Janet Hubert was the original actress to play Will Smith’s Aunt Vivian Banks on the 1990s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. She, along with James Avery’s Uncle Philip Banks, regularly dropped truth bombs on Will, Carlton, Hilary, and Ashley during the series’ run, many of which were direct, strident, and topical to African-American civil rights and American culture.
It appears Janet Hubert isn’t done being Aunt Viv. She took to social media on Monday, delivering a sharp response to Jada Pinkett Smith, Will’s wife, and her mission to boycott the Academy Awards.
Smith’s boycott of the Academy Awards stems from the fact that for two years running, not a single actor or actress of color has been nominated for an Oscar. Smith does make a legitimate point in bringing this up, especially considering that controversy exists in regards to several actors, actresses, and films being snubbed.
After all, while Will Smith did deliver one of his best performances in almost a decade in Concussion, his portrayal of Dr. Bennett Amalu didn’t hold a candle to Idris Elba’s masterful performance in Beasts of No Nation. Both actors are not in the running at the Academy Awards, though Elba’s exclusion is definitely the bigger sin of the two.
Jada Pinkett Smith has taken it upon herself to not only boycott the Academy Awards, but also encourage other actors and actresses to do the same. The truth about Hollywood is that by and large, actors are expendable. There is a twisted political game regularly played in Hollywood, which seems to have prompted Hubert’s response to Jada’s call to arms, alongside more pressing issues facing the black community:
“Girlfriend, there’s a lot of shit going on in the world that you all don’t seem to recognize,” Hubert stated to Jada in the video response, posted below. “People are dying. Our boys are being shot left and right. People are hungry. …And you talkin’ ’bout some muthafuckin’ actors.”
In the video, Hubert delivers an anecdote about working on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air to address the hardships many actors of color face, even with fame. In what sounded like a comment addressed directly to Will, Hubert recalls an incident in which she approached him about using his popularity on the show to help the rest of the cast get a raise. According to Hubert, Smith’s response was:
“My deal is my deal and ya’ll’s deal is ya’ll’s deal.”
Hubert then points out that maybe Will Smith “didn’t deserve a nomination” for his role in Concussion, going even further in saying that she didn’t even “think [he] deserved a Golden Globe” for the role, much less a hat tip from the Academy Awards.
And if her previous commentary was keeping the hand ready, what she said about Will and Jada Pinkett Smith afterward was letting the slap fly.
“You ain’t Barack and Michelle Obama and ya’ll need to get over yourselves. You have a huge production company that you only produce your friends, your family, and yourself. So you are a part of Hollywood, you are a part of the system that is unfair to other actors. So, get real.”
Dayum, Aunt Viv!
While Smith has made a valid point about the lack of prestige actors of color receive in Hollywood — and the Academy Awards are definitely prestige — Hubert has also made a valid point about taking the crusade too far. A boycott of the Academy Awards is a gamble, especially in an industry where a certain degree of institutional racism still exists.
At the end of the day, this isn’t a fight. At least, I don’t think so. I think this is better served as a dialogue between two black actresses about black activism and the presence of black entertainers at a time when these topics are increasingly recognized and in dire need of address.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9eY-kKXBnQ
Featured image is a screen grab from YouTube.
