The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is a television show that ran from September 10, 1990 to May 20, 1996 on NBC in the United States for six seasons. In such countries as the United Kingdom (where it is very popular and has a large fanbase), the show is heavily censored for its sexual references, language, themes etc.
Censorship[]
United Kingdom[]
BBC One[]
- In general, some episodes would often temporarily get pulled off the air due to recent events that relate to a serious social theme in the episode (e.g. body shaming, terrorism, gun control etc., as opposed to the show's usual comedic lightheartedness), or perhaps just the theme itself due to being too offensive (Ironically enough, some of these themes could educate younger viewers who watch the show). This includes:
- Some episodes where Jazz gets thrown out of the house actually have the scenes where Jazz gets thrown out of the house completely cut due to rude little kids wanting to kick visitors out of the house.
- Some reruns have sexual references, threatening brutal dialogue, as well as jokes about people being called "black" (due to racism), Uncle Phil being called fat and Carlton being called short (due to body shaming) cut or toned down for being too offensive.
Season 1[]
- Episode 6 ("Mistaken Identity") was banned in 1993 due to discrimination against African-Americans. (But as of 2000 the episode has begun airing on BBC One.)
- Episodes 8-9 ("Someday Your Prince Will Be In Effect")
- The variation of the end credits theme used in the end credits of the episode is replaced with the regular, upbeat end credits theme due to being too scary.
- Episode 10 ("Kiss My Butler")
- The scene where Geoffrey says "pure, unadulterated funk." was cut.
- Episode 11 ("Knowledge Is Power")
- Was censored because the UK sometimes do this, due to convincing high school students to either drop out of school and/or deface school property (which is common in the UK).
- Episode 14 ("Day Damn One")
- Was censored because the UK sometimes do this, due to convincing high school students to either drop out of school and/or deface school property (which is common in the UK).
Season 2[]
- Episode 8 ("She Ain't Heavy")
- Was banned in 1994 due to fat jokes. (As of 2000 BBC One has begun airing the episode.)
- Episode 17 ("Community Action")
- Was pulled from the air every time a major celebrity like Harvey Weinstein were called out from sexual harassment. (because of Bill Cosby's cardboard cutout that appears in the episode)
- Episode 23 ("Be My Baby Tonight")
- Was pulled from the air every time a major celebrity like Harvey Weinstein were called out from sexual harassment.
- Episode 24 ("Striptease For Two")
- Was pulled from the air every time a major celebrity like Harvey Weinstein were called out from sexual harassment.
Season 3[]
- Season 3's Uncle Phil campaign arc and Season 4's "For Sale By Owner" were pulled off the air following US President Donald Trump's inauguration. Ironically, Trump guest starred in the aforementioned season 4 episode.
- Episode 10 ("Asses to Ashes")
- Was pulled from reruns for a short amount of time due to portraying death as gallows humor, as well as after Sherman Hemsley's real life death in 2012. Also, when news broke out that Alfonso Ribeiro sued Epic Games for using the Carlton Dance in Fortnite, the infamous "Carlton Dance" scene was cut in subsequent reruns, instead just skipping immediately to the intro.
- Episode 11 ("A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum")
- Was banned in 1995 due to its heavy pregnancy references. (As of 2005 the episode has begun airing on BBC One.)
- Episode 13 ("Mommy Nearest")
- The end credits blooper (or just the end credits themselves) is cut due to Will Smith making a joke about London when the cast asks what a "crystal fusilier" is. Instead, the episode ends with Will and his mom hugging as the "executive producers" credit is shown and the live audience applauds.
- Episode 18 ("The Alma Matters")
- Was suspended from reruns after Alfonso Ribeiro sued Epic Games (see "Asses to Ashes" above)
- Episode 19 ("Just Say Yo")
- Was banned after its premiere due to drug references and/or convincing young viewers to do drugs. (As of 2006 BBC One has begun rearing the episode.)
- Episode 21 ("You Bet Your Life")
- Was banned following the October 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting
and the Season 6 episode "Viva Lost Wages" were pulled off the air.
Season 4[]
- Episode 2 ("Where There's A Will, There's A Way")
- Was pulled from reruns for a short amount of time due to portraying death as gallows humor.
- Episode 7 ("Hex and the Single Guy")
- Was pulled from reruns for a short amount of time due to portraying death as gallows humor.
- Episode 9 ("Fresh Prince After Dark")
- Was pulled from the air every time a major celebrity like Harvey Weinstein were called out from sexual harassment. Following the launch of Time's Up in January 2018, this episode only aired once shortly before the 2018 Golden Globes, and after the aforementioned, only aired at a late night slot from then on with a "15" rating for "strong sexual references". This episode is more risque then the other episodes.
- Episode 10 ("Home is Where the Heart Attack Is")
- When news broke out that James Avery (who played Uncle Phil on the show) died from complications involving heart surgery, the episode was removed off the network in his honor.
- Episode 22 ("Mother's Day")
- Was pulled from the air every time a major celebrity like Harvey Weinstein were called out from sexual harassment.
Season 5[]
- Episode 15 ("Bullets Over Bel Air")
- Is often temporarily pulled off the air following a mass shooting (e.g. the 2018 Parkland, Florida shootings, the April 1999 Columbine Shootings etc.)
Season 6[]
- Episode 7 ("Not With My Cousin You Don't")
- Was pulled from the air every time a major celebrity like Harvey Weinstein were called out from sexual harassment.
- Episode 8 ("Viva Lost Wages")
- Was pulled from reruns. (See "You Bet Your Life" from Season 3 above)
- Episode 13 ("I, Clownius")
- Was pulled from reruns after 9/11, and again after the May 2017 Manchester bombings.
- Episode 18 ("Hare Today")
- Was pulled from reruns for a short amount of time due to portraying death as gallows humor.
- Episode 19 ("I, Whoops, There It Is")
- The "crystal fusiliers" blooper is cut due to Will Smith making a joke about London.
Sky One[]
- Sexual references in Seasons 4-6 are toned down.
- In a similar case to BBC One, "Mistaken Identity" has Carlton's "Well, this is just retarded." line replaced with similar reasons to BBC One. It is changed to either "Well, this is just stupid." or "Well, this just sucks." due to "retard" being a politically incorrect term for a disabled and/or mentally ill person. In some airings, the line is cut completely.
Channel 4[]
- In a similar case to BBC One and Sky One, "Mistaken Identity" has Carlton's "Well, this is just retarded." line with Carlton quietly muttering "Let us go already, officers." for BBC One's reason.
BBC Kids[]
- Only Seasons 1-3 were shown due to being more kid oriented compared to the more mature Seasons 4-6. All sexual language/references/visuals were removed, bad language was redubbed, and violence was toned down or cut. (Most likely to keep kids from imitating bad language, and violence, and making sexual language/references/visuals.)
- In a similar case to its sister channel BBC One, Sky One, and Channel 4, "Mistaken Identity" has Carlton's "Well, this is just retarded" line changed to "Well, this is just mean." for BBC One's reason.
United States[]
Disney XD[]
In a similar way to BBC Kids, only the first three seasons were shown due to having fewer sexual references and bad language, as well as mature themes, with a "TV-PG" rating.
Where to find it uncensored[]
The DVDs are completely uncensored.