Will Smith shocks social media with Instagram photo with Janet Hubert

Source: NBC / Getty

We legit screamed. The noise we made was embarrassing and no one was even around to hear us. We embarrassed ourselves in front of ourselves. When we scrolled through Instagram last night and came across a photo of Will Smith and the original Aunt Viv Janet Hubert smiling and kiki’ing together.

We ’bout fell out.

It is NO secret that Janet Hubert has been VERY salty with Will and Alfonso Ribiero over the years behind the way she was evicted from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air just like Jazzy Jeff famously was from Uncle Phil’s palatial estate.

On the heels of news that the dramatic reimagining of the 90s most famous TV show has been green-lit by Peacock for two seasons of streaming, we have our first look at the HBOMax Fresh Prince Reunion special that is coming soon. We would have paid GOOD American currency to be a fly on the wall for Will and Janet’s first off-camera conversation. Messiness aside, we are thrilled to see the gang back together again but it’s bittersweet that James Avery was not able to see this moment.

The actor passed away in December of 2013 from complications with open-heart surgery. Avery portrayed “Uncle Phil” on the show for more than 140 episodes.

Back in 2014, Will posted a heartfelt tribute to the late actor captioning the photo with a sweet message:

“Some of my greatest lessons in Acting, Living and being a respectable human being came through James Avery,” Smith wrote. “Every young man needs an Uncle Phil. Rest in Peace.”

Rest assured his legacy will live on in the upcoming Fresh Prince reboot that is set to premiere soon.

We imagine that he would be smiling from ear to ear and laughing with that deep and joyful baritone that he commanded.