Janet Hubert

1. September 29 - October 5, 2008
Issue No. 1340
www.voice-online.co.uk
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THE FRESH Prince of Bel- to inspire young children – is it frustrating that people still
Air came to an end over a want to associate her with Fresh Prince?
decade ago, but for actress “It is when people don’t wanna let you move forward,”
Janet Hubert, it’s almost admits the re-married mother of one. “But at the same time,
impossible to escape the that experience opened doors for me. Because of that experi-
legacy of the much-loved US ence, you called me.
sitcom.
LIES
Having played the role of Vivian
Banks, Hubert won a legion of fans who loved “But I get upset when people write lies. I had one woman tell
her portrayal of the headstrong wife, mother and me that the reason I left the show was because I was pregnant.
aunty. And even now – despite her having left the That was not the case and I don’t ever want my son to think
show and her role being taken over by actress that he was the reason why I lost a job.
Daphne Maxwell Reid – Hubert is still considered by “The real reason I left – it was a contractual thing. It was
many to be the real Aunt Viv. definitely inspired internally, but it was basically a case of my
salary being cut by more than half. I was offered 10 weeks of
DEPARTURE work out of 27 weeks, and told that I couldn’t work anywhere
But since her departure from the show, many sto- else. How could I work with that? How was I supposed to sur-
ries emerged about a supposed off-screen rift vive? So I said no – and they didn’t re-negotiate. That was it.
between Hubert and Fresh Prince star, Will Smith. They didn’t come back and say, ‘Ok, how about 12 weeks?’
Some reports even alleged that Smith – who played They just left it. It was as if they were saying, ‘Take this bone,
Hubert’s troublesome nephew– was responsible for get- lady.’”
ting Hubert fired from the show. Hubert feels that the network were happy enough to let her
But here, in an exclusive interview, Hubert gives her own walk because they deemed her as being “too outspoken.” She
account of what went on when the cameras stopped rolling. admits that she took her role seriously and felt that the show
And she paints a desperately sad picture. should “be responsible with the content we put out,” particu-
She describes the backlash she received after leaving the larly as its audience was largely made up of young people.
show as “horrendous.” She reveals that when her role came to But by the time her role was nearing its end, the show had
an end, she lost her home, her business, her marriage, and gone through management changes, which, according to
perhaps worst of all, the professional reputation she’d Hubert, resulted in “too much control” being given to the
worked so hard to build over the years. show’s star. From there, Hubert claims that her relations with
With that in mind – plus the fact that she’s keen to Smith went from bad to worse…
● Continued on page 22
focus on her current business venture, which aims
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