Jaleel White finally addressed former teammates Reginald VelJohnson And Jo Marie Payton‘s past claims he was “difficult” to work with on the set of Family matters.

“They are also over 70 and I have been told not to argue with my elders since I was 12,” White, 47, said. Andy Cohen in the Tuesday, November 19 episode of his SiriusXM radio show. “With Jo Marie, it’s always like, ‘What day did I catch her or what day did the interviewer catch her?'”

White didn’t shut down VelJohnson, 72, and Payton’s potential negative experiencesadding: “I will be self-aware enough. When I was 13, whenever I was called on set, I always brought my basketball. I dribbled my basketball everywhere.

He continued, “I still to this day hear the script supervisor say, ‘Oh, here he is with this basketball.’ If that’s how I was called difficult, then OK. I digress.

Related: The Biggest Revelations About ‘Family Matters’ From Jaleel White’s Memoir

Jaleel White hasn’t been shy about mentioning his Family Matters costars in his memoir. Family Matters, which aired from 1989 to 1998, was a spin-off of Perfect Strangers that followed a middle-class black family living in Chicago. The hit sitcom starred Reginald VelJohnson, Jo Marie Payton, Darius McCrary, Kellie Williams, Jaimee Foxworth, Bryton McClure (…)

family affairs, broadcast from 1989 to 1998was a spin-off of Perfect Strangers and followed a middle-class black family living in Chicago. The hit sitcom starred VelJohnson, Payton, Darius McCrary, Kellie Williams, Jaimee Foxworth, Bryton McClure And Michelle Thomas.

The whites have joined Family matters halfway through the first season as the Winslows’ nerdy neighbor, Steve Urkel. The role was only supposed to last one episode, but Steve became a breakout character who paved the way for White to join the main cast.

“I wasn’t welcome in the cast at all,” White said on TV One’s Uncensored in 2021. “They know what it was. …I didn’t think the cast would be on Family Matters, because it was only supposed to be a guest spot, one and done.

Payton, 74, later noted that White was “just a child” when Family matters was on the air. Instead, she blamed “some of these adults” on set for allowing White to “run amok and do whatever he wanted to do, thinking he could say whatever he wanted to say, you know , and hurt people’s feelings and all that.”

Related: ‘Family Matters’ Cast: Where Are They Now?

The feel-good sitcom Family Matters premiered in 1989 and is perhaps best known for family patriarch Carl Winslow’s (Reginald VelJohnson) feud with his nerdy neighbor Steve Urkel (Jaleel White). Although White was originally supposed to appear in just one episode of the ABC series, he was an immediate hit with audiences and ended up (…)

In his memoirs, Growing Up Urkelwhich was released on Tuesday, November 19, White expanded on VelJohnson and Payton’s study. comments about his behavior on set.

“Am I difficult to work with? I asked myself for the first time. They said publicly that I was spoiled. But was I really? he wrote. “I think we have all been affected by certain privileges and autonomy, which is why I try to refrain from talking about revisionist history or playing the role of the pot that says the kettle is black.”

White also recalled Payton is often late for table reads. In one instance, Payton allegedly told her teammates that she was late because her rearview mirror had fallen off her car, so she went home to get her other Mercedes.

“Whenever I hear in interviews, thirty years after the fact, the different ways I may have been a difficult partner, it’s safe to say that I never delayed table readings because I “I had to go home and get my other Mercedes,” White joked in his memoir.

Related: Every Jaleel White Celebrity Name Appears in Memories: From Jay-Z to George Clooney

Jaleel White’s career spans 40 years, which means his memoir is full of stories featuring other celebrities like Jay-Z, George Clooney, Rashida Jones and more. White rose to fame after playing Steve Urkel for nine seasons on Family Matters. Being a child star in the 90s led to interactions that (…)

In an exclusive interview with Us every weekWhite explained why he I wasn’t trying to refer to any specific demands from his former teammates.

“I never felt the need to go back (against my teammates). First of all, I live my life to do better. It’s the truth. I have a 15 year old daughter. If I release a book, I want her to be proud of it,” he said. We. “I also write things to try to be timeless. So, in response to everyone’s personal accusations, I feel that the book is not really the work of literature that I intended it to be.

Growing Up Urkel is out now.