Jaleel White told to wear looser jeans to hide ‘bulge’ by ‘Family Matters’ execs
“Did I do that?” Jaleel White is opening up about his time on “Family Matters,” revealing what it was like to grow up on the set.
The actor played Steve Urkel on the beloved sitcom from 1989 to 1998. In his forthcoming memoir, “Growing Up Urkel,” White, now 47, claims executives told him to wear looser jeans to conceal his “bulge” on the show, per the US Sun.
According to him, they asked that he ditch Urkel’s signature tight suspenders and update his character’s wardrobe to more family-friendly attire after Season 8 as he aged. White started the show when he was around 13 and finished when he was 22.
“Let’s get rid of the suspenders. Lower his pants, too,” White alleged executives said. “Oh and … It’s getting a bit uncomfortable watching him in tight jeans. There’s a, uh … bulge.”
He recalled “peeling” Urkel’s snug jeans off “like a banana.”
The child star also claimed that the “Family Matters” producers pushed to keep the sitcom going as long as they could, per the outlet, with White revealing it was “physically painful” for him to speak in Urkel’s high-pitched voice as he grew into a man.
He also allegedly shared that he almost left the family show before its last season in 1998.
White’s geeky character was a blessing and a curse, as he revealed on “The Viall Files” that he “never got invited to any parties” despite meeting Sean “Diddy” Combs.
“I constantly say, ‘Rejection is God’s protection.’ I got left off the White Party list; I never really went out of my way to get myself invited to any of those things anyway. That’s the way it is,” White explained on the Oct. 30 episode, mentioning Diddy’s annual party, per Us Weekly.
The embattled rapper was arrested on Sept. 16 on charges related to racketeering, sex trafficking and more. Diddy is sitting in a Brooklyn detention center awaiting his trial scheduled for May 5.
White is married to Nicoletta Ruhl, whom he wed in May 2024. He shares a 15-year-old daughter named Samaya with his ex Bridget Hardy.
“Growing Up Urkel” is out on Nov. 19, and White expressed excitement about its release.
“I can’t tell you all just how excited I am to share these 90s and early 2000 stories with you readers,” he wrote via Instagram in Oct.
“The peaks and valleys of growing up playing that character were wild and I met everyone imaginable along the journey. You will be so surprised who I crossed paths with and how. This is my story, thanks for hearing me out.”
