Steve Urkel actor Jaleel White 'threatened to FIGHT' his Family Matters costar JoMarie Payton in set meltdown

FAMILY Matters star JoMarie Payton has claimed her co-star Jaleel White, who played Steve Urkel, once threatened to fight her during an on-set meltdown.

He reportedly had contentious relationships with most of the cast during filming, which led to a few different heated moments.


In a new interview with ET, JoMarie opened up about one of the most memorable experiences she had with Jaleel during their time together on the show.

The actress, who played Harriette Baines–Winslow, recalled that he tried to physically fight her while filming a season 9 episode titled Original Gangsta Dawg.

JoMarie said: ”There was one time he actually wanted to physically fight me. 

"[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. 

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“He wanted to do it anyway… He was so mad, he started kicking and screaming and stuff.”

She continued the story: "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.”

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In the end, though, Darius McCrary, who played Eddie Winslow on the long-running series, “grabbed” JoMarie and got her away from that situation. 

She added that if he hadn’t done that, she “was gonna whip [Jaleel’s] behind."

Last year, Jaleel claimed he was "not welcomed" by the Family Matters cast.

Jaleel spoke about his hardships while playing the nerdy Steve Urkel in an interview with TVOne's Uncensored and shared that some co-stars made him "cry like a baby."

The TV star confessed: "I didn't see how I was stepping on anybody's toes, I was taking anybody's shine. 

"It's very important that I say this: I was not very well welcomed to the cast at all, okay?

"And I don't need to rehash that with the adults over and over again. They know what it is."

The former child star accused JoMarie and Reginald VelJohnson, who played Carl Winslow, of breaking him down into tears.

Because he played the role of Steve's female cousin Myrtle Urkel, Jo and Reginald "were very sensitive to putting Black men in dresses."

Jaleel remembered: "And they heaped that on me, and they let me know I was not doing our race a service by putting on that yellow dress.

"But everybody has a default. Do you crumble? Do you wilt under pressure? Do you rise? Do you surprise yourself? 

"My default tends to be to take it up a notch. That evening I felt like a girl… playing Myrtle Urkel." 

Jaleel said he ended up crying "like a baby at the end of that take."

Although Urkel was originally meant to be a one-time character, Jaleel joined the cast halfway through the first season after the immense fan response.

Fans quickly made Urkel the breakout star of the 90's sitcom.

Previously, Jaleel spoke out against the lack of recognition from the Emmy Awards show. 

The 45-year-old actor mentioned he was "never invited" to the awards ceremony, even when the show was nominated for Outstanding Special Visual Effects back in 1996. 

The Family Matters star noted the difference in treatment between him and Fred Savage, who played Kevin Arnold in the coming-of-age drama, The Wonder Years, by the Emmys. 

He said: "Fred Savage was always invited to the Emmys; he was always treated like a darling during his time.

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"I was never invited to the Emmys, even to present. It was pretty much told to us I would be wasting my time to even submit myself for nomination.

"It was so normalized — you just shrugged and was said, 'Oh yeah, that's for the white kids.'"


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