Award-winning actor Will Smith opened up about repeatedly being called racial slurs by police officers while growing up in Philadelphia. 

The Bad Boys For Life star discussed his early encounters with police and his sentiments on police brutality in “A conversation on being Black in America with @Angela Rye,” which was posted to YouTube on Monday. 

The conversation with Smith, who famously raps about being from Philadelphia in the theme song to The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, shed a different light on his popularly referenced childhood. 

“I grew up in Philadelphia. I grew up under Mayor [Frank] Rizzo. He went from chief of police to becoming the mayor, he had an iron hand,” the legendary actor said. “I’ve been called n****r by the cops in Philly on more than 10 occasions. I got stopped frequently.”

On June 3, Philadelphia authorities removed a statue of the late Mayor Frank Rizzo as protests sparked due to the killing of George Floyd and the national issue of police brutality, as Blavity previously reported. Rizzo, who served two terms in the 70s, was often criticized for racism and homophobia during his tenure.

While attending Catholic schools in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Smith also said the inequities he faced from law enforcement made him feel alienated in the community. 

“White kids were happy when the cops showed up, and my heart always started pounding,” he said. “There’s a part of this that people who don’t grow up in that, you just can’t comprehend. You just can’t comprehend what it feels like to feel like you live in an occupied territory.”

During the talk, the 51-year-old went on to laud the recent shift in the social climate. 

“My grandmother taught me to be thankful for these opportunities, to be thankful for your pain. … The entire globe has stood up and said to the African American people, ‘We see you, we hear you, how can we help?’” Smith said. “We’ve never been there before.” 

He also hailed the power of peaceful protests, in particular. 

"Rage is justified under oppression. It also can be really dangerous. You got to be careful not to be consumed by your own rage," the west Philadelphia native said. "And that's something I've worked really hard on — and what I loved about peaceful protests."

“Peaceful protests put up a mirror to the demonic imagery of your oppressor, and the more still you are in your peaceful protest, the more clear the mirror is to the oppressor for the world to see, and for them to see themselves,” Smith said. “I was really encouraged by how powerfully this generation was able to hold that mirror. And then the response of the world, seeing and responding. I was deeply encouraged by the innate connectivity of the protestors, globally.”

Toward the end of the conversation, Smith emphasized the importance of not allowing anger to engulf your existence and not electing people who lead with lovelessness.

"As a country, I would hope that a part of what we're learning right now is the destructive aspects of loveless, godless leadership. Do not elect people that don't have love or God in their hearts."

"Say that for the people in the back," Rye quickly requested. 

"If there is a singular message I would have for this next generation as they're seizing control of this world is don't succumb to lovelessness, no matter how much evil you face," he said. "Because you poison yourself and you poison your own community when you succumb to lovelessness."