Roommates, if you grew up in the 90s then I don’t have to tell you what a huge hit ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ was. The television show was Will Smith’s coming out party and the catalyst to his super successful acting career. And if you’re a true OG fan of the show, then you know that there was two ‘Aunt Vivs.’ The OG ‘Aunt Viv’ also known as Janet Hubert, and then her replacement, Daphne Maxwell Reid, who stayed on the show until its’ finale. To this day, fans never knew exactly why Janet was replaced, a moment that was rehashed on ‘The Fresh Prince Reunion’ special that aired on HBO Max.
In the special, the entire cast reunited to give us an inside look on the show’s success and while it was very informative, the clip that everyone can’t stop talking about is when Janet sat down with Will Smith independently and talked about why she was asked to leave the show. When Janet spoke to Will about her ‘Fresh Prince’ exit, she explained how being labeled ‘difficult’ was the end of her career in Hollywood. Janet went on to say that she lost everything, her career and her reputation after Will and her the cast members said she was too difficult to work with. See the clip below:
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Janet referred to being labeled difficult as receiving the ‘kiss of death.’ During the special Will admitted to being ‘insensitive’ to Hubert who was actually pregnant during their third season and saying how he now understands he “made the set very difficult” for her. If you haven’t already seen the reunion, it’s definitely a must-watch!
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