Rumer Willis is broaching a tough subject when it comes to the issue of sexual consent. The actor and daughter of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis sat down for a candid chat about sex with Jada Pinkett Smith for the latter’s latest installment of
Red Table Talk. During the discussion, she opened up about her first experience with sex, saying that "I wasn't gung-ho about it — but I also didn't say no." Willis was clear that she wasn’t assaulted, explaining that, "When I lost my virginity when I was 18, I was more concerned with the shame I was feeling at not having done it. I was not abused, or it wasn't rape, but I didn't say yes." The subject she was touching on, however, is the grey area that encompasses power dynamics, sex, consent, and a participant’s capacity to give it."He was older,” she says of her first partner, “and [he] took advantage and didn't check in. That's what I feel like the man's responsibility is. No means no, but what if you can't say no?" she asked, posing the question to her host, seeming to reference the pressure many people can feel to say yes, or to simply (and silently) go along with what their partner wants.Both Pinkett Smith’s daughter, Willow, and mother, Adrienne, were present for the conversation and expressed different views on the subject. Adrienne weighed in with a story of her own, saying that sex with Pinkett Smith’s father was not always consensual. In an earlier episode of
Red Table Talk, Pinkett Smith discussed what her mother went through during her brief marriage to her father, saying, "I knew that my mother and my father had a very violent relationship early on.”Model Amber Rose and NFL’er DeAndre Levy also appeared on the episode to talk about their personal definitions of consent and their experiences with the difficult-to-navigate area between a clear yes and a grey area not-quite-no. Pinkett Smith launched the discussion with the opinion that neither young men nor young women receive enough education on the topic of what consent truly means, and how to ensure they’re clear when they give and receive it.That lack of clarity, education, and empowerment, said Willis, recently put her in an extremely difficult position, “In every situation that I’ve been uncomfortable in it is my responsibility to speak up… [but] when I ask you to come in, it doesn’t mean that I’m saying you can get me naked” she said. “I’m saying you can come into my house,” Willis explained, referencing an incident from a few months ago in which a partner pushed her far further than she wanted to go. “I’m this empowered strong person, but I could not do it. I could not say no.”While the debate was intense at times, Pinkett Smith lightened the mood by finding an issue all her guests could eventually agree on: d*ck pics, they “aren’t that sexy.” Watch the entire talk below.
[video_embed id='2058745']Before you go: Bruce Willis is back as John McClane from 'Die Hard'[/video_embed]
