Let's take a trip down memory lane. Back in March, Alfonso Ribeiro, best known as Carlton Banks from the iconic '90s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, shared a photo from the cast reunion. While fans rejoiced at the sight of their favorite characters together again, one glaring absence left many scratching their heads. Where was the beloved Aunt Viv? Let’s dive into this mystery and explore why Janet Hubert, the original Aunt Viv, wasn’t part of the reunion.
Fans were vocal about the omission. One commenter asked, "Where’s the real Aunt Viv?" Another chimed in, "That’s definitely not the real Aunt Viv." And yet another expressed, "The original Auntie Viv should have been included." It was clear that Aunt Viv's absence left a void in the hearts of many who grew up with the show.
View this post on InstagramAlways amazing to spend an afternoon with my Fresh Prince family. Wishing that James Avery was still with us to make this complete.
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So, why wasn’t Janet Hubert, the original Aunt Viv, part of the reunion? The answer lies in a two-decade-long feud between her and the show’s star, Will Smith. Let’s break it down.
H2: The Feud Begins: A Look Back at the Early '90s
Janet Hubert, now 61, was replaced by actress Daphne Maxwell-Reid in 1993. While Janet has claimed she only signed on for a limited number of episodes, her departure was more complicated. According to her, the tension on set stemmed from her refusal to play by the "star system" rules. In an interview with The Dish, Janet opened up about the situation. “I was extremely professional on that set, maybe too professional… but I didn’t adhere to the star system,” she explained. “By not playing the game, that cost me. I think what happened, because the audience was so on my side at that time, that [Will] probably felt like he needed to go out, and he needed to tell a lot of lies.”
H2: Will Smith's Side of the Story
Will Smith addressed the situation during a radio interview in 1993, the same year Janet left the show. He claimed Janet wanted the show to be renamed "The Aunt Viv of Bel-Air Show." According to Us Weekly, Will said, “She has basically gone from a quarter of a million dollars a year to nothing. She’s mad now but she’s been mad all along. She said once, ‘I’ve been in the business for 10 years and this snotty-nosed punk comes along and gets a show.’”
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H2: The Fallout: Janet's Replacement and the Impact on the Show
Will wasn’t the only one who spoke about Janet’s behavior on set. During a 2009 stand-up comedy show, he recounted how Janet’s attitude affected the cast. “Long story short, and there were days when we were all on the set and she would literally go off on people and they got to a point by the time the second season came around where we’re like, ‘This is unacceptable,’” he said, according to E! News. “We felt like, when we were doing The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, that we were a family…She, at that point, ruined that, and she made it very difficult for us to work, and unfortunately, she was then fired. They brought in Daphne, who we absolutely loved, and we moved on. Oh well.”
H2: Janet's Reaction to the Reunion
When Alfonso posted the reunion photo, Janet didn’t hold back. She took to Facebook to express her feelings. “I know the media h– [Alfonso] has posted his so called reunion photo. Folks keep telling me about it. He was always the a– wipe for Will,” she wrote in a now-deleted post. “There will never be a true reunion of The Fresh Prince. I have no interest in seeing any of these people on that kind of level.”
