Fresh off the release of his new four-song EP 2024: A Case Study of the Long Term Effects of Young Love on Friday, October 18, Jaden Smith is already getting fans talking.
The 26-year-old musician and fashion designer has often stirred debate in the public forum due to his presence on social media, eccentric style, and candid confessional interviews.
Now, he's explaining some of the method behind the madness, so to speak, with his latest post on X (fka Twitter), which is already dividing his followers.
"All The Weird [expletive] You've Ever Seen Me Do Was Me Thinking I Was Totally Normal," he penned. "So Now Sometimes I Try To Act Weird On Purpose So Yall Think It's On Purpose."
"But At The End Of The Day I've Been Trying To Fit In This Whole Time And I Guess It's Not Exactly Going To Plan."
Some fans took to the comments to point out the irony of the post, with responses like: "So Jaden, is this a normal post or doing it on purpose?!?!" and: "Not Writing Like This Would Be A Start."
However, many of his fans praised him for remaining true to himself over his years in the spotlight, with supportive comments like: "It's okay, all my homies weird. And you my homie," and: "Just do you Jaden fr, MISFITS," as well as: "Trust me, the 'normal' life you're looking for ain't much better if it's even better at all than the life you were given. Embrace it. Enjoy it. You only live once."
MORE: Jaden Smith's latest update leaves fans asking if he's okay
The musician was actually asked the same question during an interview with Complex, and his response is basically identical to the tweet. When asked why he leaned into being weird, Jaden replied: Because I went through a lot of my life trying to be normal."
© Getty Images"It was a really big deal for me for a long time that people thought that I was normal. And that bothered me after a while. I started to feel like people didn't really understand me or see me, and I wasn't really trying to show anybody that."
MORE: Willow Smith shows up for brother Jaden Smith in intimate family moment
"Sometimes it's so frustrating to watch people try to follow the 'normal' thing to do when that's not what they really want to do in their art and everything," he continued. "It's very frustrating. And then you see people fall into it and generations of people fall into it. So I actively try to be myself."
© Getty ImagesHe also said there was merit to artists having more space to be "weird" and "push boundaries" with their personas, adding: "I think it's just about trying to bring in a different perspective to the world so people have a bunch of different perspectives to look at."
MORE: Jaden Smith steps out with $48,000 handbag for night out in Paris
Jaden also said of his new project: "2024: A Case Study of the Long Term Effects of Young Love is really a snapshot of my mental state currently, when it comes to trying to be a human and relate with people in the digital age that we live in."
© Getty Images"The mental landscapes of people are changing and the psychology of people is changing. And this is a mental snapshot of me right now where I am in my life."
