Janet Hubert-Whitten morphs into Daphne Reid: The firing of the first Vivian Banks.

Janet Hubert-Whitten morphs into Daphne Reid: The firing of the first Vivian Banks.

Fresh Prince of Bel Air inconsistencies: Some of these I don’t remember. But, I remember them replacing Vivian Banks (Janet Hubert) with another actress that looked nothing like her. Daphne Maxwell Reid was a bit heavier and light-skinned, while Janet Hubert was skinny with a dark complexion. At least they could have casted someone that looked like Hubert.

So, why was Janet Hubert-Whitten fired from the show? Will Smith and Hubert-Whitten were at odds with each other. They clashed a lot on the set.

From Will Smith, (("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.))

Wow, that’s some revealing stuff. I don’t see Will Smith, Space Church and all, being this forthcoming today. He’s a bit more guarded on what he says.

Janet Hubert had this to say after Smith’s remarks. (("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....))

Ouch, part of me does understand her point of view. But, I don’t think Will really acted that way during this period in his life. I just can’t see it. Probably today, but not back then. He wasn’t married to Jada Pinkett Smith when this all went down with Hubert. And, this was before he started thinking that 2+2=5 in another universe. (Cough, Cough Scientology)

It was probably 50/50 on their sides of the dispute.

It should also be noted that Hubert sued NBC over what she felt the damaging of her marketability. And, it is worth noting that IMDB has her last credit listed as one episode in "One Life to Live" in 2010. It looks like her Hollywood acting career between 05 and 10 was absent, but there was a reason. Come to find out, Hubert has Osteoporosis.

Further reading:

-Here’s her official Web site.

-Her Tell all book slams Smith.