“Family Matters” star Jaleel White is shedding light on his time filming the beloved ’90s sitcom.
The actor, who played the role of Steve Urkel from 1989 to 1998, revealed in his forthcoming memoir, “Growing Up Urkel,” that he was told to wear looser jeans to hide his “bulge” when he got older, per the US Sun.
White recalled show executives telling him to ditch his signature suspenders and high-waisted tight jeans after Season 8 when he started to outgrow his geeky character’s attire in his 20s.
“Let’s get rid of the suspenders. Lower his pants, too,” the “Sonic Underground” star, 47, alleged executives said. “Oh and … It’s getting a bit uncomfortable watching him in tight jeans. There’s a, uh…bulge.”
White, who was around 13 years old when the series started and 22 years old when it ended, recalled “peeling” his character’s tight-fitting jeans off him “like a banana.”
According to the outlet, the child star claimed show producers wanted to keep the series going for as long as they could, and it was extremely “physically painful” for him to speak with Urkel’s iconic high-pitched voice as a man.
White shared he nearly left the show before filming wrapped in 1998.
The “Big Fat Liar” star also opened up about meeting disgraced rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs on an Oct. 30 episode of “The Viall Files,” per Us Weekly.
“I never got invited to any parties,” he told host Nick Viall.
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“I constantly say, ‘Rejection is God’s protection.’ I got left off the White Party list; I never really went out of my way to get myself invited to any of those things anyway. That’s the way it is,” White continued.
Combs was arrested on Sept. 16 on charges of human trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and fraud or coercion.
The “I’ll Be Missing You” rapper is currently serving time in a Brooklyn detention center awaiting his May 5 trial.
White, meanwhile, has famously made appearances in the ’90s sitcoms “Full House” and “Step By Step.”
In May 2024, he tied the knot with his wife, Nicoletta Ruhl, after they went public with their romance in 2022, per People.
He’s the father to 15-year-old daughter Samaya, whom he welcomed with ex Bridget Hardy.
English (US) ·