Will Smith 'refused to have RuPaul appear on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'

29 June 2023 , 19:34

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Will Smith refused to allow RuPaul to make a cameo in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

Will Smith reportedly refused to allow RuPaul to make a guest appearance in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

The 54 year old ruled the television scene in his hugely popular nineties sitcom, which followed the life of a fictionalised version of Smith – a streetwise teenager sent to live with his wealthy aunt and uncle in their Bel Air mansion after getting into a fight in his hometown of Philadelphia.

At the same time, drag performer RuPaul was also a rising star in the entertainment industry, but the opportunity for him to star on The Fresh Prince was said to be shot down by Will.

Speaking at the Freaks, Gleeks, and Dawson's Creek: How Seven Teen Shows Transformed Television event, the show's executive producer David Steven Simon recalled the moment.

He explained that Will, who had the power to approve every storyline and rarely rejected ideas, was evidently not keen on RuPaul appearing on the show, which ran for six seasons from 1990 to 1996.

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Will Smith refused to allow RuPaul to make a cameo in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (Mike Marsland/WireImage)

"I remember him saying that would be a really bad idea," Simon explained, adding: "And I said, 'No, listen, hear my story —.'"

However, despite his pleas, Simon was forced to back down as Will "refused" and "kept repeating that it was a bad idea".

Simon believed the reason the actor refused was to protect his reputation. "The reason he would say no is because of his image. Period. The End," he said.

Mirror US has contacted representatives for Will for further comment.

He refused having RuPaul on the show due to his "reputation" (Getty Images)

Will Smith approved every storyline on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and rarely rejected ideas

It has been a trying time for Will in recent years. Most noticeably, he was given a 10-year ban from attending the Oscars after storming onstage and slapping Chris Rock for a joke the comedian made about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, last year.

Meanwhile, things haven't been going too swimmingly for Jada, as news of her talk show Red Table Talk being cancelled emerged.

Breaking her silence shortly after the news was made public, Jada admitted she was "sorry" to see those who worked on the show "disband".

Will ruled the television scene in his hugely popular nineties sitcom

In an emotional Instagram message, the star said: "We are so grateful to have had such a beautiful partnership with Facebook Watch and we are sorry to see the entire team disband."

While the show will no longer feature on Facebook, she is actively looking for a new home for it to sit in.

"We wish everyone well in their new journeys to come," she added. "We at Red Table are in talks of finding a new home, and we'll see you soon."

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The move to cancel the show comes amid Meta's cost-cutting initiative and will see the show come to an abrupt end after five seasons.

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Jabeen Waheed