When Will Smith‘s “Fresh Prince” character hopped out of a cab in Bel Air – straight from the hood – he was rocking a fresh pair of Air Jordan 5s.
In an interview on Showtime’s “All The Smoke” with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, Smith explained that he pleaded with NBA legend Michael Jordan to let him wear the newest pair of Air Jordans in the series back in the day.
According to Basketball Network, Smith wanted to be the first to wear the unreleased sneakers in his comedy series “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”
So he called Jordan up and begged him for a pair of the sneakers that young people were literally dying over.
Smith said he had no idea his “Fresh Prince” character would influence the culture when he rocked Jordans on the series.
“I was living the culture. I was literally calling Jordan like ‘Mike, please, please don’t give them to nobody. Let me be the first person, I gotta be the first person to wear it’. And he was like ‘Man, I don’t run that,'” Smith said.
The former A-list actor is still facing backlash from his infamous Oscar slap earlier this year. Smith was banned by the Academy Awards for 10 years after he slapped comedian Chris Rock for joking about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith‘s hair at this year’s Oscars.
While promoting his new film, Emancipation, Smith told Trevor Noah it was a very difficult night for him.
“I was going through something that night, you know?” he said. “And not that that, you know, justifies my behavior at all. I would just say, you know, you’re asking, what did I learn? And it’s that we just got to be nice to each other, man.”
Chris Rock still hasn’t spoken to Smith who apologized to the comedian publicly. The former friends are pictured in an episode of “Fresh Prince.”
Smith is uncertain if the public will support his $120 million film project. Emancipation is one of Apple’s most high-profile productions, and a possible Oscar contender.
But if Smith wins an Oscar, he won’t be present in person to receive it.
Emancipation premiered in select theaters on December 2, and is available to stream on Apple TV+ on Dec. 9.
Watch the video below.
