The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air cast reunited for their 30th anniversary and the WHOLE cast was apart of the special, including both Aunt Vivs.
This is a huge moment not only for the culture but for Will Smith and Janet Hubert’s relationship. The two notoriously feuded behind the scenes of the show and it ultimately resulted in Hubert’s departure.
There were rumors that she was difficult and was bumping heads with Will. But on Thursday fans will get the chance to hear our beloved Aunt Viv explain why she left us.
Showbiz Cheat Sheet saw a screener for the special and reported what we’re all waiting to see. The conversation between Will and Janet.
“Something I would like to clarify is during that third season when I got pregnant, there was a lot of things going on in my life and in Will’s life as well,” Hubert said. “There was some friction because I was pregnant. Home life was not good at all. I was no longer laughing, smiling, joking because there were things that were going on that nobody knew about. The cast had no idea what was going on… What you didn’t realize either was I was going through a lot at home. You didn’t know. Very abusive marriage.”
She said she was offered an unacceptable deal during the third season on top of the problems she had at home.
“They offered me this really bad deal in the third season. They said, ‘You’ve got two months and two weeks of work and you cannot work anywhere else.’ So that meant my salary was cut. I had a new baby and a husband who was out of work. So I said no. I did not accept their offer. I was never fired. So the misconception was always put out there. I was trapped. What could I do? So they said, ‘Okay, then we’re going to recast your role.’ And I said, ‘What can I say?’ I was hurt deeply, deeply.
Sadly, after Janet Hubert left the show things continued to spiral downward. “When I left the show, I had this new baby and no one,” Hubert told Smith. “Family disowned me. Hollywood disowned me. My family said, ‘You’ve ruined our name.’ And, I wasn’t unprofessional on the set. I just stopped talking to everybody because I didn’t know who to trust because I’d been banished. They said it was you who banished me because you were Will. You were a kid. It was hard.”
Will apologized for being insensitive at the time to Janet and explained that he was immature and understands as an adult how hard it was for her. “During that time, her pregnancy, I wasn’t sensitive. I wasn’t perceptive and now that I’ve had three kids, I’ve learned some things that I did not know at the time and I would do things very differently. But I can see where I made the set very difficult for Janet. “I was 21 years old. Everything was a threat to me. Not you, the world. I was so driven by fear and jokes and comedy and all of that. [Now] I have children. I’ve been divorced and have a second marriage. I can see now the level of pain and the level of struggle that it was for you just to show up every day.”
Hubert added that the Fresh Prince labeling her difficult basically blackballed her. “You know, words can kill,” Hubert said to Smith. “I lost everything. Reputation, everything. Everything. I understand, you were able to move forward but you know those words, calling a Black woman difficult in Hollywood is the kiss of death. It’s hard enough being a dark skinned Black woman in this business.”
Will thanked her for giving him a different perspective about their beef and told her how important she is to the show. “First of all, thank you for sharing that with me. I didn’t know that. When I look back now, it’s obvious that you were having a hard time. I felt like you hated me. I could not do a 30 year celebration of this show and not celebrate you, celebrate your contribution to this show, celebrate your contribution to my life. 27 years, I think. I think we were just short of 27 years that we didn’t speak to one another and I’m glad we’re talking again.”
She agreed that it was time that they buried the hatchet.
“I felt it was necessary for us to finally move forward,” Hubert said. “And I’m sorry that I have blasted you to pieces. I have to say, after 27 years being here today and having the conversation that Will and I had together, it’s healing. I didn’t come here to have animosity, I came here to resolve because it’s time.”
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reunion premieres Thursday (Nov. 19th) on HBO Max.
