Jordyn Woods: Jada Pinkett Smith Talks the Problem of Black Women's Stories Being Believed

Jada Pinkett Smith raised an important point on her Red Table Talk special Friday. As guest Jordyn Woods disclosed her side of her apparent cheating scandal with Khloé Kardashian's ex-boyfriend Tristian Thompson, the actress brought up the problem with not believing black women's stories.

"I have to deal with my family and all the people I hurt. [Karashian's] family also has to deal with the hurt," Woods, 21, said. "This story that didn't have to be what it was turned into the biggest scandal or betrayal of the year because I've seen what has been done to my life in only a week based on how the media circulates. They don't put their focus on real-world problems. They're putting their focus on a young black woman who made a mistake and not a mistake that's worth public crucifixion."

To Woods's point, Smith took the conversation a step further by addressing the victimization of black women even when they aren't the sole party at fault or not blameworthy at all.

"Well, you know what they say. Black women can be the most disregarded and disrespected creatures on earth," Smith, 47, said. "You know, being a black woman in the game for so long as I've been just seeing that without people haven't even having heard your side and just not giving the benefit of the doubt. It just seems like it's so easy to just target black women, put everything on us even if there's other people involved."

Whether or not Woods is telling the truth, she shared her side in the case of her alleged affair with Thompson. After attending a party at his home Valentine's Day weekend, gossip website Hollywood Unlocked broke a story that alleged Woods and Thompson got intimate at the private event. Woods encountered a wave of headlines blaming her for destroying Kardashian's family and betraying a close friend's sister. Thompson, for his part, wasn't being targeted with headlines in the same fashion. Instead, the media was more focused on the latest woman the Cleveland Cavaliers player was spotted with.

The #MeToo movement was created by a black woman, Tarana Burke, in 2006. However, The Conversation argued in June 2018 that much of the focus has "been monopolized by middle- and upper-class white women, particularly white Hollywood actresses."

For years, the public failed to believe allegations several black women and their families placed against R&B crooner R. Kelly—a man who has been accused of sexual abuse and predatory actions toward teen girls and women. In May 2018, The New York Times published a report that detailed his "two-decade trail" of misconduct and wrongdoings. Kelly was indicted and turned himself in to Chicago police in February, but this didn't happen until after Lifetime aired the Surviving R. Kelly docuseries in January. Allegations against him dated back to the 1990s.

AJ Calloway was suspended from his hosting duties on Extra amid sexual misconduct claims. Allegations against him first surfaced in June 2018 when journalist and activist Sil Lai Abrams—who is black—accused him sexually assaulting her in 2006. He denied Abrams's claims. He wasn't suspended by Warner Bros. until February 9 after multiple other women placed accusations against him.

Woods's scenario is nowhere near as problematic as the misconduct allegations that have surfaced throughout the #MeToo and Time's Up era. But, is the world being too quick to judge her?

Since Woods is best friends with Kylie Jenner, she's known Kardashian most of her life. However, Kardashian was quick to target Woods—who claimed Thompson kissed her first—following her Red Table Talk appearance. Kardashian chose to side with Thompson as she questioned why Woods is "lying." The Keeping Up with the Kardashians star also blamed Woods for being "the reason my family broke up."

"Tristan is equally to blame but Tristan is the father of my child," Kardashian, 34, tweeted Friday. "Regardless of what he does to me I won't do that to my daughter. He has been addressing this situation PRIVATELY. If Tristan were to lie publicly about what conspired, then yes I would address him publicly as well."