When Will Smith and Janet Hubert, the OG Aunt Viv, squashed their beef on the "Fresh Prince" reunion ... it showed exactly how far they've evolved as individuals.
That's the deep analytical response from Daphne Maxwell Reid, who played v.2 Aunt Viv, and she tells TMZ ... her heart all but melted when Will and Janet buried the hatchet after not talking for nearly 27 years. Will and Janet came face-to-face during the "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" reunion that aired earlier this week ... and finally talked it all out.
Daphne clearly couldn't be more proud of Will, whom she says showed growth of spirit to essentially tell Janet ... he didn't know any better. Daphne, who had never met Janet until the reunion, commended Janet for apologizing and admitting she trash-talked him for years.
Remember ... Janet, who played Aunt Viv for the first 3 seasons of the hit sitcom, was open about her hatred toward Will and blamed him for getting fired. She said back in 2011 "there will never be a reunion ... as I will never do anything with an a**hole like Will Smith." Ouch.
But all of that's now water under the bridge ... not that Daphne had ANY clue about Will and Janet beefing during or even after the show ended in 1996 after 6 successful seasons. Daphne had other things to focus on ... specifically being thankful about having a job.