Smith, Whitten feud over her 'Fresh Prince' exit - 'Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' actors Janet Hubert-Whitten and Will Smith

Jet, August 30, 1993

As Daphne Maxwell Reid was signed to replace Janet Hubert-Whitten in NBC's sitcom "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," the war of words between Ms. Hubert-Whitten and Will Smith, star of the series, has heated up.

Ms. Maxwell Reid co-starred with her husband Tim Reid on the acclaimed CBS series "Frank's Place" and made guest appearances on "WKRP In Cincinnati." On |Fresh Prince' she will be Smith's knowledgeable and sympathetic aunt Vivian Banks.

In one of the most highly-publicized departures in recent memory, Ms. Hubert-Whitten was fired from "Fresh Prince" following what she described as a feud with network officials. She had told Jet and other media outlets that her termination was some sort of vendetta against her and she did not know the origin of it.

Smith was quoted in the Atlanta Journal as saying that Ms. Hubert-Whitten brought a lot of her problems to work and that the problems lasted well beyond her pregnancy. The paper quoted him as telling a local 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 ... She has basically gone from a quarter of a million dollars a year to nothing. 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."

Initially, Ms. Hubert-Whitten was reluctant to get specific about the nature of her firing. Now, after reading about Smith's Atlanta interview, she has indicated that Smith played a role in her termination. She also said that many of the remarks he is quoted as having said are not true. "He probably is responsible for my firing. He has a lot of clout. It's-too bad that it's a Black-on-Black attack. I tried not to name names. I have more class than that. I wish Will would tell the truth. If you're going to talk, tell the truth. He has gotten me fired from the show and now he is trying to snatch my career away from me (with his recent comments). I have not slandered him in any way. Anyone who stands up to Mr. Smith on "Fresh Prince" is gone. I reprimanded him constantly for being rude to problem and locking himself up in his room....

She said she hopes Smith becomes "a stronger, Kinder Black man than he has demonstrated." Smith could not be reached for comment at Jet press time.