Can't We Get Along? Black Sitcom Beef That Broke Up TV Families

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Don’t you just love a good Black sitcom?

Even though the heyday is long gone, the Black sitcom era that spanned from the early 1970s and peaked sometime in the mid 2000s gave us some of the greatest television moments of all time, not to mention leaving us with classic quotables like “What you talkin’ bout, Willis?” and “Did I do that?” to “Dy-No-Mite!” and simply “Wazzup!”

However, not all things that appear loving on family-centered sitcoms were actually the case in real-life when the cameras cut. In all actuality, many of the co-stars on our favorite Black sitcoms couldn’t even stand each other.

Surprisingly, that was the case for Family Matters star Jaleel White and his co-stars, particularly with the show’s resident TV mom, Jo Marie Payton.

While appearing recently in Tampa, Florida at the “90s Con” 2023 convention, Family Matters stars Reginald VelJohnson (Carl Winslow), Kellie Shanygne Williams (Laura Winslow) and the aforementioned Payton who played Harriette Winslow for eight of the show’s nine seasons, each took a second to send well-wishes to the visibly absent standout star who played pop culture icon, Steve Urkel. “Love you Jaleel — you’re wonderful,” VelJohnson can be heard telling People (seen above), also adding, “Sorry you’re not here. We miss you.” Williams kept it brief, stating to the camera, “I talk to him, so he knows I love his crazy butt.”

When it got time for Payton to talk, she sounded a bit more somber and, dare we say it, remorseful even. “You know what baby, I still love you,” she said directly into the camera in an effort to address Jaleel specifically, adding, “As we grow, we learn [and] we change, you know what I’m saying? We get a little more accepting of life and everything and all.”

The actress, who happens to be the reason Family Matters even existed being that it was a spinoff for her character from Perfect Strangers (1986 – 1993), concluded her message by stating, “I would like to say, if you were here [and] I could hug you I would, ’cause I don’t hold anything and don’t want you to hold anything either. I still love you. I still see you as that little boy that you were [at] 12 years old when you came to this show. I’m still the same Jo Marie.”

For reference, take a look below to hear how White himself described the situation back in May 2021 for our family over at TV One on his episode of UNCENSORED.

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For the sake of a future reboot, or at the very least a more friendly reunion, we pray Jaleel White will get his Urkel on once again with his TV family right there beside him. Until then, let’s look back on a few other famous feuds in Black sitcom history just so you can see that it wasn’t just the Family Matters crew who were feuding back in the day.

Not in the least bit!

Keep scrolling for a look at a few now-infamous Black sitcom feuds that made us ask one simple question: can’t we all just get along?

1. John Amos and Esther Rolle vs. Jimmie Walker on 'Good Times' (1974 – 1979)

While Amos and Rolle did have a good point in their critique for the sake of the culture, can you imagine a world without “Dy-No-MITE” ?!

2. Malcolm-Jamal Warner vs. Carl Anthony Payne II on 'The Cosby Show' (1984 – 1992)

Looking back, do you think the best Theo won?

3. Jackée Harry vs. Marla Gibbs on '227' (1985 – 1990)

Luckily, these two Black Hollywood mavens made up later in life and are currently the best of gal pals.

4. Lisa Bonet vs. Bill Cosby on 'A Different World' (1987 – 1993)

This guy Cosby, man…sheesh!

5. Will Smith vs. Janet Hubert on 'The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air' (1990 – 1996)

It was one thing to replace Aunt Viv mid-series, but a completely different level of disrespect to think we as fans wouldn’t recognize the stark difference in skin tones between Hubert and her replacement, Daphne Maxwell Reid. 

6. Martin Lawrence vs. Tisha Campbell on 'Martin' (1992 – 1997)

We are so glad everyone’s funniest TV aunt and uncle are on good terms again. Oh, and we still deserve a make-up season for Tisha’s absence in Season 5.

7. Brandy vs. Countess Vaughn on 'Moesha' (1996 – 2001)

They’ve since made up, but just think: without this baby diva feud, we probably would’ve never got Moesha‘s far superior spinoff, The Parkers!

8. Kel Mitchell vs. Kenan Thompson on 'Kenan & Kel' (1996 – 2000)

In a perfect world, they both would’ve been casted on SNL and we’d at least be on Good Burger 5 by now.

9. Jill Marie Jones vs. Payroll on 'Girlfriends' (2000 – 2008)

Although Jill’s “off to do movies” story made total sense, it’s just hard to imagine a series regular as popular as the Toni Childs just up and quitting without informing her co-stars in order to do — and we say this with love! — a handful of straight-to-DVD films. Overall, we just wish execs treated one of our favorite ‘girlfriends’ better financially in those final years of the show.

10. Raven-Symoné vs. Orlando Brown on 'That's So Raven' (2003 – 2007)

Sadly, Orlando is still wilding for respect. That is all.