Top 10 Times The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Tackled Serious Issues

In the aftermath of a harsh and humiliating Rush week, Will discovers Carlton wasn’t accepted into the all-Black Phi Beta Gamma fraternity. It soon becomes clear that this is due to the president’s prejudice against Carlton’s privileged upbringing.Will tries to spare his cousin’s feelings. However, Carlton steps in with hard-hitting truth for the fraternity leader. It’s a powerful speech about not invalidating someone’s identity just because they had a different experience. As the episode closes, Uncle Phil poses a rather poignant question about this intense topic. When the family responds by silently thinking his words over, the audience is encouraged to silently reflect too.

After ignoring warnings about his health, Uncle Phil suffers a heart attack. Everyone rushes to aid the fraternal figure…except Carlton. He has trouble seeing his dad in such a vulnerable state. To him, Phil is an invincible superman and he can’t deal with that image crumbling. Carlton is finally challenged when Will confronts him. Their talk is full of harsh realities about mortality and parental issues. Fortunately, this raw conversation enables Carlton to finally come to terms with the situation. He realizes that it’s more important to appreciate the time he has with his father than to avoid him out of fear. This revelation is followed up with a heartfelt conversation between father and son.

Since the Banks’ house had a few teenagers around, it’s not surprising to see scenes where characters are coming to terms with their sexuality. But a season six episode where Ashley questions whether she’s ready to take another step forward with her love interest hit hardest. Fortunately, her older sister has great advice. Hilary addresses Ashley’s feelings and concerns and ultimately empowers her sibling to make the decision that feels right. Not everyone has someone that they feel comfortable talking to about the birds and the bees. So, during this conversation, Hilary may have acted as a big sister to many young people watching at home.

Whenever the Smith sisters get together, you just know that you’re in for a good time. But their relationship was strained when Janice revealed that she was engaged to a white man. Initially, Violet Smith is adamantly against the union. She even tries to prevent Will from attending the wedding too. The show makes space to fully detail why she’s afraid of the union while also making it clear that Janice is aware of the potential hurdles she may face in society. Thankfully, Will’s words help convince Violet to see her little sister wed. The sweet conclusion to this episode gave us hope that Janice would continue to support her sister’s love.

As much as we love this show, we have to admit that Will said a few sexist things. There are a few examples of him speaking to women in disrespectful ways of making assumptions based on gender. Will occasionally had to learn lessons about his bias the hard way. On one occasion, a prank orchestrated by Carlton and Lisa wakes him up. (xref) Another story sees a female boxer teach him a lesson about assumptions. (xref). He and Carlton also engaged in a battle of the sexes with Hilary and Ashley. (xref). While there are certainly aspects of these episodes that didn’t age gracefully, the main message about confronting sexist behavior is still relevant today.

Will’s ego gets the better of him when he starts competing for Jackie’s attention. After getting completely wasted, he considers driving home before passing out first. He wakes up in a cemetery where he has a life-changing encounter with a group of poker-playing ghosts. The tone really shifts when he talks to Billy, a spirit whose life was cut short by a drunk driver. This talk hits like a punch in the gut. Its heavy content makes Will finally realize what could’ve happened if he got behind the wheel while intoxicated. Even though it all turns out to be a tequila-fueled nightmare, we’re sure that this lesson will stay with Will and the viewers forever.

When Will gets overwhelmed, his friend offers him a dangerous and illegal quick-fix solution. It’s all but forgotten about until Carlton mistakes his cousin’s pills for vitamins and ends up in the hospital. Although everything turns out okay, the guilt still weighs heavily on Will. He eventually confesses that he’s responsible for Carlton’s accident in a tearful and heartbreaking scene. The episode highlights that irresponsible substance use can also endanger a person’s loved ones. After Will realizes who he could’ve lost, the episode ends with his family knowing how sorry he is.

Viv and Phil are skeptical when Will’s dad comes back into his life suddenly after 14 years. Sadly their concerns are proven correct when Lou flakes out on his son once again. This leads to one of the most iconic moments of the entire series and arguably one of Will Smith’s best performances. The emotion is so raw that you can’t help but get choked up during his heart-wrenching monologue. He’s so convincing that many believed he was drawing on his own experiences. While it turns out that this situation didn’t happen in the actual Will’s life, his acting brought an all too real issue to the forefront.

The plot of “Mistaken Identity” takes a dark turn when Carlton and Will get pulled over by an office while driving a car that belongs to one of Philip’s colleagues. Unfortunately, they end up behind bars. When Phil and Vivian come to their rescue, the officers continue to show more prejudiced behavior. It’s not until a white man vouches for the young duo that the police finally start to work with the Banks. But Uncle Phil is sure to get in the final word with a strong and impassioned speech about prejudice. Even after they are released, Will and Uncle Phil make it clear to Carlton that this encounter is unfortunately not likely to be an isolated incident.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Black History, “Ethnic Tip”
Vivian Schools Will on the Importance of Black History

Accepting Others, “The Fresh Prince Project”
Will & His Uncle Aren’t as Different as They’d Like to Believe

Poverty, “There’s The Rub - Part 2”
The Banks Family Learns a Little Something About Privilege & Poverty

Body Image, “She Ain’t Heavy”
Dee Dee Teaches Will About Body Shaming

During one of the darkest episodes of the series, Will gets shot while he and Carlton are getting mugged. An angry, scared, and incredibly vulnerable Carlton decides to take extreme measures to prevent something like that from happening again. A hospitalized Will is horrified when he discovers that his cousin has a gun. He urges Carlton to see that his snap decision to buy a gun could cause more problems than it would solve. After a tense back and forth, Will convinces his cousin to leave the gun. The image of the bedridden young man removing the bullets as he breaks down in tears is incredibly sobering. While the issues surrounding gun control are complex, this emotional scene sends a simple message about choosing non-violence.