Jada Pinkett Smith hopes for ‘answers’ and ‘closure’ after arrest in the murder of close friend Tupac Shakur

Las Vegas authorities arrested and charged Duane “Keffe D” Davis in the 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur, left. After the recent arrest of a suspect in the 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas, Jada Pinkett Smith said she is hoping the criminal case will bring some clarity and finality to the mystery surrounding her friend’s death. In his 2022 memoir, “Will,” the Oscar winner recalled his earlier dating years with Pinkett Smith while she was close with the “Dear Mama” rapper and wrote, “I hated that I wasn’t what was in the world, and I suffered a raging jealousy: I wanted Jada to look at me like that.” During an interview with MTV News in 2019, when Smith was asked whether it’s the media and fans who connect the two, or if she actually does think about Shakur, she admitted, “There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about Tupac — I think about him every single day.” After attending a boxing match at the MGM Grand, Shakur was ambushed and shot while stopped at a traffic light off the Las Vegas Strip in September 1996. “It definitely taught me a lesson, which is, life is too short, do not let disagreement stand in between you and people that you love and care about.” In recent years, Pinkett Smith has continued to keep memories of her late friend fresh, sharing in June 2021, on what would have been Shakur’s 50th birthday, a poem the “Keep Ya Head Up” performer had written and sent to her while he was jailed at Rikers Island after he was convicted of sexual abuse charges, one year before his death. And just last month, she shared a throwback video on Instagram of herself and Shakur dancing and lip-syncing to DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince’s 1988 hit “Parents Just Don’t Understand.” During the “Red Table Talk” episode, Pinkett Smith said she was aware of the speculation fans have about their relationship, and mused, “A lot of people talk about my relationship with Pac and trying to figure that out.” She then recalled the moment she heard news of Shakur’s death during a trip to New York to see him.