We’re in for a rollercoaster night next Sunday on TV One, so get ready.
In two all-new episodes of Uncensored and Unsung, respectively, Jaleel White and Lyfe Jennings open up about their careers and some of the hardships they’ve faced in their personal lives. Best known for being the amazing talent behind Steve Urkel in the classic sitcom Family Matters, Jaleel’s journey from guest appearance to star of the show was incredible. Jaleel talks being shaded by the other actors at times, but also being happy he didn’t land a role in The Cosby Show.
On Not Landing Cosby:
“Obviously not getting The Cosby Show was a huge blessing in my life,” Jaleel says toward the end of the clip above. “But I never like to say that it wasn’t a blessing for Malcolm and the other people who went on that journey. It just wasn’t meant for me.”
On His Father Intervening When The Family Matters Cast Shaded Him Over His Character, Myrtle Urkel:
“Jo Marie and Reggie, at that time, were very sensitive to putting Black men in dresses and they heaped that on me — and they let me know that I wasn’t doing our race a service by putting on that yellow dress. But everyone has a default… do you crumble, do you wilt under pressure? Do you rise? Do you surprise yourself? My default tends to be to take it up a notch. I mean, that evening I felt like a girl playing Myrtle Urkel, but I cried like a baby at the end of that taping. I just broke. My dad rose up like a lion and was like ‘I’ve watched my son deal with this sh*t all week to pull out this performance and he will never play this character again. You got it once, it’s done. He shouldn’t have to carry the burden of some adults making a child feel bad for playing a girl just in fun.’”
Next up, we always knew Lyfe Jennings lived an intense life (his music was a dead giveaway), but we never knew just how extreme it actually was. Below he speaks about his drug-riddled childhood and a whole lot more.
On The Criminal Allegations Over His Baby Mama, The Shooting, And Police Chase That Followed:
“I was supposed to be getting the kids that day and something had happened to where she was like I couldn’t get the kids. It just really pissed me off, so I was out at the bar, I had me a couple drinks and I went to her cousin’s house because I thought that’s where my kids were. Kicked in the door like, you know, ‘Where my kids at?’ I didn’t go in, I just smashed down the door or whatever,” he explained before getting into the matter of the police chase. “I had Tupac on. I’m in my drop and I’m like ‘Man, I don’t feel like dealing with your sh*t today, so I’m just not stopping.’ Hit the gas, turned the music up. Next thing I know my car smashed into a tree… whole police force around.”
Check out another clip of Lyfe speaking on his education above. His Unsung episode will air Sunday, May 16 at 9 p.m. ET on TV One. Jaleel White’s Uncensored episode will air right after at 10 p.m. ET. Stay tuned.
