Raise your hand if you are tired of talking about Will Smith and Jada Pinkett. I’m raising both hands and just for the record, I’m team Rock. If you are in the entertainment industry at that level and are attending an awards show of that caliber with comedians as presenters you have to be able to suck up the jokes. I didn’t know that Pinkett has alopecia. Through the years I have seen her make numerous changes to her hair and I was always a fan of her short hairstyles. I thought what Will Smith did was totally wrong and there is nothing you can say that will make me change my mind. I think he should be banned from attending any future Academy Awards presentations. Since his actions have overshadowed the other Will who happened to be the first black producer of the AcademyAwards, let’s show him some love. I’m talking about Will Packer. I suggest you “google” him and look at his body of work. I thought he was largely involved with reality shows, boy was I wrong. Here is just a snippet about Will Packer.
Packer has been included in several high-profile lists, including The Hollywood Reporter’s “40 (ish) Most Powerful People in Comedy, GIANTmagazine’s “The GIANT 100”, Jet magazine’s “Who’s Hot To Watch in 2008” and BlackEnterprise’s “Most Powerful Players Under 40.” As of 2018, Packer has produced or executive produced28 films (including Girls Trip, Ride Along and Think Like a Man) that have grossed worldwide over $1 billion combined at the box office.
Packer is a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity (inducted into the Beta Nu Chapter at FAMU). Packer marriedhis first wife Nina Packer(general manager of Bryant Management and Dir. Of Operations for Blueprint Group, the artist management firm for Lil’ Wayne and his YMCMB label from 2007-2014) in July 2001 and they have two daughters together, Nija Packer and Maya Packer. They were divorced in February 2009. Packer proposed to his fiancé Heather Hayslett live on stage at the 2013 Essence Music Festival. They were married in August 2015 in Georgia.
Packer was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida. He graduated from St. Petersburg High School in 1991 and began attending Florida A&M University that fall. In 1996, Packer graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of
Science degree in electrical engineering. On October 29, 2021, during their 134th year standing, FAMU personally honored Packer by renaming its amphitheater the Will Packer Amphitheater. Will Packer “you the man.”
Email the columnist at debbienorrell@aol.com
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