“I made a horrible error,” Will Smith said, reflecting on his feud with former “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” co-star Janet Hubert, who played Aunt Viv.
Whether you watched it happen live or noticed the shift while watching re-runs, the recasting of Vivian Banks, commonly known as Aunt Viv, on “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” is a moment viewers will never forget.
For the first three seasons of the hit sitcom, Janet Hubert played Smith’s aunt, Vivian Banks. However, in 1993, the actress left the show, citing “creative differences,” and was ultimately replaced by Daphne Maxwell Reid. For decades after her departure from the show, Hubert and Smith threw jabs at each other, alluding to a deeper beef beyond the public eye. At the time, Smith reportedly claimed that Hubert had been on a mission to take over the show.
Now, in a new episode of Vice’s “Black Comedy in America,” Smith, who also served as the show’s executive producer, opened up about his contentious relationship with the actress fans first learned to love as Aunt Viv.
“I made a horrible error and misjudged her value, power, and beauty in the show,” Smith said to the show’s host, Chris Spencer, per Complex. “I horribly underestimated what she was for me at that point in my life.”
In 2020, the feuding co-stars reconciled their differences during an emotional segment of an HBO Max special celebrating the hit show’s 30th anniversary. Coming together for the first time in decades, Hubert and Smith shared a heartfelt moment where they reflected on their conflicts and the impact of their feud on their professional and personal relationship.
As previously reported by theGrio, Hubert’s departure from the show was particularly difficult for her. After leaving the show, the actress recalls moments where she felt “so broken, so low” that she began battling suicidal thoughts.
“I lost so much…When I left the show, I had this new baby and no one. Family disowned me, Hollywood disowned me, my family said you’ve ruined our name, and I wasn’t unprofessional on the set,” she told Smith during their sit-down. “I just stopped talking to everybody because I didn’t know who to trust, I had been banished. They said it was you who banished me. Because you were Will, you were a kid. It was hard.
“You took all of that away from me with your words. Words can kill. I lost everything. Reputation, everything, everything,” she continued. “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 when [you’re] a dark-skinned Black woman in this business.”
Understanding the importance of healing and moving forward, Hubert apologized for how she spoke about Smith in the media over the years. Similarly, Smith acknowledged how he could have been more sensitive to the actress’ experience and vowed to protect her going forward.
Since clearing the air, both Hubert and Smith report having a good relationship. In 2021, the former “Fresh Prince” actress told People magazine, “We text each other back and forth all the time. I meant it with all my heart when I hugged him because I saw that little boy, that little 21-year-old boy. Had we had an opportunity to talk back then, I think this would have never happened.”
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