Jada Pinkett Smith says Magic Mike helped her 'see how male stripping can be inspirational'

Jimmy Kimmel and Jada Pinkett Smith talk male strippers

(Image credit: Jimmy Kimmel Live)

published 26 June 2015

Magic Mike XXL's Jada Pinkett Smith was on Thursday's Jimmy Kimmel Live, and Kimmel was very curious about how working on the movie shaped her views on male stripping. "Have you ever been to a male strip club?" she asked, and he has. In college, Kimmel said, he worked as a valet at a male strip club. "The women would go it, they'd be very normal," he explained. "And they'd come out maniacs." Pinkett Smith got what he was talking about.

"I'd never been to a male strip club before, but after doing this movie, I really did see how male stripping can be inspirational," she said. Kimmel was skeptical. "It opens a lot of different channels," Pinkett Smith said, "a lot of happiness... a lot of energy." These all seemed like TV-friendly euphemisms, and Kimmel called her on it: "We have to check with the dictionary people on that one." Then things veered toward TMI territory, when Pinkett Smith explained why husband Will Smith didn't mind her hanging out with male strippers. You can watch below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.