The Bert Show – Full Show PT 2: Thursday, January 8 [Vault]

Original Air Date: January 8, 2026
Podcast Host: Bert + Kristin, Abby, Cassie, Tommy & The Bert Show Cast
Episode Focus: Real conversations with celebrities, listener relationship dilemmas, and honest on-air advice—this episode features an interview with Will Smith, followed by two listener-driven relationship stories.

Overview

This episode of The Bert Show embodies its classic style: a blend of celebrity interviews, authentic life advice, and listeners sharing their personal dilemmas. The show opens with a highly engaging, candid chat with Will Smith—touching on relationships, family, artistry, and Hollywood, before moving into deep, sometimes raw, conversations with listeners about smoking and cultural expectations in relationships, as well as the emotional fallout of a broken engagement after a difficult, alcohol-fueled night.

Key Segments & Timestamps

• [01:00] – Will Smith Joins The Bert Show — relationship, authenticity, artistry, and “Lost & Found”
• [15:26] – Listener Jenny: Smoking, Culture, and Relationship Ultimatums
• [29:35] – Listener Carly: Virginity, Alcohol, and a Shattered Engagement

Will Smith Interview

[01:00 – 15:19]

Accessibility & Relationship with Fans

• Will Smith discusses his openness with the public:
  • “To me, it's important to feel connected. ...I don't have a lot to hide. ...the main thing is trying to create that relationship where people feel connected.”
    (Will Smith, 02:24)
• Credits the deep connection fans feel to his “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” days, observing the intimacy TV generates compared to movies or music.

Marriage & Honesty in Relationships

• On navigating fame and marriage with Jada Pinkett Smith:
  • “Our relationship with one another is 100% truth and honesty. ...When people are feeling insecure ...it's because there isn't the 100% purity of truth in the relationship.”
    (Will Smith, 03:37)
• Attributes their relationship's health to unwavering truthfulness and open communication:
  • “When you tell somebody the truth and you're not concerning yourself with how they feel about it... your commitment is that you're going to say what the truth is.”
    (Will Smith, 04:35)

Celebrating Anniversaries & Avoiding Pressure

• Explains why he and Jada rarely observe conventional holiday celebrations:
  • “You expect too much on the day. ...We just celebrated Valentine's Day for a week straight on vacation in Hawaii. ...It was a surprise.”
    (Will Smith, 05:20)
  • “You got to avoid the actual date...and we sort of make every other day a holiday.”
    (Will Smith, 06:21)

Professional Jealousy & Dynamics in Hollywood

• On competitive dynamics in their marriage:
  • “We're so drastically different in our perspective of Hollywood and our perspective of the business...Jada is strictly in it...when she loves the project... for me, I'm into the artistry of what I do.”
    (Will Smith, 07:02)

Parenting & Children in the Public Eye

• On keeping their children grounded:
  • “We don't generally find ourselves pulling our kids away or, you know, hiding them from the limelight. ...It's really more about their personalities and what their desires are more than it is Jada and I trying to, you know, force them in or out of anything.”
    (Will Smith, 07:57)

Clean Rap & Credibility

• Recognized for clean lyrics:
  • “I don't think that, you know, truly intelligent people necessarily need to communicate in that way. ...the F word will fit somewhere real good every once in a while... but there's no other real artform that finds the necessity for that as much as rap music.”
    (Will Smith, 09:57)
• On credibility in the hip hop community:
  • “If I'd had the time to focus and truly be in the music ...then I wouldn't have had to let the actor in me slit the throat of the rapper.”
    (Will Smith, 10:14)

Career Choice

• If forced to choose between acting and music:
  • “I definitely lose the actor. There's nothing that compares to being on stage in front of 50,000 people...”
    (Will Smith, 11:18)

Working with Jada & Creative Process

• On invitations to star with Jada:
  • “People are always sending stuff for us to do together...but for the most part, we don’t — we did ‘Ali’ together, we're going to host the BET Awards, so there’s a huge chasm between our working engagements.”
    (Will Smith, 11:56)

New Album: Lost & Found

• The making of “Lost & Found”:
  • “It's the first album where I really just said everything that I thought and felt...I allowed myself to say exactly what I think and what I feel.”
    (Will Smith, 12:49)
  • Features with Mary J. Blige, Snoop, and production from Ludacris and DJ Jazzy Jeff.
  • “Lyrically, this is some of the best work that I've ever done. ...there’s a track called ‘Mr. Nice Guy’ where I respond to a few people that had some negative things to say about Big Will.”
    (Will Smith, 12:49 & 14:10)

Relationship with DJ Jazzy Jeff

• Update on working with Jazzy Jeff:
  • “We just came back from South Africa. We performed in South Africa. We did a couple shows in London... Jeff produced the first track on the album. He produced Number One, and he has appearances on two other songs.”
    (Will Smith, 14:43 – 15:02)

Notable Moment – Laughter & Authenticity: The playful “get out of jail free card” riff between Bert and Will Smith at the episode's start sets a tone of warmth, humor, and candor.

Listener Story #1: Jenny – Smoking, Culture, and Relationship Ultimatums

[15:26 — 29:29]

Jenny calls in for advice about her boyfriend giving her an ultimatum: quit smoking, or the relationship is over.

Key Discussion Points

• Jenny has smoked since age 13; she's now nearly 20 and been dating for over four years.
• Her boyfriend, who still smokes “every once in a while,” insists she quit—citing both personal dislike of smoke and cultural expectations (they are both from an Asian background where, Jenny says, “Men look down on women who smoke. ...Women are considered bad people [if they smoke].” (Jenny, 19:33)).
• Jenny doesn’t smoke around his family out of respect, but still feels the pressure is unfair.

Panel Debates:

• The cast highlight a hypocrisy: “Is he trying to quit?” “He hasn't quit. ...He wants you to stop entirely while he continues to smoke as much as he wants.” (Bert, 18:37)
• Michelle (Caller): “Girl, don't let that man control you. ...Don't you let any man control you.” (20:49)
• Panelist Jim: Raises that the issue isn't just the smoking, but possible controlling behaviors: “Don’t rebel against him by not stopping smoking...but also take a look at your relationship and analyze. Is he talking about smoking or is he just controlling you?” (24:12)

Cultural Context:

• Several callers relate personal experiences about expectations placed on Asian women, but all agree: “You have to do [quit] for yourself. You can't let a man tell you what to do...not because someone told you you shouldn't do it because of cultural reasons.”
  (Tony, Caller, 26:55)

Panel Reflections:

• “He’s showing you that he wants to stay true to his culture. ...You have to make the decision whether you wanna stay with it.”
  (David, 28:32)
• Bert notes: “We show you guys all the time what we're really about all the time...he's giving you a great example of what your future may look like here.” (Bert, 28:45)

Listener Story #2: Carly – Virginity, Alcohol, and Lost Trust

[29:35 – 45:19]

Carly, 26, calls in devastated after losing her virginity to her fiancé while extremely drunk, having long planned to wait until marriage. She's struggling with regret, anger, and a breakup that followed.

Key Discussion Points

• Carly describes a day of heavy drinking at a festival with her fiancé, returning to his place where they had sex while she was “so drunk.”
• She’s in shock and heartbroken, feeling her fiancé “took advantage” and broke her trust.

Panel Questions:

• The cast (in particular, David and Jim) dig into the issue of responsibility, consent, and whether Carly is placing appropriate blame.
• Carly says fiancé refuses to join the call to offer his side, stating, “It’s no one else’s business, and he didn't want me to, you know, accuse him of something horrible and attack him for all of Atlanta to hear.” (Carly, 32:56)

Debate on Alcohol, Consent, & Responsibility:

• Bert stresses the importance of how sober each person was: “If he’s sober and she’s drunk, then I think she’s right.” (Bert, 40:13)
• Rachel (Caller): “It takes two to tango...He loves her, wants to marry her. If it gets to the point, I can understand why he doesn't think that it was wrong because they’re getting married anyway.” (Jenny/Rachel, 38:41)
• The panel is divided, challenging Carly on personal responsibility:
  • “Are you still not taking any responsibility on yourself for what happened?” (Jim, 35:25)
  • “You’re an adult. ...You’re the adult who drank.”
    (Jim/Jen Hobby, 35:36)

Consent & Control:
The conversation delves into consent issues—especially with incapacitation—Bert makes a sidebar note about the importance of not minimizing spousal rape or assumptions based on love.

Carly’s Position:

• She feels her fiancé should have known not to have sex while she was in that state, stating, “He had much more power. ...He knew...the alcohol now is getting in her way to make a good decision, and that's what sucks.” (Carly, 36:16)
• When pressed, she says she initiated the breakup, feeling unsupported and not acknowledged: “He wouldn't say, 'I understand that you're hurt.' ...It was just a human moment, and I said fine. And then here's your ring back, and he said fine.” (Carly, 37:49)

Strong Audience Opinions:

• Callers and hosts alike urge Carly to consider personal and partner accountability, but acknowledge her pain and the complexity of the situation.

Notable Quotes

• Will Smith:

  • “It is all gravy.” (01:21, on being asked how he’s doing)
  • “It's the truth. ...Your commitment is that you're going to say what the truth is.” (04:35)
  • “If I'd had the time to focus and truly be in the music...I wouldn't have had to let the actor in me slit the throat of the rapper.” (10:14)

• Caller Michelle:

  • “Don't you let any man control you.” (20:49)

• Bert (on relationships):

  • “We show you guys all the time what we're really about all the time...he's giving you a great example of what your future may look like here.” (28:45)

• Rachel (caller, on Carly):

  • “I'm gonna need for her to stop acting like a child and act like the 26-year-old adult that she is and take some responsibility for her actions.” (38:41)

Memorable/Emotional Moments

• The lighthearted back-and-forth and instant rapport with Will Smith, notably Bert’s “get out of jail free card” joke and Will’s easy, charismatic banter.
• The tough-love yet empathetic advice given to Jenny, especially as cultural and personal values clash in her relationship.
• Carly’s distress and the panel’s sometimes uncomfortable but honest attempts to wrestle with accountability, consent, and the emotional fallout of a compromised decision.

Takeaways

• The Bert Show’s greatest strength lies in its ability to foster genuine dialogue—whether with global superstars or local listeners in crisis.
• Will Smith charms with candor about love, honesty, family, and creative freedom, giving fans an inside look at his values.
• The relationship dilemmas highlight how entrenched expectations—cultural, gendered, or personal—persist in modern relationships, forcing deep self-examination by all parties.
• Listeners and hosts alike demonstrate that real support includes honest challenge, encouragement toward autonomy, and a recognition that some problems are more complex than can be resolved in a single conversation.

For more episodes and to join the conversation, visit thebertshow.com or call 1-855-BertShow.