Last night, subscribers to HBO Max had the opportunity to watch The Fresh Prince Reunion a day early. After 27 years, Will Smith sat down with the cast members including Janet Hubert or the “Original Aunt Viv”, to reflect on the show itself and the feud that has been long mulled over by fans.
What We Know:
- The actress was replaced after season three of the iconic ’90s sitcom and blamed her exit on Smith being an “egomaniac”. Janet Hubert was replaced with Daphne Maxwell Reid after the third season where Will Smith claimed she was difficult to work with. In the years following her departure, Janet Hubert had made it very clear in every interview she took, that Will was to blame for her untimely exit. In the near 30-year reunion, she did not waste the opportunity to voice the impact he had on her life.
- “For me, it felt like I couldn’t celebrate 30 years of Fresh Prince without finding a way to celebrate Janet,” Smith explained, before cutting to footage of a one-on-one conversation he had with Hubert the previous day.
- Even though Hubert said she was grateful for the opportunity to reconcile, she was sure to confront Smith about how his harsh characterization of her as “difficult” spread throughout Hollywood like a contagious virus and, in her mind, effectively killed her career.
- Will Smith admitted that at the time, he “wasn’t sensitive” to her situation. Hubert went on to explain that she was offered a “really bad deal,” where she could only work for two months and two weeks and couldn’t work anywhere else.
“That meant my salary was cut, I had a new baby and a husband who was out of work. I said no,” she said. “I did not accept their offer. I was never fired. The misconception was always put out there. I was trapped, what could I do.”
The reconciliation between the two ended with Smith thanking her for sharing with him and as they both were on the verge of tears, Hubert tenderly put her hand on Smith’s face. “You’re still my Aunt Viv,” he declared. The two ended by apologizing and embracing.
