Malcolm-Jamal Warner says a guy once called him “America’s favorite white Black boy” after he played "Theo" on The Cosby Show

Malcolm-Jamal Warner is known for his acclaimed performances, be it on The Resident, Suits, Major Crimes, or any other project. The 54-year-old actor’s role as Theodore 'Theo' Huxtable on The Cosby Show has been one of his most memorable experiences, though he has seemingly tried to move on from it.

During a recent appearance on the Hot & Bothered with Melyssa Ford podcast, Warner talked about his iconic performance as a child star on the show. Ford initially asked Malcolm-Jamal about handling fame while extricating himself from being known as Theo. The former child actor asserted that he always sought dramatic work over comedy due to his theater background. It allowed him to overcome Theo’s fame and portray someone like Dr. AJ Austin in The Resident.

Speaking to Melyssa Ford, Malcolm-Jamal Warner also recounted distancing himself from Theodore 'Theo' Huxtable due to his perception of the character being corny. The Malcolm & Eddie star also recalled a time when he was called “America’s favorite White Black boy” by someone, which hurt him. Warner told Ford,

“Part of the distancing, for me, is probably not wanting to see how much of Malcolm is in Theo, if that makes sense. ‘Cause I remember doing the show and, like, I always felt like Theo was corny and, you know, I want Theo to be cooler.”

He explained why he felt that Theo was corny,

“This is what happens when you put too much attention on the negative than the positive. And what I say that to mean everyone loved Theo, right? But I was f*cking with the people who were like, ‘Theo's corny.’ You know, somebody called me uh ‘America's favorite White Black boy.’ And I was like 15.”

He added,

“Dude said that and it hurt me, right?”

Malcolm-Jamal Warner admitted that he was paying attention to the naysayers

Theo was among the primary characters of The Cosby Show over its eight seasons. Warner, who started playing the character as a teenager in 1984, was a grown-up by the end of the sitcom created by Bill Cosby. The former child actor stated that he received love from most of the audience but ended up paying attention to those who called Theo corny. Malcolm-Jamal Warner said,

“Growing up and having all of these people love Theo and all of these girls love me, because I'm on TV. I'm paying attention to the motherf*ckers who were like, Theo's corny.”

Warner mentioned a piece, Dope, from his 2022 album Hiding In Plain View, and continued speaking,

“I talk about [referring to his album] how, you know, I could be in a room. [...] I could be in full bloom, in a room full of fans who I prefer to call friends. And I'll gravitate to the odd one on the end who I know specifically came there to hate. But you don't have to be famous to relate, right?”

Malcolm-Jamal Warner added,

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“How much love in your life have you overlooked and taken for granted simply because you couldn't stand it that the one you wanted to love from the most didn't love you the way you hoped? It's like dope, right?”

Malcolm-Jamal Warner proclaimed that regardless of their fame, everyone goes through the situation he faced as a child star. Melyssa Ford cited the example of social media hate and said how it is human nature to pay attention to hate despite many positive comments on a post.

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