Will Smith only discussed father’s abusive behaviour with his mother after death

Will Smith arrives for a special screening of King Richard at the Curzon Mayfair cinema in London (Ian West/PA)

Will Smith has revealed he only spoke to his mother for the first time about his father’s abusive behaviour following his death in 2016.

The Hollywood star, 53, claims in his memoir Will that, as a nine-year-old, he saw his father assault his mother and the moment “probably more than any other moment in my life has defined who I am today”.