Posted in: NBC, TV | Tagged: David Steven Simon, nbc, rupaul, the fresh prince of bel air, Thea Glassman, will smith

Fresh Prince of Bel-Air EP: Will Smith Turned Down RuPaul Appearance

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air executive producer David Steven Simon discusses the time when star Will Smith turned down a RuPaul appearance.

When it comes to attitudes toward the LGBTQ+ community, society's come a long way, but there's still much work to be done. When it came to two rising stars in the 1990s, Will Smith and RuPaul, their paths could have crossed, but the musician-turned-actor turned down the opportunity to have the drag performer, who's the current host of RuPaul's Drag Race, on his show. Smith starred in the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, in which he also acted as executive producer with the authority to approve stories. Executive producer David Steven Simon spoke to Thea Glassman for her behind-the-scenes book Freaks, Gleeks, and Dawson's Creek: How Seven Teen Shows Transformed Television (via Entertainment Weekly about the Smith's response.

"I remember him saying that would be a really bad idea," Simon said. "And I said, 'No, listen, hear my story —.'" He had his theory about why, "The reason he would say no is because of his image. Period. The End." Representatives for Smith did not respond back to EW's inquiry. Prior to Smith's acting debut in the Andy and Susan Borowitz-created sitcom, he was part of the popular hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince. The sitcom premiered in 1990 and ran for six seasons across 146 episodes. Based on Smith's own life, he stars as Will, a streetwise, poor young man from Philadelphia sent by his mother to live with his aunt, uncle, and cousins at their Bel-Air mansion.

Fresh Prince also starred James Avery, Alfonso Ribeiro, Tatyana Ali, Karyn Parsons, Joseph Marcell, Daphne Reid, and Jane Hubert. The series helped vault Smith's acting career to superstardom. Ironically, his image took his biggest hit following his infamous Oscar slap of host Chris Rock which resulted in his ousting from the Academy. RuPaul made a name for himself with his 1993 debut album, Supermodel of the World, becoming a pop culture staple making several appearances across film and television throughout his career, including hosting his own talk show on VH1 and his biggest success, the reality competition series Drag Race still going on strong since its debut in 2009. Freaks, Gleeks, and Dawson's Creek: How Seven Teen Shows Transformed Television is available.

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