Jaleel White is famously known for playing the naive and quirky Steve Urkel in the predominantly Black family sitcom Family Matters. 26 years later, Jaleel wrote about his experience in his memoir, Growing Up Urkel, and he has a few controversial opinions about how the black community received the show.
While promoting his book at Wilmington’s Public Library in Delaware, Jaleel accused the black community of overlooking Family Matters because it was not the typical hood story. Instead, the series was about a Chicago-based middle-class black family, which was not very common in the media.
Jaleel White shares his thoughts on ‘Family Matters’
Jaleel White on feeling left out in the legacy of Black entertainment, saying, “If it’s not a hood story, it’s not a Black story,” and speaks on Family Matters always ranking last on polls for favorite Black shows, underneath Martin and Living Single.
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Jaleel said he felt ostracized by the Black community because he was on Family Matters, adding that blackness is portrayed predictably in the entertainment industry. He gave an instance of polls among Black people asking for their favorite sitcom, only to have Family Matters come last amid shows like Martin and Living Single.
In cases where Maritin was not among the options, Family Matters has a better ranking. To Jaleel, the reception of his nine-season sitcom is a reflection of how Black people see themselves and each other.
Jaleel White faces backlash over ‘Family Matters’ opinion
Social media users, especially Black people, went into a frenzy over Jaleel’s comments, saying he is dishonest about the true Black experience. “‘Family Matters’ ranks last ‘cause it’s an inferior black story in quality compared to ‘Martin’,” someone argued. “They used him as a clown to sell cereal and toys. I can’t remember a single groundbreaking FM storyline,” they added.
Someone else pointed out that Family Matters was written by white people who knew nothing about how Black people are treated in America. “So they played it safe and never introduced any topics affecting the black community,” they explained.