‘Aunt Viv’ Janet Hubert Gets Standing Ovation At Brooklyn Event Held By Will Smith
Janet Hubert, the original Aunt Viv from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, reconnected with Will Smith last year after years of being estranged. Now she is continuing to receive love, which happened last night in Brooklyn at Will Smith: An Evening of Stories with Friends.
According to PEOPLE, Hubert and his other Fresh Prince cast member, Karyn Parsons, who played Hilary, were in the building.
When Will Smith told the crowd Hubert was there, she received a standing ovation.
"Stand up, Janet. Get your flowers!" Smith said. "Take it in! Take that in!"
Hosted at Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, Smith recalled memorable life lessons while discussing his new memoir, Will.
The standing ovation comes a year after the Fresh Prince HBO Max reunion special aired, during which Hubert and Smith sat down for the first time in 27 years to sort out the issues that led to a contentious media blow up over Hubert’s exit from the sitcom in 1993.
Smith told attendees at Tuesday’s event: "That is such a beautiful thing. Thank you all. You know, Janet and I — I'm assuming you all saw Janet and I a few months ago on the 30th anniversary of Fresh Prince, for the first time talked out the issues that we had had."
He continued: "It was one of the most healing experiences of my life, and it was a big part of the place that working on this memoir got me into. I just wanna thank you, Janet, for being open. That's a big part of the exploration that I wanted to do in this book."
Hubert recently told PEOPLE that while the two were close to tears during the TV reunion special, she felt a sense of peace since they talked out their differences.
"If there are tree roots in the drain, the water doesn't flow," she said, adding: "The drain has been snaked."
The reunion and Tuesday’s event came after years of Janet Hubert slamming Will Smith in the press. In 2018, she blamed the actor for her son’s suicide attempt. Her long standing disdain for Smith stemmed from her claims that the actor labeled her “hard to work with” and ultimately played a role in her having a difficult time booking acting gigs throughout her career.
