Actor Will Smith’s altercation with comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars 2022 may have shocked viewers, but it’s not the first time Smith has gotten into a serious feud with a celebrity. That’s right. Will Smith has also been in a long-standing fight with Janet Hubert for the creative differences on the show they’ve been working together.

Will Smith
If you’re a fan of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, you must be aware that the actress who played Aunt Vivian was replaced halfway through the series, but you might not know why. Janet Hubert portrayed Aunt Viv on the show until 1993 when she was replaced by Daphne Reid, who continued in the role until the show ended in 1996.

Janet Hubert Said Will Smith Has Done Serious Deeds to Her

Janet Hubert in The Fresh Prince of Bel-air
Janet Hubert mysteriously vanished from the show has always been a puzzle until Smith publicly attacked Hubert in an interview with an Atlanta radio station in 1993. He said that Janet Hubert wanted the show to be The Aunt Viv of Bel-Air Show so she could dog him in the press. Although, it’s clear that Smith was the one who was responsible for the replacement of Hubert in Fresh Air. “We’re just gonna replace her and act like nothing happened,” he said.

Hubert also criticized the show and expressed her hatred towards Will Smith in the interviews as their feud emerged publicly. She recounted her exit from the hit comedy in 1993:
“Well honey, that is not what happened, is it? The world has let me know that my place on that show was very, very, very loved … I felt demonized and beaten up and crucified for many many years, no one came forward in my defense.”
According to Hubert, Will Smith and his other younger co-stars were unnecessarily brutal to her on the set. Hubert admitted that Smith did “some heinous, horrible things to me.” Here she was referring ‘they’ to Will Smith and Alfonso Ribiero.

After Years, Janet Hubert Wants to Settle Down Everything With Will Smith

Will Smith and Janet Hubert
In 2011, Hubert fired back at Smith and told TMZ she’d never work with Smith again. She continued saying that Smith is still an egomaniac and has not grown up. She continued that this constant reunion thing will never ever happen in her lifetime unless there is an apology, which Smith doesn’t want. She has later since softened her attitude on a reunion, telling TheGrio.com,
“I would say to him [Smith], we need to heal this. You’ve done some things, you’ve said some things, that were totally untrue and you know that they were untrue. I’ve said some things that I probably should have never said … I’m tired. Aren’t you tired Will?”
Now, Hubert is ready to move on. In 2013, she told to omg! Insider that they both need to have a reunion and this 21 year of long-standing war. She continued and said they owe an apology to each other.

In 2020, Will Smith’s late November reunion with the original Aunt Viv actress on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Janet Hubert, seemingly ended their nearly 30-year feud. However, the Men in Black star wasn’t done atoning for his role in their dispute yet.