Even if the Rock thinks that Tyrese Gibson (and his music) is baby shit, Will and Jada Pinkett Smith are here for the increasingly emotional celeb.
After the acting singer/singing actor made a video earning him the name “Cry-rese,” in which he sobbed over several minutes talking about his money woes and ongoing custody battle for his 10-year-old daughter, Shayla, Tyrese mentioned that he was in money trouble (i.e., “broke”) and asked where his millionaire and billionaire friends were.
“There ain’t nobody showing up for me,” he said. “I’ve got all these millionaire friends, I’ve got billionaire friends. I’ve been there for you, why is nobody there for me?”
Well, looks like at least one of the crew showed up. Tyrese revealed that Will and Jada Pinkett Smith gave him a cool $5 million, prompting The Root news fellow Anne Branigan to say, “They prob shook the couch cushions for that money.”
“My wife kept the news away from me cause I’ve been on with lawyers all day but our family and our sister Jada-Pinkett Smith and my brother Will Smith just sent us 5 million dollars to help keep us afloat,” he wrote. “You’ve guys asked me to get off and stay off the Internet now that my daughters legal fees will be paid!”
Though there have been conflicting reports on whether the money was a loan or gift and whether it had strings attached (i.e., if the Smiths told him to get off social media in exchange for the cash)—I can’t tell by the wording. When he says “You’ve guys,” is he talking about the public? Or Will and Jada? In any case, it looks like ya boy got some money to keep him going and pay for his legal fees.
In his 2012 book, How to Get Out of Your Own Way (oh, the irony), Tyrese spoke passionately about his admiration for Will Smith, who wrote a review for the book.
“I’ve watched Tyrese for many years—I’ve watched him succeed; I’ve watched him fail; I’ve seen him as a beneficiary of serendipity, and I’ve watched him suffer at his own hand. And in the recent years, as we’ve become friends, I’ve witnessed Tyrese Gibson learn how to get out of his own way as he wrestled his destiny from the fickle hands of fate,” Smith wrote.