NEWS'It Sucks': Jaleel White Reveals Reason Behind His Falling Out With Will Smith in New Memoir
Jaleel White released his new memoir 'Growing Up Urkel' on Tuesday, November 19.
Jaleel White has opened up about his falling out with Will Smith.
In his new memoir, which was released on Tuesday, November 19, the Urkel actor, 47, revealed why he and the Oscar winner’s friendship ended.
Jaleel White discussed his falling out with Will Smith in the new book.
“What’s weird is when you cross paths in our business, you never quite know how much or how little a moment meant to each other. And that can kind of play with your brain,” White told a news outlet about the situation between them. “It didn’t go nearly the way I thought it was going to go with the things that I said about my interactions with Will.”
White also shared a message with Smith all these years later.
“I just always want Will to know — and I’m not sure he ever did — how much I admired his forging ahead. I saw it coming before the rest of America got a chance to see it coming. I could see it coming in NBA All-Star Stay in School Jam and would think, ‘This dude’s freaking energy is huge in the room.’ And you wouldn’t necessarily get credit for that when you’re a kid,” he stated.
Will Smith and Jaleel White met when White made a cameo on 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.'
White and Smith originally met when White made a cameo on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. White was then given the opportunity to pitch Smith a new show, however, the partnership fell through.
“I should have called Will directly, and the truth was, I wanted to work with Will, badly,” White penned in the new book. “Soon after my meeting with Will, his head of TV would end up getting relieved of his duties, which complicated the chain of command. And Will was becoming such a big star, so fast, that I didn’t have the nerve to call his phone myself months later and ask, ‘Hey, man, why’d you fire your head of TV? My agent said there was no deal to be made. They’re offering me this show at UPN and I know in my heart this premise is weaker than ours.'”
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Jaleel White said he wanted to let Will Smith know 'I admired his forging ahead.'
The Family Matters alum eventually decided to make Grown Ups as he was convinced it was the safer option.
“My decision to go with Grown Ups instead of exploring a show with Will Smith — sticking to my guns and being patient with the process basically ended my and Will’s relationship. There were no more invites to his house or his movie sets, no more calls to say ‘What’s up?'” he explained.
Jaleel White said 'there were no more invites to his house' after his falling out with Will Smith.
White reflected on how many people were truly involved in turning down his pitch to Smith.
“When I got the opportunity to nearly work with him, [I now] go back and look at the number of people that conspired to make sure that we did not speak directly any further,” he noted. “It sucks for me. But as long as I got it out and I got to express it, that’s once again in one of those areas where the book just becomes therapeutic.”
Us Weekly interviewed White.
