![]() ![]() Words can kill." It's a harsh reminder of the power of perception and how so many men are able to wield that power swiftly and devastatingly against women who don't bend to their will. He also notes that at the time he was still very young and immature and that now, having been married with kids of his own, he has grown to understand what she was up against at that time in her life.īut as Hubert gently but sternly notes, the damage was done, and while Smith was able to move forward and achieve greater and greater success post- Fresh Prince, she has never had that chance: "You took all that away from me with your words. ("We got labeled as 'difficult' because I said one word, and that was 'no,' " she told Steve Harvey last year.)įor Smith's part, he admits he was neither "sensitive" nor "perceptive" to Hubert's troubles during her pregnancy and seems genuinely contrite for how he treated her. Hubert is candid and specific in how this mischaracterization of her attitude and work ethic tarnished her career, particularly as a dark-skinned woman: "Calling a Black woman difficult in Hollywood is the kiss of death." The actress Mo'Nique, among many others, can certainly attest to this, having said she has been blackballed in the industry since refusing to campaign for Precious without the promise of additional pay. And it doesn't leave room for accepting that it's OK to treat your job like it's actually a job, too, especially if your mental health and well-being outside of work are suffering. That's a heartwarming and admirable kind of environment to exist in, but it's rarely the reality for everyone. Smith and his other co-stars talk a lot about how much they enjoyed their experience on Fresh Prince and how it didn't feel like they were doing a job so much as they were part of a tightknit family. It's hard to hear such a revelation and not think of the many ways in which this echoes the corporate mindset of bosses who tout the workplace and colleagues as "family" so as to ignore the fact that, for their employees, this is their livelihood they deserve to be paid a living wage, to have lives outside of work, to just be human. Hubert points out that she was never "unprofessional" on set, only more reserved. ![]() When she was offered a new, restrictive contract - she would work only 2 1/2 months out of the year, her salary would be cut and she would be prohibited from accepting other jobs outside of Fresh Prince - she refused to accept the offer. ![]() Hubert says that this led to the much more powerful Smith painting her on set and in the media as someone who was "difficult" to work with and that she was told he was responsible for her being forced out. During the third season, when she became pregnant, she says, she was facing challenges in her personal life (her then-husband was abusive and unemployed), which indirectly bled into how she approached her work on set. What's most striking about their exchange is how familiar Hubert's story is for women in the workplace. "It felt like I couldn't celebrate 30 years of Fresh Prince without finding a way to celebrate Janet," Smith tells his castmates, before showing them, and us, video of their pre-taped meeting. For the first time in 27 years, Smith and Hubert come together to clear the air. Will Smith, Alfonso Ribeiro (Carlton Banks), Tatyana Ali (Ashley Banks), Karyn Parsons (Hilary Banks), Joseph Marcell (Geoffrey, the butler), Daphne Maxwell Reid (Aunt Viv #2) and DJ Jazzy Jeff sit on a re-creation of the Banks family mansion set, recounting audition stories and favorite scenes in honor of the 30th anniversary of the hit sitcom's premiere.īut then, right around the 45-minute mark (and immediately following a genuinely moving tribute to the late James Avery, who played the show's indelible patriarch, Uncle Phil), this Fresh Prince reunion dispenses with rules and pleasantries to address the giant elephant in the room - the highly publicized fallout between Smith and Janet Hubert, who was unceremoniously replaced by Reid in her role as Aunt Viv in the show's final three seasons. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Reunion special, now on HBO Max, follows this rule faithfully for more than half of its run time. If a key member is absent because of behind-the-scenes drama or personal setbacks, try to avoid acknowledging that the person was ever a part of the show in the first place, and/or gloss over any tensions that might spoil the lovefest. Montages and clip reels highlight the memorable on-screen moments from years past, as everyone jovially reminisces about the time spent playing and creating together on set. The unspoken rules of gathering the cast of a beloved TV show for a reunion special are familiar: Gin up the nostalgia and warm, fuzzy feels. ![]() Will Smith and Janet Hubert came back together for the first time in 27 years for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Reunion special. ![]()
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