Jasmine Guy has a message for viewers focused on her appearance in Netflix’s new “A Different World” series.
The actress recently returned as Whitley Gilbert-Wayne, more than three decades after the original sitcom ended. The Netflix continuation premiered Sept. 24, exactly 39 years after the original series debuted on NBC.
Guy’s return brought plenty of nostalgia for longtime viewers. However, some social media users quickly shifted the conversation toward how the actress has aged.
Several posts criticized Guy’s appearance and compared how she looks today with her younger years playing Whitley. Other viewers defended the 64-year-old actress and pushed back against the commentary. Guy has now joined the conversation herself.
“The internet can be brutal to women as we grow older,” Guy wrote in a social media post.
She added that society often encourages people to celebrate growing older while simultaneously criticizing visible signs of aging.
“Growing older brings change, and I won’t pretend every change is easy,” Guy continued.
Still, the actress made clear that getting older has not changed how she views beauty or enjoying life.
“But beauty, style, and joy don’t have an expiration date,” she wrote.
Guy concluded by encouraging people to judge themselves and others less. Instead, she urged followers to focus on love, memories and fully experiencing life.
Fans and colleagues rally around Guy
Guy’s response quickly received support from viewers and people connected to the new series. Showrunner Felicia Pride responded to Guy’s post with support. Cast members Kennedi Reece and Cornell Young IV also celebrated the veteran actress.
The online debate arrived as audiences became reacquainted with several familiar Hillman faces. Guy first began playing Whitley when “A Different World” premiered in 1987. She remained with the sitcom until its conclusion in 1993.
Whitley eventually became one of the show’s central characters. Her romance with Dwayne Wayne, played by Kadeem Hardison, became a defining storyline.
Guy and Hardison both reprise their roles in the Netflix series. The continuation follows their youngest daughter, Deborah Wayne, played by Maleah Joi Moon. Deborah enrolls at Hillman College hoping to establish an identity separate from her famous parents.
Whitley has also evolved considerably since viewers last saw her. In the new series, she has become a successful beauty entrepreneur behind Glitter by Gilbert. Dwayne, meanwhile, has returned to Hillman as the college’s provost.
Guy admits returning came with nerves
The attention surrounding Guy’s return comes after she admitted that reprising Whitley initially made her nervous. Guy recently said previous attempts to revisit “A Different World” had not worked out. That history made her cautious about returning again.
The production itself also looks different from the sitcom Guy helped make famous. The original used a multi-camera format and was filmed before a live audience. Netflix’s continuation uses a single-camera approach, creating a different experience for the returning performers.
Guy is not the only original star returning to Hillman. Hardison, Cree Summer and Darryl M. Bell are among the familiar faces appearing alongside the younger cast. Glynn Turman also returns as Col. Bradford Taylor.
Nearly four decades after audiences first met Whitley, Guy is embracing what naturally comes with that passage of time. Her response also shifts the conversation beyond whether a familiar television star resembles her younger self.