Will Smith has faced controversy throughout his career, including rumors of a gay relationship with actor Duane Martin.

In the past years, Will Smith has seen his fair share of drama and his eventual fall in the eyes of the public after the infamous Slapgate incident when he hit Chris Rock. But this isn’t the first time the star has found himself in a controversy, in fact, going as far back as 2012, Smith was knee-deep in rumors and negative press.

Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards

At that time, a new report had suggested that the blockbuster Hollywood star had been in a queer relationship with fellow actor Duane Martin, which is why Smith’s wife Jada Smith had separated from him years later. But, to clear the air, Martin’s ex-wife and actress Tisha Campbell had voiced her concern and objected to this rumor.

Tisha Campbell Denied Rumors Of Her Ex-Husband And Will Smith’s Gay Relationship

Tisha Campbell and Duane Martin

The truly shocking revelation about how actress Jada Smith said that she and her husband Will Smith have practically been separated for years now was a lot to take in for the world. However, a past article published by the reputable Star Magazine (via The St. Louis American) may have revealed why this happened in the future.

According to them, Smith was in a gay relationship with actor Duane Martin. So naturally, Martin’s wife had to step in her hubby’s defense.

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After the rumors started swirling around about her husband getting busy with the Hancock star, she took to her now-deleted X page and decided to put a stop to them. This wasn’t the first time the couple had experienced this kind of false information about Martin’s sexuality, in fact, these rumors go as far back as 2007. In the tweet, she talked about stopping this smear campaign not just for her then-husband, but also the Smiths. She said (via Foxync):

“Usually I ignore negativity but I’m tired of the media attacking TheSmiths. They’re n amazing couple n I wish ppl wld stop perpetuatin LIES N LEAVE THEM ALONE!”

This rumor also gained a lot of traction since even Smith’s sexuality had been in question ever since he played the role of a homosexual con artist in the 1993 film Six Degrees of Separation. 

What Is The Recent Controversy Surrounding Jada And Will Smith?

Jada Smith in a still from Woo

More than a decade after the aforementioned incident went viral, Jada Smith has revealed that she and her husband have been separated from each other as far back as 2015. During the press tour for promoting her recently released memoir titled Worthy, she let several outlets know that she and Will Smith don’t share a romantic relationship anymore.

This came as somewhat of a shock since no one knew this was the case with the two, not even a single rumor was spread about it, which confused the whole world when Smith revealed it to the public.