Who did James Avery play on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air? Comedian Godfrey sparks backlash for claiming late actor was gay

Comedian Godfrey garnered immense backlash on social media on February 18 after a clip of him alleging that the late actor James Avery was secretly gay went viral online.

It is worth noting that the actor best known for playing Uncle Phil in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was married to his late wife, Barbara Avery. Many opined that it was unnecessary to speak about Avery’s sexuality following his death.

Gossip blog 'Its Onsite' shared a clip of Godfrey discussing James Avery online. In the same, Godfrey said:

“Uncle Phil? Gay as hell. Yeah, he was gay!”

Godfrey alleged that he knew of James Avery’s sexuality as he had to do audience coordination for the Gospel Awards at the beginning of his comic career, which was when he met Avery for the first time. Speaking about Avery, Godfrey said:

“I saw him, he was flamboyant. I was like this- “Uncle Phil?” Aunt Phil, it’s Aunt Phil… I was like- “yo, he’s mad feminine!””

For those uninitiated, James Avery played Philip Banks, best known as Uncle Phil in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. In the show, Avery is the father of Carlton, Ashley, Hilary, and Nicky Banks and also the uncle of Will Smith. In the show, Uncle Phil plays the character of a strict, lawful, commanding, and orderly man who is the patriarch of the Banks household.

Netizens have since taken to social media to react to Godfrey’s latest comments on James Avery. Some netizens said:

Netizens react to the comic’s revelations about Uncle Phil (Image via Instagram)

Evidently, many were not pleased to hear the comic discuss the beloved actor online, especially considering that Avery never publicly said he was gay. Some other reactions read:

Netizens react to the comic’s revelations about Uncle Phil (Image via Instagram)

In 1988, Avery married Barbara. The former has no biological children. However, he is the stepfather of Barbara’s son, Kevin Waters.

Meanwhile, some other reactions read:

Netizens react to the comic’s revelations about Uncle Phil (Image via Instagram)

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James Avery passed away aged 68 in 2014

According to James Avery’s publicist, Cynthia Snyder, he passed away in Glendale, California in January 2014 after suffering from complications that came from open-heart surgery.

Many know Avery for his portrayal of Uncle Phil on the classic television show. However, he also served in the Navy during the Vietnam War. He made his onscreen debut as a dancer in an uncredited role in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers.

Since then, he has starred in several television series, including CSI, That ‘70s Show, The Closer, and L.A. Law, among others.

While speaking about his love for acting, Avery once said in an interview with Unscripted:

“I knew I loved the arts. I knew I wanted to be a writer, but the theater was something I had been involved in before.”

As per his co-star Joseph Marcell, Avery found the show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air deeply important as “the striving of the African-American ought to have been shown on television.”

Godfrey had not addressed the backlash he has received at the time of writing this article.