By David Edwards
Wednesday, May 16, 2012 14:18 EDT
Actor Will Smith says he recently found himself
in a “not cool” situation when his 13-year-old son, Jaden, asked
President Barack Obama about the existence of extraterrestrial aliens.
“I was at the White House with my family and we were getting a tour
and, you know, Barack and Michelle and Sasha and Malia,” Smith recalled
to BBC Radio 1 host Chris Moyles on Wednesday. “And it’s me, Jada and
the kids and we’re walking through the White House. And the night before
Jaden had said to me, ‘Dad, I got to ask the president about the
aliens.’ I was like, ‘Dude, no.’ It’s not cool. It’s not cool. It’s
embarrassing.”
“You have to take that opportunity,” Moyles observed.
“I was like, ‘Jaden, do not ask the president,’” Smith
continued. “So we get into the Situation Room and Jaden gets the look in
his eyes and he leans over and says, ‘Dad, what’s my punishment?’ And I
was like, ‘Jaden, do not.’ And you know, Barack is talking about the
Situation Room and Jaden says, ‘Excuse me, Mr. President.’ I was like,
‘Hey, Barack, man…’ And Barack said, ‘Don’t tell me.’ And in perfect
form, and this is why he’s the president, and he stopped and looked at
Jaden said, ‘The aliens, right?’”
“And he said, ‘I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of
extraterrestrials, but I can tell you if there had been a top-secret
meeting and if there would have had to have been a discussion about it,
it would have taken place in this room.’”
Smith, who stars in the upcoming
Men in Black III and other classic science fiction movies like
Independance Day, added that he didn’t really need confirmation from the president.
“I already have the top-secret information,” the actor said. “I just
can’t share it. You don’t think that I’ve made all of these movies and
not been briefed by the White House. Of course, I know. I just can’t
tell you.”
Smith and his family
visited the White House in April to take part in Easter celebrations.
In response to a “We the People”
petition
asking the Obama administration to “formally acknowledge an
extraterrestrial presence engaging the human race,” the White House
Office of Science & Technology Policy in September officially denied
any knowledge of alien life.
“The U.S. government has no evidence that any life exists
outside our planet, or that an extraterrestrial presence has contacted
or engaged any member of the human race,” Phil Larson
said in an official White House statement. “In addition, there is no credible information to suggest that any evidence is being hidden from the public’s eye.”
Watch this video from BBC Radio 1, broadcast May 16, 2012.
(h/t:
Digital Spy)
David Edwards
David Edwards has
served as an editor at Raw Story since 2006. His work can also be found
at Crooks & Liars, and he's also been published at The BRAD BLOG. He
came to Raw Story after working as a network manager for the state of
North Carolina and as as engineer developing enterprise resource
planning software. Follow him on Twitter at @DavidEdwards.
