Source: Deborah Feingold / Getty
In a recent interview with Chris Witherspoon’s PopViewers, Janet Hubert shared that she considered taking her life following her traumatic exit from “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” In the wake of her departure, Hubert shared that she had mounting financial responsibilities, a new business, and an infant son, which, naturally, resulted in a lot of pressure.
“You’re only as good as the last job you ever did,” she told Witherspoon. “We also know that you can make money and the next day you can have no money. I also had just opened up a studio. I signed a 10-year lease at like $60,000 to $100,000 worth of equipment,” she went on. “I had a franchise to develop. I not only had a house, a mortgage, a husband who wasn’t working at the time, I also had a business and a baby, an infant who needed me desperately.”
As the pressure increased, Hubert shared that there were moments in which she felt that she “wanted to die,” but knowing that her son needed her is what kept her going during dark moments.
“He saved me. He really did. My son. Because I knew I had to take care of that little boy. ‘Fresh Prince’ had not gone into syndication yet, so there was no money for a few years until they did enough episodes to make syndication. I was in the third season negotiating for the fourth season. It was hard. There were moments when I felt so broken. So low. I didn’t know what I could do. There were moments where I wanted to die.”
When asked specifically if she had ever contemplated suicide, Hubert shared that she had, especially when an incident with one of her tenants resulted in her being arrested.
“Absolutely, because I figured I had a life insurance policy that would take care of my son,” she shared before going on to discuss. “Because you figured… I’m not gonna make it. I can’t live through this. This is too much. People would attack. People would say things. People would say hurtful things, but he was an infant. What was I going to do?”
Check out her full interview below
