Jasmine Guy & Kadeem Hardison Of ‘A Different World’ Claim The Network Intentionally Put Them Up Against ‘Martin’: We Have The Same Audience, So What Do White People Do, Divide

Jasmine Guy & Kadeem Hardison Of ‘A Different World’ Claim The Network Intentionally Put Them Up Against ‘Martin’: We Have The Same Audience, So What Do White People Do, Divide

Jasmine Guy and Kadeem Hardison are opening up about the difficulties they faced in the final season of ‘A Different World’. 

In honor of the 35th anniversary of the hit 90s sitcom, ‘A Different World,’ co-stars Jasmine Guy and Kadeem Hardison stopped by ‘The Breakfast Club’ to share the many ups and downs that took place behind the scenes and the issues they faced with the network.

During their interview, when asked why there was an abrupt ending of 90s sitcoms highlighting the black experience, Jasmine Guy gave a very compelling response and revealed that the network may have intentionally put their show up against another popular black sitcom. She explained,

“Our last season.. [we were] number 2 or number 1 sometimes for 5, 6, 7 years. Why would you change out time slot? And why would you put us up against ‘Martin’? I definitely took that personally.” 

Jasmine continued,

“You ain’t got but two black shows on the network, so you put us at the same time against each other? What have we done to deserve this kind of disservice? We’re not competing with ‘Martin.’  We come on at 8:30 they come on at 8, why did you move us? That was a detriment… We weren’t strong enough to hold another time slot and not against ‘Martin’.”

Jasmine Guy

Jasmine Guy continued by saying she felt the time change was deliberately done by the head of NBC and was an act of division. She said,

“I feel like we have the same audience, so what do white people do, divide. You got two hit shows, let’s put them on at the same time. They don’t do that to their own shows. I feel like it was deliberate I feel like it was racist. I know who was running NBC at the time, and I don’t feel we were respected.”

Later in the interview, Kadeem Hardison shared a story of when he first realized he and the cast of ‘A Different World‘ were getting paid much less than some of their counterparts in Hollywood. Both Hardison and Guy revealed they had to fight hard to get paid more. Hardison explained,

“I went and did ‘White Men Can’t Jump’ and met Woody Harrelson and he was doing [the show] ‘Cheers’. He kinda let me in on what he was making, and I was like, ‘What?!’ ” 

Kadeem Hardison

This was shocking to Kadeem Hardison because ‘A Different World‘ had a higher ranking and more viewership than ‘Cheers.’

See the full interview below: 

‘A Different World‘ was a TV series in the late 80s and early 90s that aired for six seasons on NBC from September 24, 1987, to July 9, 1993. It was a spin-off of Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet) from the ‘Cosby Show.’ The series centered on the life of students at Hillman College, a fictional historically black college in Virginia. It was inspired by student life at historically black colleges and universities. This show was a staple in the black community and lead many black children to pursue higher education at Historically Black Colleges/ Universities (HBCUs).

‘Martin’ was an American television sitcom that aired for five seasons on Fox from August 27, 1992, to May 1, 1997. The show starred comedian and namesake Martin Lawrence as the leading character as well as his girlfriend Gina Waters-Payne (Tisha Campbell) and their friends. Lawrence also played several other characters that became a staple in the black community and entertainment. ‘Martin’ was one of Fox’s highest-rated shows during the sitcom’s run.

What are your thoughts on Jasmine Guy and Kadeem Hardison’s remarks? Let us know down below!

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