Jaleel White explains his memoir mentions of Bill Cosby, R. Kelly.

Jaleel White He no longer dwells on his past experiences with controversial celebrities in his new book.

In different contexts Growing upwhich was published Tuesday, Nov. 19, White, 47, recalled their separate conversation. Bill Cosby And R. Kelly Beyond their individual sexual assault scandals. While his personal experiences preceded his controversies, he made a point of acknowledging the allegations in the book as well.

“It’s something that some people have yet to see. But I feel like it was very important to tell the historical context of two prehistoric people,” White told Exclusively. We weekly About adding meaning to your memory. “Because there are races that only know them for their crimes — and that’s just how it goes down.”

He continued: “It’s just a generational thing. Every generation knows someone for different things. So I feel it’s respectful of those punishments to recognize what’s going on now.” and what was

Growing up offers an honest look at White’s experience as a child star after the success of Family matters. While he was still a main cast member on the sitcom, Wyatt connected with Cosby, whose hit sitcom The Cosby Show Paved the way for more projects about black families on the small screen.

“It all started with Bill Cosby, as few Hollywood cautionary tales do these days,” read an early quote from White’s book. “Bill Cosby was my idol, and when it became clear that I was headed for stardom, he gave me access to him. What I realized when he did that was that Cosby was just something. It wasn’t the old black guy who decided to mentor me. He was a smart guy who enjoyed being some kind of oracle in the black showbiz community, maybe even wanted to.

White stayed in touch — and even sought advice from Cosby — when his star was on the rise. His relationship with Cosby changed, however, once White was no longer playing Urkle. White recalls his attempts to pitch Cosby a show when he was older — to disappointing results.

“Unbeknownst to me, when I first met Mr. C, I was the hottest kid on TV and he treated me accordingly by inviting me to breakfast at his incredible home,” a separate Written in part. “I saw this invitation and many of our interactions as a kind of welcome and the beginning of a long relationship. He would have looked at breakfast and the conversation that followed differently. Maybe more kiss-ring moments. As

White went on to discuss how other people might view Cosby these days.

“There are at least two generations of people who know Mr. C only as a fallen comedian who served time in prison for heinous sex crimes,” he wrote. “Separating the sheer magnitude of Mr. C’s influence from the horrifying personal accounts that rightfully overshadow his legacy creates an insurmountable challenge when trying to discuss the past. So I ask you to Please accept the historical context of my stories.

Cosby was previously accused of sexual misconduct by more than 60 women in 2015, many of whom claimed he drugged and sexually assaulted them. Cosby pleaded not guilty in his first sexual assault trial, which ended in a mistrial in 2017 after the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict. Andrea Constandwho accused Cosby of rape in 2005, filed suit in 2018.

Cosby was found guilty and sentenced to three to 10 years in prison and ordered to undergo lifelong counseling and appear on the sex offender registry. After spending two years behind bars, Cosby was released when his conviction was overturned. us In 2021, the Pennsylvania High Court confirmed that it reached an agreement with a former prosecutor that prevented Cosby from being charged. He was released later that month and has maintained that he is not guilty of misconduct.

Meanwhile, R. Kelly was found guilty in 2021 of sexual exploitation, sex trafficking, sexual exploitation of a child and fraud. The following year, he was convicted of producing child pornography. The rapper begins serving his combined 31-year prison sentence in 2023.

R. Kelly has since asked the United States Supreme Court to overturn his 2022 conviction for child pornography and engaging in sexual intercourse with a minor, claiming that the charges exceed the statute of limitations. have done

In Growing Up Urkel, White revealed an attempt to cast R. Kelly in his never-released film. White invited R. Kelly to play basketball with him, where things took off.

“Then R. Kelly took this really weird almost backward-looking shot from way behind the three-point line. It looked so weird,” he wrote. “In fact, it became apparent to me that the only job of the four friends he brought on his team was to rebound the ball wherever R. Kelly was. Just kick it. “That’s it.”

White claimed R. Kelly played “like a maniac” before stepping on. Because of this, R. Kelly never spoke to him again and he did not sign on to White’s film.

“And then I saw what happened to R. Kelly, charismatically. Six months after I met R. Kelly, a VHS tape was released that allegedly showed him sexually assaulting an underage girl. was shown doing,” White said, referring to footage from the 2002 trial in which R. Kelly was acquitted. “Over the years, the truly horrific nature of R. Kelly’s actions would reveal itself, leading to his conviction on multiple counts of child sex crimes. The R. Kelly I knew when I met him. Mila is not the R. Kelly we know now. As with Bill Cosby and various other people I have met in my life, I implore you to consider the historical context of my interactions with him. do

White told us ahead of the book’s release that reflecting on the highs of her life in Hollywood was “incredibly therapeutic.”

“What started as a memoir about my childhood really evolved into a book about humility — and how being humble is not the same thing as being aware,” she shared. “Show business in general is not really a safe place for young people. Ironically, show business puts a huge premium on being young but you can’t let that get the best of you. Because everybody has to grow up.

Growing up is out now.