Howard Stern Attacks Oprah Winfrey, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith

Shock jock Howard Stern decided that he would continue to make his money by attempting to punch out the shine of Will Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. In a recent segment of his radio show, Stern went out of his way to throw some pretty nasty jokes at the Smith family, focusing primarily on their recent interview with Oprah Winfrey. Apparently, the Smith family financial success is too much for Howard, as he worked hard to make the family into a joke.

Stern focused on Jada's admission that she and Will have a "marriage business plan" and seemed to argue that the Smiths pretend to have a perfect marriage and family. He even accused Oprah of "kissing their asses," and agreeing with everything they say.

The most interesting attack on the Smith family by Stern was issued when Will described his relationship with Jada by saying, "I do what she say." Stern accused Smith of trying to sound ignorant in order to relate to a hip-hop audience. Of course, Stern's sidekick, Robin, co-signed on everything he said. That seems to be her only job, and she does it quite well.

http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,entry&id=903502&pid=903501&uts=1277826200

http://cdn.channel.aol.com/cs_feed_v1_6/csfeedwrapper.swf

Will and Jada Fashion Transformation

At the 2002 MTV Movie Awards, the couple appears to have gone even more Hollywood. Jada is beginning to show those buff arms that she is now known for. Will is looking fabulous in white.

Frank Micelotta, ImageDirect / Getty Images

BlackVoices.com

Will and Jada Fashion Transformation

During the run of 'The Fresh Prince of Bel Air' from 1990-1996, Will stuck with his happy hip hop style. As a member of the rap duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Smith won a Grammy Award in 1989 for the hit song, 'Parents Just Don't Understand.' For a long time, Will stuck with the look got him into the limelight.

Will and Jada Fashion Transformation

Will and Jada married in 1997. You can see the '90s style clearly outlined in Will's suit, which could be placed in a time capsule epitomizing black men's fashion for the era. Jada on the other hand looks like what she was -- a gorgeous girl from Baltimore who was just beginning to make it big.

Will and Jada Fashion Transformation

Jada, Will and Will's son from a previous relationship, Willard Christopher Smith, III (a.k.a. Trey), made up their happy family for a time. I am feeling the family love here, but not the matching army outfits. Maybe this was for a kids' outing? A military children's affair? Who knows. It ain't working.

Will and Jada Fashion Transformation

Will's wackiness began to wear off on Jada very quickly after they tied the knot. I am not sure if they meant to dress up like dancers from Janet Jackson's video for 'Rhythm Nation,' but that is the effect. It was the '90s. This passed for high style then.

Will and Jada Fashion Transformation

Where do I start? Will looks so cute here, so fresh, so young, that I almost cannot hate. I yearn NOT to point out the absurd color of this jacket and the gender-bending braids. At this point in his career, he should have hired a stylist. This was the year 2000, for goodness sake! When would Will transform into the hot leading man the world loves so well?

Will and Jada Fashion Transformation

Then, by the second year of the new century, Will and Jada finally made the transition to dressing like Hollywood royalty, instead of people from the hood made good. At the 74th Annual Academy Awards in 2002, Smith looks fresh and clean from head-to-toe. Pinkett Smith is as elegant as a grande dame.

Will and Jada Fashion Transformation

At the 2002 MTV Movie Awards, the couple appears to have gone even more Hollywood. Jada is beginning to show those buff arms that she is now known for. Will is looking fabulous in white.

Will and Jada Fashion Transformation

Does the family that parties together, stay together? Well, maybe in Hollywood they do. With the birth of Will and Jada's second child Willow Camille Reign Smith in 2000, red carpet appearances and movie premieres for the whole gang became the norm. Here, the whole fam gets coordinated for a night on the town. Nice job, Mom!

Will and Jada Fashion Transformation

Back in 2004, Will and Jada stole a kiss while on location at a film shoot in New York. Jada is just wearing jeans, but look at that weave go! Even when keeping it casual, this very public couple has finally learned to keep it glam.

Will and Jada Fashion Transformation

While the Smiths are a happy Hollywood couple with a blessed family, each member of this team makes time for outside activities. Will enjoys a good game of golf in his spare time in high sporty style. He kicked it at the Sony Open at the Waialae Country Club in Hawaii in 2005 -- without a hair out of place.

Will and Jada Fashion Transformation

With regard to Howard Stern's attack on Jada Pinkett Smith and her husband, I am not sure if it was called for. The Smith family is one of the most beloved families in the African American community, serving as symbols of hope and prosperity for a community that is dying to see a healthy black family in action. Our airwaves are riddled with stories of women like Keyshia Cole, who have family members fighting drug addictions, or Chili from TLC, the beautiful single black woman who swears she can't even find a good boyfriend.

Most African Americans, in my opinion, are fully aware of the fact that the Smiths are likely not as perfect as they appear to be. Rumors of infidelity fly across the Internet, and I can only imagine that neither Will nor Jada is always the perfect spouse. But they are the second tier of Barack and Michelle Obama, which is why people love them so much.

Stern is correct to remind us that Oprah Winfrey, a woman who has never raised children of her own, might not be the best person to approve another couple's child-rearing. But for some reason, the world listens to Oprah and admires her more than nearly any other celebrity on the planet. Also, unlike Stern, Winfrey succeeds with positive energy instead of negative; you don't see her attacking others on her show, and she doesn't even respond to critics.

It may be our fault for putting Winfrey and the Smiths on pedestals, but the truth is that they are our great American heroes, and Howard Stern won't get brownie points from anyone by attacking such a cherished couple -- especially for being prosperous and handling their business.

Yes, Howard, we know much of the Smiths' Hollywood image isn't real; thanks for pointing out the obvious.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce's commentary delivered to your e-mail, please click here.