Photo: ABC Photo Archives/Disney/Getty
Jo Marie Paytonis recalling an unusual incident that allegedly occurred on theFamily Mattersset.
In an interview withEntertainment Tonight, Payton opened up about her then-costarJaleel White’s alleged behavior while working on the series. In fact, the actress who starred as Harriette Winslow once had an encounter with White — who played Steve Urkel — that she claimed nearly turned physical.
“There was one time he actually wanted to physically fight me,” Payton, 71, said while recalling the season 9 episode “Original Gangsta Dawg.” The episode in question saw White, 45, doubling as Steve’s gangster cousin OGD.
“[There was a scene where] I said we can’t do that, standards and practices will not let that pass, it’s not gonna happen. He wanted to do it anyway …. He was so mad, he started kicking and screaming and stuff,” she continued. “He said something about, ‘She must want to melee.’ I said, ‘What’s a melee?’ He said, ‘a fight.’ I turned around — if he wanna fight, I would. Darius [McCrary] grabbed me. I was gonna whip his behind.”
PEOPLE has reached out to White’s rep for comment.
Looking back on the alleged incident, Payton now recognizes that White was “just a kid” at the time. Because of this, she doesn’t give him “all the credit” for how she says he behaved.
“I give some of those adults credit too,” she said. “Letting him run wild and do whatever he wanted to do, thinking he can say what he wants to say, you know, and hurt people’s feelings and all that.”
ABC Photo Archives/Disney/Getty
Family Matterswas a staple sitcom featured on ABC’s TGIF lineup before moving to CBS in its final season. The sitcom, which is a spinoff ofPerfect Strangers, ran for nine seasons from 1989 to 1998.
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White’s character is one of the most iconic standoutsFamily Matters, but the actor has previously spoken aboutnot having the easiest experiencebeing on the beloved show.
source: people.com
