During the promotional tour for his memoir “Growing Up Urkel,” “Family Matters” star Jaleel White has had a lot to say about his time on the 90s comedy. His comments about the show not being considered on the same level as “hood” shows like “Living Single” and “Martin” had Black fans on social media particularly upset about his mischaracterization of what those series were about.
During a recent appearance on the “Higher Learning” podcast, White clarified those remarks, explaining that using the word “hood” was a mistake.
“I want to say, I misspoke, but I could’ve worded things better if I had known I was speaking on a world stage and not just a small room in Delaware,” White said. “I shouldn’t have invoked the word ‘hood.’ When you say the word ‘hood,’ it makes certain people feel like you’re demeaning them. And that’s not what I meant at all. I conflated a couple of ideas. There’s a lot of good in the hood, and I shouldn’t have generalized. Those are the two mistakes I made in that.”
While it’s true that “hood” has a different meaning to different people, it feels like he’s still missing the point of the backlash. The issue most people seemed to have with his comments is that shows he called “hood” were never considered “hood.” This sounds like he’s confirming his comments more than clarifying them, something social media definitely noticed. His new remarks had Black Twitter questioning his understanding of the legacy of “Family Matters’” and the place it holds in Black TV history.
Someone wondered if he truly sees where the criticism of “Family Matters” comes from, writing on X, “Is Jaleel still in character? Wording it differently ok, but it doesn’t change the fact that ‘Family Matters’ was not appealing to its audience long term. Theme black or black cast, let’s address the writers room and what production delivered. Stop selling the community short.”
One person noted that he fails to see a simple truth about the ABC comedy, posting, “I don’t understand why it’s so hard for him to realize that ‘Family Matters’ just didn’t age well or like the others.”
Another user didn’t appreciate his lack of self-awareness, writing, “‘I don’t wanna say I misspoke’ why? You did…he’s basically saying any story told from a black POV is ‘hood’ to him.”
Someone else took issue with him saying he would’ve worded things differently if he’d known more people were listening. “This man basically said if he’d known that moment was going to be exposed to millions of people, he wouldn’t have said it. THAT’S YOUR REASON?”
Another person encouraged fans to get past this situation, posting, “People. The man explained what he meant. Having said that, let’s all move on. His character is always going to be a classic black character, even if you outgrew the show.”
It’s totally understandable that Jaleel White wants to celebrate the show that gave him a career. However, he can do that without downplaying the accomplishments of other memorable Black TV series. At this point, it would probably be best for him to just stop commenting on ranking Black TV shows altogether.