https://www.looper.com/951358/cringeworthy-90s-tv-moments-that-were-also-awkward-at-the-time/

https://www.looper.com/img/gallery/cringeworthy-90s-tv-moments-that-were-also-awkward-at-the-time/misogyny-in-the-fresh-prince-of-bel-air-1659546914.webp

"The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (https://www.looper.com/223583/the-best-and-worst-episodes-of-fresh-prince-of-bel-air/)" is one of the most beloved sitcoms of the 1990s. The show vaulted Will Smith into blockbuster, slam-dunk star status, but it also featured a lot of cat-calling and misogyny throughout its six-season run. Will was not the ladies' man his character tried so hard to be. Instead, he often came across as a cringey, off-putting harasser. In "Ain't No Business Like Show Business," he asks one of his comic friends to act like a jerk toward a woman so he can swoop in and save the day with his chivalry.

Since "Fresh Prince" left the air, culture critics have revisited the sitcom (https://www.mic.com/culture/fresh-prince-of-bel-air-hits-different) and explored its problematic moments, onscreen and off. Smith's conflicts with co-stars created some behind-the-scenes conflict, contributing to NBC firing Janet Hubert (Aunt Viv) for having a child before Season 4 (and then calling her "difficult to work with" after the fact).

As was par for the course among borderline chauvinist male characters in pre-Y2K television, they always acted like whatever they had to say was far more important than anything said by the women they tried courting. Though "Fresh Prince" was groundbreaking in its portrayal of Black success onscreen, Will's character traits often perpetuated a manipulative imbalance of power between men and women. It was a sleazy storytelling tactic then and still leaves a bad taste in the mouths of viewers watching it today.

Yeah, it is true that a lot of cringy behavior from Will was played for laughs back then.
But really, we should remember that he was called out on it too sometimes.

janet Hubert was not fired, and her pregnancy was written into the show. she didn’t get along with will, so the network offered her a new contact going forward, that would see her episodes reduced. she turned it down and they continued without her.

janet Hubert was not fired, and her pregnancy was written into the show. she didn’t get along with will, so the network offered her a new contact going forward, that would see her episodes reduced. she turned it down and they continued without her.

Not only that, (sit)comedy, Janet has anger management problems that she couldn't control while being aggressive and that also got her fired. James Avery knows how to control his anger management problems while being aggressive and that's why he stayed until the final episode.

I think both were partly blame. Will admitted to feeling threatened by Janet and as a result he, ‘set the dogs on her’, as he put it in the reunion show in 2020. I respect Janet for repeating everything that she said about will over the years to his face.