Popular American entertainer, Will Smith has opened up about his political ambitions, with the actor saying he might consider running for office โat some pointโ in the future in a podcast appearance on Monday.
The 52-year-old was asked about his views on joining politics and his brushes with racism on the โPod Save Americaโ podcast hosted by Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Dan Pfeiffer and Tommy Vietor, independent.co.uk reports.
“I think for now Iโll let that office get cleaned up a little bit,” Smith said, adding: “and then Iโll consider that at some point down the line”.
The actor said he โabsolutelyโ has an opinion and believes in fostering understanding between people, as well as the possibility of social harmony.
โI will certainly do my part, whether it remains artistic or, at some point, ventures into the political arena,โ he added.
The Men in Black actor and four times Grammy winner also shared his own experiences of growing up as a black man in the US, saying he has been called with the n-word at least five times.
ย Smith said,
“Iโve been called [n-word] to my face probably five or six times. And fortunately for my psyche, Iโve never been called [n-word] by a smart person. I grew up with the impression that racists and racism were stupid, and they were easy to get around. I just had to be smarter now while they were very dangerous. I had never looked into the eyes of a racist and saw anything that I perceived as intellect.
He continued,
โFortunately, ignorance is more prevalent than blatant evil, so Iโve always been encouraged that the process of education and understanding could alleviate some of the more dangerous and difficult aspects of racism that have unfortunately been embedded in the very fibres of our country.”
Smith has been promoting his new Netflix series Amend: The Fight For America. He last hinted at a turn in politics back in 2015 when he said then-presidential candidate Donald Trumpโs statements would drive him to run for office.
โIf people keep saying all the crazy kinds of stuff theyโve been saying on the news lately about walls and Muslims, theyโre going to force me into the political arena,โ he said at the time to CBS News.
