This Was The Fresh Prince’s Saddest Scene. Two Decades Later, The Truth Comes Out. But It’ll Still Make You Weep

Everyone knows that The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air helped launch Will Smith’s glittering Hollywood career.

Twenty years later, Smith has said in interviews that it is still the project fans ask him about the most.

Fresh Prince was one of my favorite shows growing up in the 90s, and although there were many hilarious episodes (like the one where Will burnt down the kitchen!)

Those couple of times they attempted to do something a little more emotional or heartfelt, blew me away.

The episode entitled “Papa’s Got a Brand New Excuse” which aired back in 1994 is probably one of the episodes I remember the most.

In the episode, Will’s deadbeat dad, Lou, comes back into his life after being gone for 14 years.

While Uncle Phil can see right through Lou’s lie about taking a trip with his son, Will gets all excited and packs for the journey.

After Lou walks out on Will once again, he is left heartbroken.

The emotional scene is an absolute classic and still breaks my heart to this day.

The urban legend is that Will’s speech was improvised and based on the actor’s own traumatic childhood.

Viewers thought for years that the whole emotional explosion was ad-libbed by Smith and was about his own father who abandoned him at a young age.

But the rumors are false! In fact in real life, Will’s father encouraged him to pursue music and acting.

Smith told Smith told Reader’s Digest: “I told my parents I wanted to rap. They said, ‘Rap?’ My mother graduated from Carnegie Mellon. She thought college was the only way.”

“My father could kind of see doing something differently. We agreed that I would take a year making music, and if it did not work out, I would go to college. That year we won the first Grammy given to a rap artist.”

Will Smith’s real father died last year from cancer. He lived with Will who nursed him in his final days.

While the rumors about Will Smith’s childhood and this emotional Fresh Prince scene might not be true, the fact remains that Smith and the late James Avery put on a performance that left people in tears.

In the recording, you can hear studio audience members crying as Will tells his Uncle Phil he is fine after his father lets him down once again.

According to a Reddit user:

‘I was actually at the taping. The entire show was quiet, even during the funny parts, and I could not figure out why.’

‘Before this scene, Will Smith disappeared. He showed up, did this scene in one take, then disappeared again.’

‘You might notice his hat coming off. Usually, the director would retake the scene, but really, nothing could replace this moment.’

‘People were crying for a long time when it was over, doing their best not to make noise before the director said “cut.” I was ten years old. Will never, ever, forget.”

What are your memories on watching this unforgettable scene?