Since he began working on 'Family Matters', at the age of 13, the American actor Jaleel White has developed a series of problematic behaviors, which -according to those close to him- have led to his numerous controversies.
The well-known American sitcom recounted how the Winslow family had to deal with their annoying neighbor Steve Urkel, the show's protagonist. When the series ended, the North American press began to speculate that the cast did not get along at all and that Jaleel White, who played Urkel, had an attitude as annoying as his character. However, nobody imagined that this May, JoMarie Payton -the mother of the Winslows- would declare that White, who was a minor at the time, wanted to physically attack her during filming.
"One time he wanted to fight me. We were in a scene where you couldn't do certain things because of protocol, but he wanted to do it anyway and he was so mad he started kicking and yelling. Then he said something like 'She must want to fight. melee' and I turned around... Because if he had dared, I would have defended myself.
In the end, nothing happened because they held me... But I was going to spank his butt", commented the actress, ago a few weeks, to Entertainment Tonight. However, it does not seem important to White what his former teammates say about him. Because? He is very busy producing Purple Urkle, a line of cannabis-derived products.
Since he began his television journey -in 1984, when he was only eight years old- Jaleel White stood out for his personality. He was spontaneous, impulsive and, when he was little, that made him fun, which is why various series became interesting to him. In fact, before coming to Household Matters, Jaleel went through almost 10 productions that made him something of a child star.
What's more, when he signed for Household Matters, the show's directors had conceived his character as "sporadic", but since White had already captured the attention of the audience, he became one of the protagonists. A positive stimulus for his career and his pocket, although - according to his acquaintances - incredibly damaging on a physical and psychological level.
According to what White himself told Vanity Fair, the production of Household Matters required him to always look like a pre-adolescent, even though during the nine seasons of the series he went from 13 to 19 years old. "I had to make sacrifices to stay as a child.
I couldn't change my hair or go to the gym. I retarded my own growth to maintain the character," he revealed a few years ago. On the other hand, some former colleagues believe that White lived for a long time in a "parallel reality" because the producers treated him not as a child, but as an adult. "I think his misconduct has to do with the fact that those responsible let him do what he wanted and even insult people," said the aforementioned Payton.
Even so, and despite his bad reputation, Jaleel was not "canceled Hollywood and the American chains continued to count on his services. A situation that continues to this day and that has filled his curriculum with more than 50 productions. Among them, are the Sonic movie, the Grown Ups series, the Total Blackout program, and the talent Dancing With The Stars.
However, very few critics consider his work to be of excellence. The reason? Everything he touches seems to fall apart. For example, shows that cast him are often canceled after he appears, and when he's agreed to do a gig on shows like CSI and Boston Legal, people hardly realize it's him. However, some of his controversies have aroused public interest. Like the accusation of violence by his ex.
"Once he hit me on the chest, pushed me against the sink and it broke. On the other hand, Jaleel used to use verbal violence against me. He told me that I didn't work, that I didn't earn money, that I was rubbish. Once He even texted me offering $200,000 to leave our daughter and go away," Bridget Hardy told Star magazine in 2012.
However, White did not acknowledge the allegations, suggesting that her ex was exaggerating everything. "I think that his words are motivated by the fight we have for the custody of our daughter. Also, I think that there are people who try to attack you when you do well. It is a skill that some have: the more success, the more accusations, "he said, a decade ago, the actor.
Since then, White has tried to stay out of the eye of the storm. But last year he made news again when he announced that he would sign an alliance with the Californian laboratory 710 to create his own line of marijuana. "I took this opportunity because I believe that few brands have stepped forward in the recreational marijuana market and because I saw the possibility of making top-quality products.
Currently, we have a highly qualified team that allows us to grow the best purple cannabis in the world. world", he told the New York Times in 2021, very measuredly. Contrary to what he has done with other outlets, where he has openly stated that he set up a company "to get high on his own joints" and that "if Jesus were alive, he would love to ask him out for a smoke."
