Will Smith recalls cursing out executive while filming The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Will Smith once got into a screaming match with a network executive that nearly turned violent during production on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
While filming the beloved sitcom, the then 22-year-old Smith felt some dialogue in a scene wasn't working, so he made changes to the script without notifying producers. The decision caused producers to stop production and the star, his producing partner James Lassiter, and producers Benny Medina and Jeff Pollack were called into an anonymous executive's office.
"I've seen this happen a thousand f**king times. You can be gone just as fast as you got here," the executive allegedly said, according to an extract of Smith's newly released memoir, Will.
Smith recalled how the situation escalated from there, with Lassiter picking up a snow globe as the unnamed executive allegedly continued his tirade.
"So, you can unilaterally change any of the words you want on a network sitcom, huh?" the executive supposedly shouted. "Hundreds of millions of dollars, multiple partners, a s**t-tonne of f**king veterans of the business ... and you get to decide what the words are?"
The Men in Black star described how he defended himself and shouted at the executive until he backed down and the team left the office. He immediately called the show's executive producer, Quincy Jones, to say he "f**ked up" but Jones assured that the group was safe so long as no punches were thrown. Smith chalked up the alleged encounter to growing up in a violent home.
"We were coming from violent homes and violent neighbourhoods and the violent music world," the now 53-year-old recalled. "It was not unreasonable to think that an executive might get violent. We felt cornered and vulnerable."
