Alfonso Riberio also known as Carlton Banks on the beloved Fresh Prince of Bel-Air show has opened up about feeling not fully supported and therefore integrated in the black community because he married a white woman.
The actor, speaking in a recent chat opened up on being judged throughout his career followed by comments about his wife being white, admitting it has been hard for him to cope with those statements.
“It still happens almost every day, unfortunately,” Ribeiro said about being challenged on his Blackness. “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.”
The actor also spoke on never being formally invited to the BET Awards, despite his work on The Fresh Prince being part of Black culture
“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. So it is what it is. I’m not going to purchase the ticket…But at the end of the day, if that’s the view they take, then that’s the view they take. I can’t change their mind. All I can do is live my life and be me and be the best version of me. And continue to love everybody equally, and let it fall where it falls.”
Taking on a lighter note, Ribeiro couldn’t help but dish on his friendship with Will Smith, whom he said didn’t have an ego with him on set.
“Well, we were friends before. So that helped a lot,” Ribeiro said. “We were able to…play on set. We were able to not take things so seriously that our egos would never get in the way of creating funny. The things that we learend very early on was, if I’m his straight man and he gets the big laugh, we both win. If he’s my straight man and I get the big laugh, we both win….I believe our success on the show was so great because we never stopped each other from winning.”
