The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990): 15 Weird Facts You Didn’t Know
#rememberwhen Will moved in with the Banks family, and TV was never the same? The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air gave us Carlton’s dance, Jazz’s exit strategy, and not one, but two Aunt Vivs. But behind the neon jackets and iconic theme song was a whole lot of weird you probably never heard about.
From on-set secrets to the real reason Aunt Viv disappeared, we’re counting down 15 strange and surprising facts about one of the greatest sitcoms of the ’90s.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990): 15 Weird Facts You Didn’t Know
Chapters:
00:00 – Intro
01:58 – #15: The Carlton Dance Came from Courtney Cox & Eddie Murphy — Alfonso Ribeiro
03:27 – #14: Will Smith Mouths Everyone Else’s Lines — Will Smith
05:10 – #13: You Could Rent the Fresh Prince House for $30 — Will Smith
06:42 – #12: Filming Days Turned Into Live Comedy Shows — Alfonso Ribeiro
09:20 – #11: The Papa’s Got a Brand New Excuse Scene Broke Sitcom Norms — Will Smith, James Avery
11:04 – #10: The Show Was Cancelled and Fans Brought It Back — NBC
12:48 – #9: Will Smith Owed the IRS $2.8 Million — Will Smith
14:12 – #8: The Reboot Ditched the Laughs — Bel-Air
16:39 – #7: Jazz’s Legendary Toss Was Filmed Only Once — DJ Jazzy Jeff
17:54 – #6: The Cast Kept a Secret Burn Book — Karen Parsons
19:03 – #5: The House Interior Was Totally Rebuilt After Season One — (Production)
20:16 – #4: Everyone Was a Pro Except Will Smith — Cast
22:30 – #3: Jada Pinkett Was Rejected for Being Too Short — Jada Pinkett
23:45 – #2: Janet Hubert Wasn’t Fired, She Turned Down a Bad Deal — Janet Hubert
26:02 – #1: The Theme Song is Almost Three Minutes Long — (Theme Song)
More Fresh Prince & ‘90s throwbacks:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZlIsN9qHBcmZw7SF0DLQJZK6HDXgrKpv
#FreshPrince #WillSmith #AuntViv #CarltonBanks #UnclePhil #90sSitcoms #ClassicTV #FreshPrinceOfBelAir #TVNostalgia #RememberWhen
@RememberWhenHQ
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
OK, who else suddenly remembered every lyric to the theme song… only to realize we’ve all been rapping the abridged version for 30 years? And don’t get us started on Jazz getting tossed out the door in that same shirt every time. Which Fresh Prince memory hit you hardest in this one?
If you're our people, make sure you subscribe and share this with the friend who still busts out the Carlton Dance at weddings.
Check out more nostalgic TV Deep Dives here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRZTUGHHqdh6OxPqp3M0P1Q5DXSKME9ap
@michaellischio7617
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
Jazz being tossed is the funniest bit in TV history
@erekrose4921
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
That belair remake is a piece of steaming garbage.
@KirK777CK
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
when Fresh Prince came out Will Smith was 22 not 21
@matthew8153
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
14:44 Modern writers are somehow more stupid than the old ones.
@picturesandcocktails210
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
Why wasn't Jeffery mentioned
@DRDetriot-vl3sn
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
2:04 first of all white guy… no self-respecting black person ever did that dance ON PURPOSE. It's literally the only dance black people took from white people, but it was to MAKE FUN of THEM, not to embrace their non-rhythmic frolicking. And the reason why Alphonse Roberto couldn't get that copyright is because he didn't create it. You literally see Bruce Springsteen and Courteney Cox doing it back in the 80s. It really was "the white guy dance" literally the only dance that white people knew in the 80s and that's why Eddie Murphy was making fun of it.
@TROQUE4
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
how did i never notice?
@krisfrederick5001
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
Rest in Peace Uncle Phil. I remember watching C-SPAN one time and a caller recited the entire Fresh Prince theme rap in a slower spoken word fashion. The host had no idea what was happening, it was effing hysterical 😂
@cmagee14
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
So now we know aunt viv #2 took a trash contract
@moe_chi
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
26:03 i know it by heart the full theme song
@wolfsden3
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
Temu Cosby's 😂
@TechGorilla1987
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
And to think – nearly 30 years later, Will became the worlds biggest assault cuck.
@cminor75
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
The most memorable episode has to be when Tevin Campbell was on!
@shedbuiltcars2999
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
My personal favourite part, is the end of the series, the next best part was his career ending SLAP to chrs rock
@ChristopherMcclean-g5s
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
I thought alfonso was more handsome than will smith
@SkotchOG
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
Let's not forget that James was also the voice actor for Shredder in the 80s TMNT cartoons.
@FitMommyMakeover
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
Sitting with my kids playing UNO and my daughter randomly plays the Fresh Prince song, but the ENTIRE original song! I nearly passed out since I just watched this, so I had to come back to this video 😂
@ZlejChleba
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
Jazz: You know miss Banks, since you had that baby, there's something different about you. 😀
@ddbjg
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
i love wills aunt jance the young sister i felt bad she did not return to the series
@stingrey1571
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
fresh prince exists in the same universe as blossom. hillary went on a date with tony russo.
@WillySachak
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
You forgot ALL about the little Banks Boy, that was the 'Oliver' for Fresh Prince. Lol
@bearsz101
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
Bell Biv Devoe episode was hilarious 😂
@SchemeTintFocus
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
Jazz out the door is up there with Super Dave's dummy
@Skye_Writer
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
I wouldn't call the Air B&B stunt a cash grab. They could have charged SIGNIFICANTLY more money for that, and someone would have paid it. For them to keep the price down to just $30 is a big deal, and far less than it costs to see someone in concert.
@Jackbauer1350
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
After no1 cant wait for another series themes special.
@mfundo6619
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
Oh, we definitely blinked when original Aunt Viv was replaced, I can tell you that. Nobody liked the new Aunt Viv.
@stephengalloway6604
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
Back when he had Nuts!! Dang shame 😢😢😢
@gregdagreat305
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
The reboot sucks sometimes u gotta leave classics alone
@cameron398
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
Having one of the greatest series of a decade to one they will not release the viewership numbers for series. They got their five years due to Smith helping it out. Probably frustrates them that the originals reruns still make more than the reboot.
@catloverKD
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
Will and Carlton's dance scene in Vegas is definitely my favorite.
@Dippy-Dawg6877
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
There is a tie-in between Fresh Prince and the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series. That being James Avery. He provided the voice of The Shredder.
@Dippy-Dawg6877
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
When Will Smith was touring the nation promoting his movie "Seven Pounds," one of his stops was in St. Louis, where I live. There were hundreds gathered at the AMC movie theatre, where his promotion was being held. For nostalgia’s sake, yes, he broke out with the theme song. Will Smith has been the only one in TV history to have written and performed the show's theme song. BTW, I have always known about the additional lyrics to the theme song. Referencing being on an airplane drinking orange juice from a champagne glass.
@Dippy-Dawg6877
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
There was one episode where the Banks were hosting a party on their back porch. If I remember correctly, Jazz, being his usual annoying self, was tossed INTO the kitchen via the back door.
@AaronLevine-t3j
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
I wonder if the passing of Avery made Will Smith think about his life decisions up to that point concerning the cast and crew of the show to push himself to apologize to Hubert.
But another episode that stood out to me was the one where Will and Carlton were accused of stealing an expensive luxury car. Phil and the owner of the car enter the police department and Phil tells the police he's a judge and threatens the department with lawsuits if they don't let Will and Carlton go and dismiss the charges altogether. What made the episode standout to me was the final moment when it neither confirmed or denied it was a racial discrimination from the police department and made you the viewer discuss it. I remember watching it with my friends when it first aired and we had a nice long conversation about the episode that led into the real-world problem with law enforcement and their discrimination throughout history up to the day the episode aired originally.
@lisaayers1975
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
Lol Courtney did dance like that in Bruce's music video
@SamShank175
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
No one blinked?
Fans did!
Janet Hubert's Aunt Viv was the only true aunt Viv. They totally changed everything about the character, it was not a good change.
@reggiethecommenter9137
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
Let's all agree: The 2nd Aunt Viv and Nicky (fourth child) never should have existed.
@BigNoLove
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
22:54 Jada is trash.
@Dorelaxen
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
Proof that Will Smith was always a jackass from the very start.
@chipskylark172
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
I think this is the first time I knew every single one of these facts lol
@chipskylark172
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
“Geoffrey…Break out Lucille” is honestly a underrated and very quoted line at least it was for me and my friends 😂
@cindeed4422
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
The leads were supposed to be Kid and Play not Fresh Prince and Jazzy Jeff. And Kid and Play was supposed to do the Fresh Prince show. They switched! They went on to do the House Party Movies and they did the Bel Aire show.
@COMPFUNK2
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
No mention of Ross Bagley?
@Brittany8575
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
I loved this show. The original aunt Viv was so damn gorgeous.
@raionnacole7827
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
Other than A different world, this is a sitcom i have watched from beginning to end multiple times, t.v. just hit different back in the day even though I wasnt born until the late 90's i enjoyed classic shows 💯🤌🏽
@terrellratliff2229
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
Fresh prince of, 🤴, Belair, is, My, Favorite, Show,
@Frugal_Father_travels
January 17, 2026 at 1:28 pm
You guys never talked about Nicky
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