Will and Aunt Viv Reconcile After 27 Years

Medha Shri announced her entry as the editor-in-chief of os.me with this amazing piece on Will Smith.

After reading this article, I found myself inspired and motivated. I followed up and took massive action to capitalize on the motivation.

I binge-watched all episodes of Will Smith’s sitcom Fresh Prince of Bel Air. 

I had subscriptions to both Amazon Prime as well as Netflix, and Fresh Prince was streaming on both platforms. And it was still pandemic time, and I needed my source of entertainment, so turn your judgmental eyes elsewhere (that’s right, I’m looking at you right now).

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I Fall in Love with Fresh Prince of Bel Air

In the very first episode, Will’s charm had me hooked. 

I fell in love with the show and its cast. The theme song gave the background setting – Will got into trouble with some members of the “hood” in his hometown West Philadelphia. His mother sends him to Bel Air, a rich community in California, to live with her wealthy sister and her family.

The family immediately welcomed Will as a member of their family. Uncle Avery is a successful lawyer. Will’s cousin Carlton is a nerdy and sweet rich kid. His other cousin Hillary is self-absorbed but also sweet. His young cousin Ashley is innocent and sweet and takes a liking to Will. Their English butler Geoffrey displays wry and sardonic wit.

My favorite character, however, was Aunt Viv, a college professor, who had it all: intelligence, charisma, strictness, all the works.

Janet Hubert, who played Aunt Viv, added special flavor to the show.

Wait, There’s a New Aunt Viv?

Before dawn struck, I had watched three seasons of Fresh Prince.

As a true binge-watcher, as soon as the third season finale got over, I immediately started watching Season 4.

Only to find a new aunt Viv.

What happened to the awesome Aunt Viv?

A google search told me that Janet Hubert and Will Smith had a falling out. Which led to Janet Hubert leaving the show. The new Aunt Viv did a good job. But she was not Janet Hubert.

I no longer wanted to watch Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

Will Smith and Aunt Viv Reconcile

Will Smith did something most humans fail to do. He displayed self-awareness. 

He recognized his frailties, and intensely worked to better himself via therapy and self-introspection.

The 30-year reunion of Fresh Prince of Bel Air was coming up. Will Smith did not want the reunion to be held without Janet Hubert.

He and Janet Hubert met up in an effort to reconcile.

When they met, a visibly hurt Janet asked Will why he decided to remove her from the show. Will Smith validated Janet’s statements, and listened compassionately. Neither of this is an easy task.

Conflicts are never easy to process.

Will admitted that he was but a 21-year old. 

“Everything was a threat to me”, he explained. A surprised Janet asks, “Why was I a threat to you?”. “Not you, the world”, Will clarified. 

When Janet said “You took all that away from me”, Will nodded and listened. He did not respond defensively. His silence and willingness to listen allowed Janet to experience catharsis and get closure of sorts.

Janet then said that she was going through a rough time in her personal life, and that she was branded as a difficult person, which was the last thing a black lady needed. 

Will could have gotten defensive at several moments when Janet spoke. No – Will listened intensely, and accepted Janet’s thoughts and feelings. When he spoke, it was not an excuse but an explanation, to give her his perspective.

After all was said and done, Will and Ant Viv made up with each other. Watch this short heartwarming video here.

My Respect for Will Smith Skyrockets

Will Smith is one of the biggest superstars in the world.

He is a household name. If he sits on his high horse and projects himself to be the best person in the world, nobody will be surprised. This is the nature of Hollywood, they will say.

Yet, he chose to display his vulnerabilities to the world. He chose to embrace his human side. He worked hard to be a better person, and he is not afraid to admit it.

His memoir Will, which he co-wrote with author Mark Manson, contains an honest account of his failings. Manson says that he had one condition to work on the memoir: that Will Smith be candid about his flaws and failures as a person.

Will Smith left no stone unturned and confessed his deepest fears, failings and flaws in his book.

Earning the admiration of millions.

Slap or No Slap, Will Smith is My Hero

The 2022 Oscars became infamous for Will Smith slapping Chris Rock.

I don’t follow the news. Yet, I got inundated with opinions and pieces about this slap. The world expressed its outrage against Will Smith’s actions. People were shocked how someone can react this way.

Mark Manson wrote his views on this incident here. I agree almost entirely with Manson’s piece. Will Smith’s memoir offers this takeaway: he is a work in progress. He is not a superhuman. He is not a saint.

He is a human being with his flaws, who courageously admits them and puts in the work to better himself.

As he demonstrated in his conversation with Janet Hubert.

Thank you, Will Smith. Not just for the entertainment you provide on screen, but also for the life lessons you provide as a human being.

Image Credit: NBC