OF YOUR F**KING MOUTH” afterward. Also, after winning the Oscar for “Best Actor,” he said in his acceptance speech, “Love will make you do crazy things.” 

I have long been a fan of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, but even he will tell you it is all his fault. Hoda asked Jada why he did it, but she didn’t answer.

“It’s not my story to tell.”

Yet some seem to want her muzzled altogether. 

Hours before I watched the interview, I went to get a fade and walked in on a barber going in on Jada. I like my fades, but while everyone is cool, barber shop talk makes my head explode if I listen too long because its gender politics don’t align with me. The same goes for pretty much every corner of social media. People are far more misogynistic in their thinking than they are willing to acknowledge or accept.

Does Jada talk about her life to the point where she comes across as a 24-hour confessional? Maybe, but that’s not a perception that can be faulted on her. All Jada has done is write a book about her life, and in promoting it, details of the book have been reported. She didn’t write the headlines. Nor is she forcing people to read her book, watch her interviews, or share memes and news articles about her.

I write memoirs; all Jada does, in this case, is her job. 

Many folks blame Jada when their grip is on SEO, the algorithm, and their friends. I find this complaint petty and small regarding Tupac Shakur, who also comes up in the interview and book. For those fortunate enough not to have suffered the loss of a friend, no matter how many years go by, if you’re that close, you’re always going to talk about that friend.

You know, especially if he is famous and all. 

I find it fascinating how folks can have these parasocial relationships with celebrities, but Jada can’t talk about her high school BFF peacefully. 

Beyond the famous men portions of the interview, Jada’s purpose behind all of this attention that her oversharing garners was best explained when she talked about being around 40 and wanting to die.

She was in a state of mind where she felt “Not deserving to live. Not feeling love. Not feeling light is at the end of the tunnel.”

“You start to think that everybody would be better off without you here,” Jada explained. She told Hoda Kotb that she now feels at peace. 

Why wouldn’t she want to talk about it when she’s shared so much of her pain and, as we learn, distortions?

I don’t understand the motives of everyone in this tax bracket and eclectic background. Still, some of us write details about our personal lives to help and connect with others, and it’s evident that Jada tells her story for similar reasons. 

I would probably advise her to step away from red tables when doing so in the distant future, but she is free to do and say what she pleases.

I wish more people would accept she has that right and be less biased in their judgment of her. If they can’t even give her that, at the very least, ignore her more quietly. 

 Michael Arceneaux is the New York Times bestselling author of "I Can’t Date Jesus," "I Don’t Want To Die Poor," and the forthcoming "I Finally Bought Some Jordans."