Will Smith is opening up about the viral meme that appears to show him crying.
The actor says it's the caffeine's fault.
Back in July, Will and Jada Pinkett Smith sat down for her Red Table Talk series to chat about her affair with 27-year-old R&B singer August Alsina. During one particular shot, Will appears to be welling up and very emotional. Fans immediately created a slew of memes attached to Will's reaction.
On Oct. 5, just prior to accepting the Robin Williams Legacy of Laughter Award this week, Will joked about the now-infamous meme.
"I'm not sad a lot," he said in a YouTube video. "I think because I drink so much coffee I get dehydrated and it makes my eyes watery. I know people think I'm crying all the time."
Referring directly to the Red Table Talk filming, Will explained that it was midnight and he even wanted to reshoot the discussion when the time was better suited for the situation. Plus, the family was trying to hightail it to Bahamas as soon as the shoot was finished.
Still, Will thought the Internet's reaction was hilarious.
"It played out, everyone was like, 'Poor Will,'" he laughed. "They think I'm sad. They love themselves some Will."
During the aforementioned Red Table Talk, Will and Jada both admitted that they were secretly separated during the time of the relationship with August. Jada, however, kept calling it an "entanglement."
"We decided that we were going to go separate for a period of time, and you go figure out how to make yourself happy, and I'll figure out how to make myself happy. … I really felt like we could be over," Will said.
"At that point in time, it was indefinite," Jada agreed.
While chatting about the tryst last July, Jada said she wanted to help August through physical and mental health traumas. She added that she was "broken" at the time of the romance.
"We did everything we could to get away from each other, only to realize that's not possible," Jada told Will, adding that she didn't see it as a "transgression."
"Through that particular journey, I learned so much about myself and was really able to confront a lot of emotional immaturity, emotional insecurity — and I was really able to do some really deep healing," she said.
Will and Jada eventually reconciled. They have not been in communication with August since.