Janet Hubert joins Will Smith, ‘Fresh Prince’ cast for HBO Max reunion
The stars had an 'a candid conversation' for the first time in 27 years.
Will Smith reunited with his Fresh Prince of Bel-Air castmates on Thursday for a HBO Max special celebrating the TV show’s 30th anniversary.
Smith, Daphne Maxwell Reid, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Joseph Marcelli, Karyn Parsons, Alfonso Ribiero, and Tatyana Ali gathered on Sept. 10, to tape the show exactly 30 years since the beloved comedy first aired in the US.
Smith shared a photo on his Instagram of the cast reunited on the set of the show, promising a “real Banks Family Reunion”. He added: “RIP James.”
James Avery, who played uncle Phil, died in 2013.
Read More: ‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ drama reboot to stream on Peacock
Smith also had an “emotional reunion and a candid conversation,” with Janet Hubert for the first time in 27 years. The actress played his Aunt Viv on Fresh Prince before she was replaced by Reid.
Smith and Hubert had not spoken in decades, and over the years she has used her social media platform to take shots at the actor, as well as Ribeiro, who played her son Carlton on the series.
Hubert apparently blames Smith for spreading a rumor that she was fired from the hit show after three seasons.
Back in 2018, she addressed Smith directly in a video, alleging she was blackballed in the industry after her stint on Fresh Prince.
“My life when you banished me and when you tainted me and when you put your poison in, you poisoned my entire world…Every time I try to have a meeting … every time I try to call Oprah for help, Oprah’s people would say, ‘No she’s friends with will and Janet will never be on the show … we can’t promote her on the show because she has a very deep, profound friendship with Will,” she said.
Adding, “Well, if somebody said your mama’s a hoe and then that reputation follows you and follows you and follows you and follows you, your mama becomes a hoe.”
At one point, Hubert said, “I’m just a woman who played a s—y role on a sitcom which, dear God, I wish I hadn’t. The one thing I do regret in my life was ever taking that role to have to have worked with someone like you.”
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ran for six seasons on NBC from 1990-1996. As theGrio reported, it was announced earlier this year that the reboot, a darker, more dramatic take on the original, would happen. Smith and the show’s original creators, Andy and Susan Borowitz, along with its original producers, Quincy Jones, and Benny Medina will be on board.
The reunion special will premiere sometime around Thanksgiving.
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