Jaleel White is the latest former child star to weigh in on the bombshell documentary Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV.
The controversial project, which has been airing on the ID channel, shares accounts of former Nickelodeon actors who say they were abused and exploited as child actors for the network.
During a recent interview with TODAY, the Family Matters alum, now 47, said he didn’t experience those types of things while on set.
“I always felt safe and protected on set. I was lucky.”
Comparing it to the #MeToo movement, he continued,
“Child actors are having a moment where some of the harsher realities of our business are coming to light.”
He went on to salute his parents for making him the priority as the child star, something he knew his counterparts didn’t always experience.
“Some parents would dress so flamboyantly, you’d think they were the star. And they also seemed to prioritize their interests over their child’s.”
He added that his mom and manager, Gail, had “no desire to be famous.”
“She wasn’t perfect but she did enough to protect me from some of the obvious trappings in the business. For one thing, she was a helicopter mom. She was all over my ass because the kids that are left alone are the ones that the predators tend to seek out.”
Although some of his fellow child actors didn’t have boundaries like he did (i.e. no curfew or spending limits), Jaleel White expressed gratitude for how he was raised.
“They had freedoms that I didn’t have. When I was in the ninth grade, I wore a size nine and I had to be in the house by 9 o’clock.”
Though Jaleel White didn’t appear in the documentary, he’s sharing his story through his memoir Growing Up Urkel.
What are your thoughts on Jaleel White’s remarks? Comment and let us know.
