Will Smith has expressed regret for feuding with former The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air co-star Janet Hubert.
Speaking on VICE’s Black Comedy in America, the actor reflected on how he handled his relationship with Hubert, who played Aunt Vivian in the first three seasons of the show before being replaced with Daphne Maxwell Reid.
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“I made a horrible error and misjudgment of her value and power and beauty to the show. I horribly underestimated what she was for me at that point in my life,” he said, per PEOPLE.
Smith and Hubert reconciled in 2020, 27 years after they last spoke. The two appeared together in a Fresh Prince reunion special where they talked about their differences.
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Hubert said to Smith: “I lost everything — reputation, everything — and I understand you were able to move forward, but you know those words — calling a Black woman difficult in Hollywood is the kiss of death. And it’s hard enough being a dark-skinned Black woman in this business.”
Smith replied: “First of all, thank you for sharing that with me. I didn’t know that. When I look back now, it’s obvious that you were having a hard time and I felt like you hated me. I could not do a 30-year celebration of this show and not celebrate you, celebrate your contribution to the show, celebrate your contribution to my life.”
The Oscar-winner added: “The person I want to be is someone who protects you, not someone that unleashes dogs on you.”
The former co-stars had previously exchanged barbs in the media, with Will Smith claiming that Janet Hubert wanted the show to be about her.
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“I can say straight up that Janet Hubert wanted the show to be The Aunt Viv of Bel-Air Show. She’s mad now but she’s been mad all along,” he said in an interview with an Atlanta radio station.
Hubert, meanwhile, told TMZ in 2011: “There will never be a reunion … as I will never do anything with an asshole like Will Smith. He is still an egomaniac and has not grown up. This constant reunion thing will never ever happen in my lifetime unless there is an apology, which he doesn’t know the word.”
