‘Fresh Prince’ Reunion: Why Was The Original Aunt Viv Replaced?

“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” had one of the strangest character changes following its third season when Janet Hubert, who played the original Vivian Banks, was replaced by Daphne Maxwell Reid. Switches like these happen on shows, but the problem with “The Fresh Prince” recast was that the new actress looked nothing like the old one.

Fans of the series have been upset about the change ever since it happened and that sentiment was evident when the original cast, including the new Aunt Viv, reunited for a photo. While people were excited about the mini-reunion, others were left wondering what happened to the original Aunt Viv.

So what happened to the original Aunt Viv that led to her being kicked off of the show? At the time of Hubert’s exit in 1993, her recast was chalked up to creative differences. Will Smith told an Atlanta radio station, “I can say straight up that Janet Hubert wanted the show to be ‘The Aunt Viv of Bel Air Show’ because I know she is going to dog me in the press.”

According to Smith at the time, Hubert had gone from “a quarter of a million dollars a year to nothing.” He added, “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.’ No matter what, to her I’m just the Antichrist.”

But Smith wasn’t the only cast member to slam Hubert. During a 2009 stand-up comedy set, Alfonso Ribeiro, who played Carlton Banks, said he loved everyone on the show except the “first mom.”

Ribeiro told the crowd, “Basically at the end of the day, the [expletive] was crazy… She went nuts! Long story short, and there were days when we were all on the set and she would literally go off on people.” He went on to say that Hubert “made it very difficult” for the cast to work.

While Smith and Ribeiro have their reason for disliking Hubert, the actress has her own reason for the animosity towards Smith. In 2010, Hubert told Black America Web, per Huffington Post, that Smith used to crack “you’re-so-black jokes” before tapings.

“I was a dark-skinned, African-American mother, and Will used to tell the you’re-so-black jokes to the audience before the show, and at one point, I came out and stopped him, and the audience went ‘Woooo,’” she said. “He didn’t understand how unbelievably disrespectful that was to women like me.”

The feud hit its worst point in 2011 when Hubert blasted Smith when speaking with TMZ. Calling the actor an “egomaniac” who has not “grown up,” the actress said a reunion would never happen in her lifetime unless Smith apologized.

Hubert’s attitude towards Smith has slightly gotten better, and in 2016, she revealed what exactly she wanted the “Fresh Prince” star to apologize for. In a video posted online, Hubert said when it came time for contract negotiations, she approached Smith and asked if the cast could all get together and try to get a raise.

“And your response to me was, ‘My deal is my deal and y’all’s deal is y’all’s deal. Well karma must be a bitch because now here you are,” Hubert said.