Why Jodie Turner-Smith & Joshua Jackson Won't Raise Kids in the U.S.: 'White Supremacy Is Overt'
As Jodie Turner-Smith and Joshua Jackson prepare to welcome their first child together, the couple is contemplating putting down roots abroad.
In an interview with the Sunday Times published last weekend, the pregnant Queen & Slim star, 33, opened up about her relationship with the Affair actor and revealed they’re considering raising their baby elsewhere.
“The racial dynamics over here are fraught. White supremacy is overt. It’s the reason I don’t want to raise my kids here,” Turner-Smith told the publication. She added: “I don’t want my kids to grow up doing active shooter drills at school.”
As to where they’ll possibly go?
“England has gone off the rails,” the British actress said, “so I was thinking maybe Canada.” (Jackson, 41, was born in Vancouver, British Columbia.)
Last month, Turner-Smith and Jackson tied the knot after picking up a marriage license in August. Still, she wouldn’t confirm the matrimony to the publication.
“I haven’t said to anybody, ‘Yeah, we got married’, ” she said. “People are assuming whatever they want, but when people tell me ‘Congratulations’, I say ‘Thank you’. ”
The daughter of Jamaican parents, Turner-Smith was raised in Peterborough, England. She recalled being one of the only black children in her village school, aside from her siblings. After her parents divorced, her mother relocated to Gaithersburg, Maryland, with her, her brother and half-sister.
RELATED: Pregnant Jodie Turner-Smith Shows Off Baby Bump While Stepping Out with Husband Joshua Jackson
“So I was really excited when I came to America about meeting black people. But it was a huge culture shock, because I was rejected by the black community. They were like, ‘You talk like a white girl.’ People would call me an Oreo. All I wanted was acceptance,” she said.
When she moved to the U.S., Turner-Smith said she “would practice in the mirror, talking in a way that I thought was like black American: cutting you down with my words in five seconds if you came for me.”
Turner-Smith said she still experiences prejudice because of her skin color.
“There was this wave of people who were upset that I was possibly married to a white man,” she said. “In America interracial dating or marriage is not something that is as accepted. Certain people feel strongly against it, in both communities. I felt it from the black community. It is so complicated. I don’t want to give it too much energy. The horrific things that people were saying, it makes you. … I’m learning there are certain things I have to really keep for myself.”
Any criticism doesn’t impact the love she and Jackson share.
“We are obsessed with each other,” said Turner-Smith, who admitted she “went back and rewatched a lot of [Joshua’s] movies. I do it whenever we’re apart because I miss him so much. He loves that I am obsessed with him.”
Referencing her pregnancy, she added, “Joshua tells me every day, ‘The way you’re handling this is incredible.’ He’s more tired than I am.”
Earlier this month, the actors made their first major appearance as a married couple when they attended W Magazine‘s Best Performances pre-Golden Globes party at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
“Jackson was extra attentive to his wife Turner-Smith as he escorted her around the party,” a source later told PEOPLE.
A post shared by Jodie Turner-Smith (@jodiesmith) on Jan 1, 2020 at 8:09am PST
Their appearance came shortly after their holiday vacation together in Jamaica, where Jackson captured a revealing photo of his wife standing on the shore completely naked.
“Happy New Year & Happy New Decade 🥳🙌🏿💫🎉💞 the last 10 years have been quite the ride!!! i laughed, i cried, and, most importantly, I LEARNED. keep going,” Turner-Smith wrote alongside the sexy shot.
The actress added, “May we all see that our wildest dreams *continue* to come true ✨✨✨” with the hashtags #LiveFootageOfMeInMyElement and #ItsNotAThirstTrapIfYourManTakesThePhoto.
