The defining cultural turning point for the marriage occurred in July 2020. Singer August Alsina publicly claimed that he had spent years in a romantic relationship with Pinkett Smith, adding that Will Smith had given his blessing. The claim generated massive online debate, prompting the couple to sit across from one another on an episode of Facebook Watch’s Red Table Talk.
During the broadcast, Pinkett Smith clarified that she had formed an "entanglement" with Alsina around 2015 to 2016, a period when she and Smith believed their marriage had effectively ended. Smith noted that he had felt entirely finished with the relationship at that moment. The broadcast broke single-day viewing records for the platform, drawing over 15 million views within 24 hours. The word "entanglement" entered everyday pop vocabulary, permanently cementing their personal lives into modern meme culture.
