Jaden Smith shocked concertgoers at the sixth annual Camp Flog Gnaw festival in Los Angeles when he claimed that Tyler, the Creator, the 26-year-old rapper behind the festival, was his longtime boyfriend.
Smith, 20, has never previously made definitive public statements about his sexuality.
“I just want to say Tyler, the Creator is the best friend in the world, and I love him so f—ing much,” said Smith in a series of videos fans uploaded to social media. Sources have said that the impassioned announcement was just Smith
“trolling,” but he seemed determined to convince fans in attendance that the two were an item.
“And I want to tell you guys something,” Smith continued. “Tyler doesn’t want to say, but Tyler’s my motherf—ing boyfriend, and he’s been my motherf—ing boyfriend my whole f—ing life. Tyler, the Creator is my f—ing boyfriend. It’s true.”
Tyler, who has rapped about “kissing white boys” and tweeted about his attempts to “come out the damn closet,” seemed to regard it as a joke. Videos captured of the seconds after Smith’s declaration feature the rapper laughing and shaking his head back and forth to indicate no.
Seemingly motivated by Tyler’s reluctance to join in, Smith kept at it: “Tyler, the Creator is my f—ing boyfriend. Okay? If you take anything away from this f—ing show, that’s what you need to take away.”
The alleged trolling continued afterward on Twitter, where Smith has built a reputation for sending out provocative but vague messages to his 7.95 million followers.
“Yup @tylerthecreator I Told Everyone You Can’t Deny It Now,” he taunted. Tyler replied, “hahaha you a crazy n— man.”
On November 3, Smith tweeted, “My Next Album Is Gonna Make People Express Their Love To Their Crush And Come Out The Closet To Their Parents, Etc Pure Honesty November 17th.”
Perhaps he’s just a bit early.
