'I'm In My Own Little World with Support from Almost No One': Alfonso Ribeiro Opens Up About Living In a 'Mixed World' and Why He'll 'Never Be Fully Supported In the Black House'
"The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" delivered laughs, tears, and life lessons for six years as fans looked forward to what kind of hijinks or family drama Will Smith and his cousin Carlton Banks, portrayed by Alfonso Ribeiro, would find themselves in each week.
Although Ribeiro has felt "punished" for portraying the role so well that it's stuck with him throughout his career, he still looks back on his time working with the cast with warmth and fondness. The "America's Funniest Videos" host spoke with Atlanta Black Star about what allowed him and Will Smith to sustain such magnetic onscreen energy, how living in a "mixed world" with his family has sometimes left him feeling a lack of support, and his hopes for everyone to "live in a world that they want to live in."
An episode of "The Fresh Prince"] that struck home for me was when Carlton was attempting to pledge. And then there was a whole scene where he was basically being told that he wasn't Black enough to pledge. And Carlton gave this emotional speech about "Being Black isn't something that I try to be. It's who I am." Have you experienced any of that feeling personally throughout your life?It still happens almost every day, unfortunately. I am in a mixed relationship. And I get things and looks and comments constantly. And I find it very interesting because you see a lot of things on social media where people say things and people have positions and perspectives. And it's not easy to make that choice, because you're not at home in any home. I'm never going to be white and I'm never going to be fully supported in the Black house.
So I'm in my own little world with support from almost no one, to be in love with someone I've fallen in love with. How does that make sense? It doesn't. We all want to live in a world where everyone is accepted for being and loving and living the way they choose to live. I will support any person that wants to live in a world that they want to live in. I'll support a racist person to live in a world that they want to live in. They don't have to be around me.
But if that's the world that they want to live in, they should have a right to live in that world. I live in a mixed world. I love in a mixed world. I live in a Black world, and I love in that world. I feel everyone should be supported. I deal with it all the time. I laugh at the fact that I am a mainstream television host, been in the game forever and I could purchase tickets to go to the BET Awards.
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