Fresh Prince Actress Calls Out Jada Pinkett-Smith Over Oscar Ceremony Boycott

People unfamiliar with their background may be surprised to know that Will Smith and Janet Hubert have despised each other since the days when the latter played Vivian Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Yesterday, the actress came out swinging with a four minute rant on YouTube, in which she went after Jada Pinkett-Smith‘s decision to join the boycott against the 2016 Oscar awards.

The award ceremony has come under scrutiny in the past few days, with Spike Lee leading a charge to skip the event due to this year’s lack of racial diversity in its nominees. In her video, Hubert called Pinkett-Smith out for getting upset for her husband’s snubbed performance in Concussion, and found it hypocritical that this is the issue that has motivated her enough to get outraged.

“There’s a lot of sh*t going on in the world that you all don’t seem to recognize. People are dying. Our boys are being shot left and right. People are hungry. People are starving. People are trying to pay bills, and you’re talking about some motherf***ing actors and Oscars. It just ain’t that deep… I find it ironic that somebody who has made their living, made their living, and made millions and millions of dollars from the very people you’re talking about boycotting, just because you didn’t get a nomination, just because you didn’t win — that is not the way life works, baby.”

Hubert also called out Pinkett-Smith by saying that with her call to other Black actors to join the boycott, she was pressuring upcoming performers to take a stand that might blackball their reputations and careers.

“Well karma must be a bitch, cause now here you are. Here you are, you’ve had a few flops and you know there are those out there who really deserved a nod,” Hubert said. “For you to ask other actors, and other black actresses and actors, too, to jeopardize their career and their standing in a town that you know damn well you don’t do that. And here’s the other thing — they don’t care. They don’t care!

You can watch Hubert’s rant in the video above, via Kiara Collins.

[h/t E! Online]
[Image via screengrab]

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