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Jaleel White does not shy away from his past experiences with now-controversial celebrities in his new book.
In various passages from Growing Up Urkel, which was published on Tuesday, November 19, White, 47, recalled his separate interactions with Bill Cosby and R. Kelly ahead of their individual sexual assault scandals. While his personal experiences took place prior to their controversies, he made a point to acknowledge the allegations in the book too.
“That’s something that some people might’ve just glossed over. But I just feel like it was very important to give the historical context of the two people prior to date,” White exclusively told Us Weekly about adding meaning to his memoir. “Because there are generations that only know them for their offenses — and that’s just the way it goes down.”
He continued: “It’s just a generational thing. Each generation knows somebody for different things. So I just felt like it was respectful of the convictions that have taken place to acknowledge what is now and what was.”
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Growing Up Urkel gives an honest glimpse into White’s experience as a child star following the success of Family Matters. When he was still a main cast member on the sitcom, White connected with Cosby, whose hit sitcom The Cosby Show paved the way for more projects about Black families on the small screen.
“It all started with Bill Cosby, as a few Hollywood cautionary tales do these days,” read an earlier passage from White’s book. “Bill Cosby was my idol, and when it was clear that I was well on my way to stardom, he afforded me access to him. When he did, what I came to understand was that Cosby wasn’t just some older Black man who decided to mentor me. He was a shrewd man who enjoyed, maybe even craved, to be deferred to as some type of oracle in the Black showbiz community.”
White stayed in touch — and even got advice from Cosby — while his star was on the rise. His bond with Cosby changed, however, once White was no longer playing Urkel. White recalled his attempts to pitch a show to Cosby once he got older — to disappointing results.
“Unbeknownst to me, I was the hottest kid on TV when I first met Mr. C and he treated me accordingly by extending me an invitation to breakfast at his incredible home,” a separate section read. “I viewed that invitation and our many interactions to come as a welcoming of sorts and the beginning of a long relationship. He may have viewed that breakfast and subsequent conversations differently. Perhaps as more of the kiss-the-ring moments.”
White went on to reference how others may see Cosby these days.
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“There are at least two generations of people who may know Mr. C only to be a fallen comedian who spent time in prison for heinous sexual offenses,” he wrote. “Separating the sheer magnitude of Mr. C’s influence from the horrific personal accounts that rightfully overshadows his legacy creates an insurmountable challenge when attempting to discuss the past. So I beg you to accept the historical context of my stories.”
Cosby was previously accused of sexual misconduct by over 60 women in 2015, many of whom claimed he drugged and raped them. Cosby pleaded not guilty to his first sexual assault lawsuit, which ended in a mistrial in 2017 after the jury failed to reach a unanimous decision. Andrea Constand, who accused Cosby in 2005 of rape, filed a lawsuit in 2018.
Cosby was found guilty and sentenced to three to 10 years in prison and was also ordered to undergo a lifetime of counseling and appear on a sex offender registry. After serving two years behind bars, Cosby was released when his conviction was overturned. Us confirmed in 2021 that the Pennsylvania high court found an agreement with a previous prosecutor that prevented Cosby from being charged. He was released later that month and has continued to maintain that he is not guilty of misconduct.
Meanwhile, R. Kelly was found guilty of sexual abuse, sex trafficking, sexual exploitation of a child and racketeering in 2021. The following year, he was convicted for production of child pornography. The rapper began serving his combined 31-year prison sentence in 2023.
R. Kelly has since asked the United States Supreme Court to overturn his 2022 conviction of child pornography and engaging in sex with a minor, claiming that the charges exceeded the statute of limitations.
In Growing Up Urkel, White revealed an attempt to get R. Kelly to star in his never-released film. White invited R. Kelly to play basketball with him, which is where things took a turn.
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“Then R. Kelly took this really awkward almost backward-looking shot from pretty far behind the three-point line. It was just so strange-looking,” he wrote. “In fact, it had become apparent to me that the sole job of the four dudes he brought on his team was just to rebound the ball to wherever R. Kelly was. Just kick it out to him. That’s it.”
White claimed R. Kelly played “like a lunatic” before he stepped in. That caused R. Kelly to never speak to him again and he didn’t sign on to White’s movie.
“And then I saw what was in store for R. Kelly, karmically. Not six months after meeting R. Kelly, a VHS tape was released that allegedly showed him sexually abusing an underage girl,” White said in reference to footage that led to a 2002 trial in which R. Kelly was acquitted. “Over the years, the true horrific nature of R. Kelly’s actions would reveal themselves, with him ending up convicted on multiple charges of child sex crimes. The R. Kelly I knew of when I met him is not the R. Kelly we know of now. As with Bill Cosby and various other people I have come across in my life, I beg you to consider the historical context of my interaction with him.”
White told Us before the book’s release that it was “incredibly therapeutic” getting to reflect on the highs and lows of his life in Hollywood.
“What started off as a memoir about my childhood really evolved into a book about humility — and how being humble isn’t the same thing as being aware,” he shared. “Show business in general is not really a safe space for young people. Ironically, show business puts a high premium on staying young but you can’t let that get the best of you. Because everybody has to grow up.”
Growing Up Urkel is out now.
