The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was a hilarious sitcom that aired from 1990 through to 1996 and catapulted Will Smith to success. The story was one of a young teenager from West Philadelphia who is sent to live with his wealthy aunt, uncle, and cousins in Bel-Air after getting into a fight on the basketball court. His mother is worried about his life there and wants him to have better opportunities.
As a fish-out-of-water story, Will is mesmerized by the glitz and glamor, his family’s uppity ways and strict rules, and life in private school. But he eventually fits in.
While the series was light and fun, it did tackle some more serious issues. But some fans have taken the story in totally weird directions with crazy fan theories suggesting that there was far more to the series than meets the eye. Here are 6 of the craziest fan theories about the show, along with four common myths that have been debunked.
Theory: Will Was Dead The Whole Time
The most widespread and insane fan theory about the sitcom, which leads to the other 5 crazy theories, is that Will was actually dead the entire time and Bel Air was simply a metaphor for Heaven.
The theory points to several purported “hints” in the theme song, suggesting that when Will got into that “one little fight” in West Philadelphia that scared his mom so, he actually perished. When he sings that once his mom gave him a kiss and a ticket, he put his Walkman on and said: “I might as well kick it.” As in kick the bucket?
Others go on to say Will’s description of what Bel-Air is like (“drinkin’ orange juice out of a champagne glass”) and questioning if he should even be there (“is this the type of place that they just send this cool cat?”) represents his internal conflict about if he’s worthy to go to heaven.
Theory: The Taxi Driver Is God
Continuing with this theory, Will didn’t actually get into a yellow taxicab, but, rather this was his symbolic transportation to Heaven. The driver? He represented God.
This doesn’t explain why he told his cabbie “smell ya later” nor why the cab driver had “dice in the mirror.” But it does explain what he meant by saying the cab was "rare." Perhaps this was God’s way of making sure he fit in and couldn’t be spotted by common folk? But theorists believe the cab ride was simply designed to represent Will’s journey to Heaven versus watching him float up among the clouds.
Theory: The Bel-Air Mansion Is Will's Version of Heaven
The massive mansion in Bel-Air is actually the gates of Heaven. The exterior of the house is indeed a beautiful, pristine white with four large columns that make them look like those pearly gates.
So, theorists believe that logically if the cab represents Will’s travel to Heaven and the driver is God, then logically, the house must be Heaven itself, or at least the part of Heaven that Will gets to stay in. This doesn’t explain why Uncle Phil was so mean, nor why Will would have gone through so many hardships through the series. But perhaps he was still learning to become a better person (or being?) while in Heaven.
Theory: Will's Parents Were Actually Visiting His Grave
One would think that, even if Will’s mother sent him away to have a better life for his sake, she’d at least come visit more often. Maybe she simply couldn’t afford to. Nonetheless, some who believe this crazy theory think that whenever his mom does come to visit, it coincides with when, in the real world, she is visiting his grave.
This would explain the infrequent visits, as well as why Will’s estranged father showed up after a 14-year absence. Surely he’d want to visit his son’s grave, right?
Theory: Jazzy Jeff Was In The Hospital With Terminal Injuries
The theory even extends to explaining why DJ Jazzy Jeff, Will’s best friend, is constantly being thrown out of the house by Uncle Phil. Sure, he caused mischief and constantly hit on his daughter Hilary, but that shouldn’t have been enough to drive Phil to physically injure him.
Well, the theory suggests that Jeff isn’t actually being thrown out. Rather, he is in the hospital in the real world, on the verge of death. Every time he comes close to death’s door, that’s when he visits the Banks’ house, as he makes a short trip to Heaven. When the hospital staff is able to revive him, he is “thrown out” of heaven and back to the real world.
Theory: Boyz II Men Were A Choir Of Angels
Yes, even ‘90s boy band Boyz II Men is brought into the theories. Who are they? Angels, of course!
In a Christmas episode, right before Will admits defeat after being unable to secure Boyz II Men to perform at his cousin’s christening (a religious ceremony, we should note), the R&B group comes walking through the door, singing Silent Night.
How did he pull off getting one of the biggest musical acts of that time to come to some random baby’s christening? One explanation, according to theorists, is because he’s in heaven, and their angelic voices and likenesses could easily beam up from the real world.
Myth: Quincy Jones Was Driving The Cab In the Opening Credits
This cab driver really gets a lot of attention among both theories and myths. First, as noted, people believe that he’s representative of God, then they are completely convinced that it’s a secret cameo by music mogul Quincy Jones, as if he’d have had nothing better to do than to film this sequence. (Though he might very well have done it for fun to see if anyone noticed.)
Despite a slight resemblance in smile, the cab driver, who wears sunglasses that make identification more difficult, was absolutely not Jones. Interestingly, however, we still don’t know who this actor is.
Myth: The Scene When Jazz is Thrown Out of The House Was Only Shot Once
Technically, yes, whenever Uncle Phil gets annoyed with Will’s best friend Jazz and throws him out of the house, it’s the same take viewers see over and over again. This led many to believe that the scene was only ever shot once.
However, Jeffrey Townes, who plays DJ Jazzy Jeff (a stage name he also uses in real life) has confirmed that the scene was actually shot on three or four occasions, with multiple takes each time, and he had the bruises to prove it. He eventually told them he couldn’t do it anymore because he wasn’t a stuntman, and so they decided to use the same clip over and over. It all worked out in the end, though, because that became part of the gag.
Myth: Will and Jazz Made Up Their Signature Handshake On The Fly
The Will and Jazz signature handshake, which includes a clap on the hand followed by tilting your head and arm back as if you’re throwing something over your shoulder, accompanied by a “pshhh” sound, was not actually created on-the-fly by the actors.
Townes gives credit to a backup dancer on the pair’s tour named Mike Barr, who first started doing it, and they copied. He never dreamed it would have become as big as it did.
Myth: The Mom From the Parents Just Don’t Understand Video and Fresh Prince Are the Same
A myth began floating around for some reason that the mom who appears in the "Parents Just Don’t Understand" music video and the one angrily mouthing the words “you’re moving with your auntie and uncle in Bel-Air” while wagging her finger in the opening sequence of the series is the same person.
It isn’t, as Townes confirmed. Though, strangely, it’s difficult to find out just who these two mysterious actors are. In any case, whoever they are, they are two very different people.