Jaleel White reflected on his “Family Matters” days, his former mentor Bill Cosby and more in his new episode of TV One’s “Uncensored.” Speaking about the disgraced comedian, White said Cosby is “paying the appropriate price.”
“I actually had a bit of a falling out with Mr. Cosby. I kept that to myself,” White said on the show.
Prior to that, though, he said the two of them “fostered a relationship” after White was almost cast as Cosby’s youngest child on “The Cosby Show.” While the role ultimately went to Keisha Knight-Pulliam, White and Cosby stayed in touch.
“Many dinners at his house, breakfasts. I even ran into a rough patch and he’s directly responsible for why I ended up at William Morris Agency, which became an education unto itself,” he said.
White suggested that he and Cosby fell out prior to the 83-year-old’s aggravated indecent assault conviction, though he did not reveal why.
“Knocking off these monuments who are still human beings, it’s tough,” he said. “And you go back in time and you realize how close you were to something, and you put yourself in rooms where you realize his wife wasn’t there, that woman was probably there for that purpose. You know, it’s a hell of a hindsight thing to look at and you don’t want anyone to feel like you’re trying to use them for clout.”
“A revered man did terrible things and he’s paying the price,” he added. “I think that’s where we leave it. A revered man did a terrible thing and he is paying the appropriate price.”
In 2018, Cosby was sentenced to between three and 10 years in prison after being found guilty of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman in his mansion in 2004.
Watch a clip from White’s wide-ranging “Uncensored” interview below or watch the full episode on TV One.