Latest news with #FamilyMatters'
New York Post
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
‘Family Matters' star Jaleel White reacts to Malcolm-Jamal Warner ‘s ‘disturbing' death
Jaleel White is reeling from Malcolm-Jamal Warner's death. The 'Family Matters' alum, 48, spoke about the bond he shared with Warner after 'The Cosby Show' actor accidentally drowned at age 54 in Costa Rica on Sunday Sunday. 'Malcolm and I were industry peers,' White recalled to 'Extra' at the 'Happy Gilmore 2' premiere on Monday. 'I mean, really, I can't even say that. Like, I grew up looking up to him. He was ahead of me in the game.' 9 Jaleel White at Netflix's 'Happy Gilmore 2' premiere in New York City on July 21. Getty Images 9 Malcolm-Jamal Warner at a pre-Emmys party in Los Angeles in 2016. MediaPunch/INSTARimages 'I'm kind of waiting for more details to come out because it was just a very disturbing report, just accidentally this,' White continued. 'You kind of caught me at a loss for words and kind of reflecting on my own memories.' White and Warner starred in their respective sitcoms around the same time. 'Family Matters,' in which White played Steve Urkel, aired from 1989 to 1997, while Warner played Theo Huxtable on 'The Cosby Show' from 1984 to 1992. 9 Jaleel White as Steve Urkel in 'Family Matters.' ©ABC/Courtesy Everett Collection The pair also each worked with late actress Michelle Thomas, who appeared on both shows, and dated Warner, before she died of cancer in 1998. 'Malcolm was the first former child actor that my mother even let me go out with late at night past 11 p.m., and I had a very close relationship with both him and Michelle Thomas,' White said at the premiere. 'May they both rest in peace.' 9 Bill Cosby, Malcolm-Jamal Warner in 'The Cosby Show.' NBCUniversal via Getty Images White added of Warner: 'So, please remember him as a poet, a Grammy award-winning musician, and an actor who did a lot more than just star on a sitcom when he was a kid.' In his 2024 memoir 'Growing Up Urkel,' White recalled getting to know Warner at the time that Thomas joined 'Family Matters.' 9 The cast of 'Family Matters.' Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images 'Malcolm would visit the set from time to time, and on one given night after a live audience taping, Malcolm and Michelle invited me to join them at a music-industry party that went late into the evening,' White wrote. 'Off I went into the back seat of Malcolm's Mercedes as a happy third wheel. It never dawned on me to drink a drop of liquor that evening, as my mother would be waiting up for me the moment I walked in the door. Just being out late at night, feeling grown and independent was memory enough.' 9 Malcolm-Jamal Warner at the 12th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2009. Getty Images 9 Jaleel White visits SiriusXM Studios in NYC in 2024. Getty Images Warner died over the weekend while vacationing in Costa Rica with his family. Costa Rican National Police told The Post that the actor was pulled from the water by people in the area and taken to shore, where they desperately attempted to save his life. Warner's body was taken to the morgue at San Joaquin de Flores for an autopsy, with his cause of death listed as asphyxiation by 'submersion,' police shared. 9 Malcolm-Jamal Warner at the 2023 Grammy Awards. Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP The late star shot to fame playing Bill Cosby's on-screen son in 'The Cosby Show.' In 2021, Warner spoke to The Post about the NBC sitcom's legacy after Cosby's sexual assault conviction was overturned. 'I can understand why some people can't watch the show and enjoy it because of everything that's going on now,' Warner shard at the time. 9 The cast of 'The Cosby Show.' NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images 'But I think…there's a generation of young people who have pursued higher education or have started loving families because of the influence of that show. So it's kind of like, you can't discount its impact on television culture and American culture.' After Warner's death, Cosby's rep told The Post that Cosby had recently spoke to the late actor after a concert in Minnesota. Cosby also compared Warner's passing to losing his own son, Ennis Cosby, who was murdered in 1997.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
A Year Later, No One Can Get Over the Kendrick and Drake Beef
One year ago this week, Kendrick Lamar and Drake engaged in a monumental rapid-fire rap beef, trading scathing diss songs like 'Euphoria' and 'Family Matters' back-to-back, sometimes in a matter of minutes. On the night of May 3, fans couldn't even absorb the potency of Drake's 'Family Matters' before Lamar dropped the even more scathing 'Meet the Grahams' 24 minutes later. The two rap icons had been in a cold war for years, but social media started buzzing once their subliminals turned into headline-worthy accusations of assault, infidelity, and hidden children. Rap fans couldn't put their phones away. Hip-hop-heads got to see two respected lyricists going for blood, and proponents of Shaderoom-style gossip had more than enough drama to feed off of. A year later, no one can get over the Lamar and Drake beef. Stans on both sides continue to speculate and re-litigate the battle as if it were still going in real time, convinced that their fave has one more diss in the tuck. There are communities like r/DarkKenny that have popped up to speculate on Lamar's seedier allegations against Drake. At the same time, Twitter's OVO Community mounts daily evidence insisting that Drake won the duel. Drake himself refuses to move on, filing a lawsuit against UMG alleging that it artificially inflated the popularity of 'Not Like Us.' And in turn, Lamar lampooned Drake's litigious streak during his Super Bowl LIX halftime performance and, most recently, during his Grand National Tour. More from Rolling Stone Yeat Finally Drops Cover of Drake's 'Feel No Ways' 2025 American Music Awards: Kendrick Lamar, Post Malone, Billie Eilish Lead Nominations List Lil Wayne Says He'll Never Play the Super Bowl After 2025 Snub: 'They Stole That Feeling' No matter what any court rules, the impact of the nine-times-platinum 'Not Like Us' is already too massive to roll back. 'Family Matters,' which dropped the night before, was Drake's strongest effort in the beef. Drake went low, but Lamar got subterranean on 'Meet the Grahams.' And the next day, he expertly switched the vibe with a DJ Mustard-produced slapper. It was impossible not to hear its bouncy swing, recite lines like 'a minor' along with the song's affirmatory hook, and not feel like it was a celebration, one that happened to be atop Drake's figurative grave. Lamar had 'certified pedophile' accusations blaring through the speakers of Kamala Harris events, NBA games, and eventually the Super Bowl. It was an impeccable chess move that marked him as the victor of their weeklong duel, which we're reminded of every time it plays. So far on the Grand National tour, Lamar has prefaced the record with a skit that plays on the set's big screen. In the short video, Lamar is being deposed, with a prosecutor asking him if he was familiar with the term 'drop, drop, drop' — Drake's refrain on 'Family Matters.' Then, he performs the smash that would be a disservice to his fans not to play. Even Drake played the Meek Mill diss track 'Back to Back' years after it dropped. Last November, Drake filed petitions accusing UMG, iHeartRadio, and Spotify of colluding to inflate the streaming numbers and radio play of 'Not Like Us.' He's settled with iHeartRadio and Spotify, but is still at odds with UMG, amending his lawsuit last week to include Lamar's Super Bowl halftime performance as additional evidence of defamation. While Drake's fans believe he's calling UMG to account on behalf of artists, many others feel like it's just sour grapes. His lawyers claim UMG 'approved, published, and launched a campaign to create a viral hit out of a rap track that falsely accuses Drake of being a pedophile and calls for violent retribution against him.' Still, he also issued defamatory claims against Lamar throughout their war of words. Some fans believe he's using the courts to penalize Lamar's diss, a move not far off from prosecutors using lyrics against rappers in court. As long as Drake's litigation continues, and Lamar continues to perform 'Not Like Us,' the hip-hop community will keep talking about the beef. The rap world may hold on even longer, as we'll likely never see anything of the same magnitude. Many of the world's biggest rap stars no longer value lyrical supremacy, and the artists who covet their pen can't capture the world's attention like Drake and Lamar's beef did. Last year's showdown was a perfect storm of rap superstars who were reared in the era of rap battles as a rite of passage, and just so happened to hate each other. Both felt they had to go through the other to be viewed as the 'king' of their era. This is by no means the first rap feud to drag on over time. Nas and Jay-Z fans still argue about 'Takeover' versus 'Ether,' even as the two rap icons have been friends and collaborators longer than they were at odds. 50 Cent and Ja Rule still trade shots more than 20 years after their first skirmish. And it feels like we're always one Pusha T subliminal away from reigniting the Drake-Pusha cold war. To quote Nas, 'Some beef is everlasting.' But stan culture makes Drake-versus-Lamar more annoying than anything we've ever seen. A look back at hip-hop message boards in the heat of aughts-era rap beefs shows a simpler time. Rap fans took sides during these disagreements, but aside from the Death Row and Bad Boy clash of the Nineties, which ended in tragedy, it rarely seemed like fans of yesteryear felt compelled to genuinely hate one rapper over another in a beef. But today, rap beef is propagandized by stans consumed as much by slandering their supposed enemy as celebrating their fave. The women's rap scene is its very own Game of Thrones, with stan clans constantly clashing in support of their girls. In the months following the Drake and Lamar beef, fans have become hypervigilant of every piece of news, labeling each tidbit as a win (W) for their person or a loss (L) for the other. Lamar and Drake stans argue whether the World Cup or Super Bowl Halftime Show means more, and track Lamar's and Drake's monthly Spotify listeners as if their self-esteem is tied to the results. Years ago, rap beef was about who had the best rhymes. Now, it's about who has deeper parasocial ties. These fans are taking cues from Drake and Lamar's mutual personal vitriol. On 'Meet the Grahams,' Lamar told Drake's mom, 'I think niggas like him should die'; the beef got darker and more personal than many expected. Both men manipulatively used accusations of violence against women as their main gripe against the other, turning what was supposed to be a debate about the better MC into a competition about who could sell themselves as the better person. We heard accusations about infidelity, secret children, abuse, and sex trafficking when we would've been fine with wordplay and height jokes. Since that fateful week last spring, devoted fans on both sides have been obsessed with proving their man right. Random children have been posted on social media in attempts to validate Lamar's 'Meet the Grahams' claim that Drake has another child. When two women filed a sexual-assault complaint against TDE executives, onlookers viewed it through the prism of an 'L' for Lamar instead of two women coming forward about misconduct. People plunged to conspiratorial depths about how Lamar received the items on the 'Meet the Grahams' cover, prompting journalist Christopher Alvarez to debunk salacious rumors. And that's exactly why we should probably let it go. There's no further depth these men can go to that's productive for anybody. And because they were so outwardly vitriolic toward each other, we don't have to fish for subliminals in their music. When Drake posted an ominous clip of Rasheed Wallace opining 'We will win Game Two,' fans speculated that he was about to reignite the beef. But the last time he wanted to go at it with Lamar, he taunted him for weeks and dropped two disses. The extreme nature of last year's exchange indicates that neither man is scared to take it there if they wanted to. Therefore, fans should stop overanalyzing every line and scene of a video as a shot at the other. If they ever want to say 'Fuck the other guy' again, we will all know. Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Drake's Label Wants His Revised ‘Not Like Us' Lawsuit Dismissed: Legal ‘Blather'
Drake's own label is roasting the rapper yet again, saying his second stab at the defamation lawsuit he filed over Kendrick Lamar's song 'Not Like Us' is so unfounded, it's 'astonishing.' In its new motion to dismiss Drake's recently filed amended complaint, Universal Music Group (UMG) ridicules the rapper's argument that the NFL's decision to ban the word 'pedophile' from Lamar's Super Bowl halftime performance supports his allegation that 'Not Like Us' is defamatory. More from Rolling Stone Kendrick Lamar Leads BET Awards Nominations, Doechii, Drake, Future, GloRilla Tie Behind Him Jennifer Aniston Alleged Gate Crasher Faces Felony Stalking, Vandalism Charges Smokey Robinson's Lawyer Calls Rape Allegations 'Vile' and 'False' 'Drake's new allegations are astonishing,' UMG's new motion filed late today reads. 'The focus of Drake's new claims — that 'the largest audience for a Super Bowl halftime show ever' did not hear Lamar call Drake or his crew pedophiles — betrays this case for what it is: Drake's attack on the commercial and creative success of the rap artist who defeated him, rather than the content of Lamar's lyrics.' It goes on to skewer Drake, and his recent wave of legal filings, as an alternative reason the NFL censored the song on Feb. 9, 2025 — three weeks after Drake initially sued UMG. 'Drake contends that the decision not to include the word 'pedophiles' (as used in the phrase 'certified pedophiles') in Lamar's Super Bowl performance could only reflect that the language is defamatory, but this ignores any number of other explanations for the decision — such as threats by Drake of additional meritless litigation,' the new 33-page filing obtained by Rolling Stone reads. 'These allegations, directly aimed at chilling legitimate artistic expression safeguarded by the First Amendment and New York law … are meritless.' A spokesperson for UMG issued a follow-up statement today evening after the new motion was filed. 'Nowhere in the hundred-plus page 'legal' blather written by Drake's lawyers do they bother to acknowledge that Drake himself has written and performed massively successful songs containing equally provocative taunts against other artists. Nor do they mention that it was Drake who started this particular exchange,' the statement sent to Rolling Stone reads. 'Apparently, Drake's lawyers believe that when Drake willingly participates in a performative rap battle of music and poetry, he can be 'defamed' even though he engages in the exact same form of creative expression.' UMG is asking the judge overseeing the case in federal court in Manhattan to dismiss the 107-page amended complaint for failure to state any viable claims. Drake's lawyers did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment sent today. The nine-track rap battle at the center of the legal war started making headlines in April 2024. It exploded when Drake released 'Family Matters' on May 3, 2024. The song insinuated that Lamar had cheated on his fiancée and was physically violent with her. Lamar responded with the back-to-back drops of 'Meet the Grahams' and 'Not Like Us,' with the latter's hook of 'certified lover boy, certified pedophile' becoming an instant and ubiquitous viral sensation. Lamar was declared the victor in the court of public opinion. Drake regrouped with his lawyers and took the matter to civil court. In November, he filed exploratory petitions seeking records from UMG, iHeartMedia and Spotify. He accused the companies of scheming to artificially inflate the success of 'Not Like Us.' On Jan. 15, Drake dropped his initial 81-page lawsuit accusing UMG of defamation and harassment. He laid all the blame on UMG, claiming the company, not Lamar, released and promoted the track, so it should be held liable for his alleged damages. Drake claimed his lawyers sent UMG a letter last July that warned he was suffering 'concrete and substantial harm.' The letter specifically referenced the May 7, 2024, drive-by shooting outside Drake's Toronto home that wounded a security guard. Drake alleges the shooting was motivated by the backlash sparked by 'Not Like Us.' In his lawsuit, Drake claims UMG used 'every weapon in its arsenal' to turn 'Not Like Us' into a monster hit at his expense. He claims the song was 'intended to convey the specific, unmistakable, and false factual allegation that Drake is a criminal pedophile.' He accused UMG of choosing 'corporate greed over the safety and well-being of its artists.' In the statement from UMG shared today, the spokesperson says Drake and his lawyers can 'keep seeking to 'uncover' evidence of wild conspiracies as to why one song that upset Drake had massive global appeal, but there is nothing to 'uncover.'' The secret to the song's success, the spokesperson says, is that UMG works 'tirelessly in partnership' with its artists to 'achieve global success.' 'Our continuing partnership with Drake and his enduring success is a shining example,' the spokesperson says. 'Despite his lawyers' attempts to silence other artists and threaten the companies that work with them, we remain committed to propelling Drake's career while maintaining our unwavering support of all our artists' creative expression. Drake's included.' In its prior motion to dismiss Drake's initial complaint, UMG said Drake encouraged the rap war and now wants to change the rules. 'Plaintiff, one of the most successful recording artists of all time, lost a rap battle that he provoked and in which he willingly participated. Instead of accepting the loss like the unbothered rap artist he often claims to be, he has sued his own record label in a misguided attempt to salve his wounds,' lawyers for UMG wrote last March. The label says no 'reasonable' listener truly believes Drake is a 'certified pedophile.' Experts tell Rolling Stone the bar is high for Drake to succeed with his lawsuit. They say music, and battle rap in particular, is an art form where insults are considered rhetorical hyperbole protected by the First Amendment. 'Not Like Us' became the bestselling rap recording of 2024 and won several Grammy Awards, including one for Song of the Year. Lamar performed the song at the 2025 Super Bowl halftime show to a record audience. Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
Express Tribune
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
"He Lost a Rap Battle He Provoked": Drake's Label Pushes for Dismissal of Lawsuit over 'Not Like Us'
In a bold legal response, Universal Music Group (UMG), Drake's long-time record label, has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit the rapper filed against them in New York. The lawsuit stems from the promotion of Kendrick Lamar's track 'Not Like Us,' in which Lamar mentions Drake and makes serious accusations. UMG's motion, filed today, is sharply critical of Drake's case, suggesting that the rapper is only pursuing legal action due to the emotional impact of 'losing a rap battle' with Lamar. The motion, reviewed by Variety, presents a harsh critique of Drake's lawsuit, asserting, "He lost a rap battle that he provoked and in which he willingly participated. Instead of accepting the loss like the unbothered rap artist he often claims to be, he has sued his own record label in a misguided attempt to salve his wounds. Plaintiff's Complaint is utterly without merit and should be dismissed with prejudice.' UMG argues that the lyrics in Lamar's "Not Like Us" — which refer to Drake with the lines "Say Drake, I hear you like 'em young" and call him and others "certified pedophiles" (a reference to Drake's 2021 studio album Certified Loverboy)— are a form of "rhetorical hyperbole" and are protected under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment, as they are a form of artistic expression rather than literal facts. The lawsuit, filed by Drake in January, claims that the track was part of a campaign that falsely accused him of being a pedophile. He argues that the song, which was released on May 4, 2023, one day after his own track 'Family Matters' took aim at Lamar, put his safety at risk and led to harassment. Drake asserts that the allegations in 'Not Like Us' caused attempted break-ins at his home and forced him to pull his seven-year-old son out of school in Toronto. In his complaint, Drake, whose full name is Aubrey Drake Graham, seeks damages for defamation and harassment. UMG also took aim at Drake's past stance on artistic expression, pointing out the hypocrisy in his actions. "Drake was right then and is wrong now," UMG said, referencing a petition Drake had signed in June 2022 criticizing the use of artists' work against them in criminal cases. 'Diss tracks are a popular and celebrated artform centered around outrageous insults, and they would be severely chilled if Drake's suit were permitted to proceed.' As the case unfolds, it remains to be seen how the courts will navigate these complex issues of freedom of speech, defamation, and the limits of artistic license.
