Fresh Prince reunion will feature both Aunt Vivians

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A picture of a smiling Will Smith sandwiched between both women who played Aunt Viv at different times on the 1990’s hit sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, is making its way around the internet.

As previously reported by theGrio, Smith unveiled the first trailer for the show’s upcoming 30th anniversary reunion, set to debut on Nov. 19 on HBO Max.

Back in 1993 when Janet Hubert, colloquially known as “dark-skinned Aunt Viv”, was replaced by Daphne Maxwell Reid, known as “light-skinned Aunt Viv”, fans of the show had a hard time accepting that the original Aunt Viv was gone.

Read More: ‘The Fresh Prince’ cast to reunite on HBO Max

It was particularly difficult to accept the sudden change in the Aunt Vivian Banks character because the two women who played her looked nothing alike, had vastly different personalities, and their complexions were many shades apart. Fans felt the new Aunt Viv had been forced into their lives, and Complex ranked her as the second-most hated sitcom character of all time.

Aside from “light-skinned Aunt Viv” lacking the original character’s feistiness, her sense of style, and her pizazz, the new Aunt Viv’s appearance on the show continued a trend where dark-skinned actresses were casually replaced with actresses with lighter skin tones, according to TV critics.

Replacing dark-skinned Aunt Viv was a slap in the face of all the brown girls who rejoiced in seeing someone who looked like them on their TV screen each week, said dissenters.

Read More: Janet Hubert joins Will Smith, ‘Fresh Prince’ cast for HBO Max reunion

But old wounds heal and hearts soften over time. Now that Janet Hubert has been welcomed back into the fold, it will be a pleasure to watch the reunion show and applaud the unique differences as well as the wonderful similarities of the two actresses who played Aunt Viv.

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