You undoubtedly remember Jaleel White best for his role on the 90’s ABC hit Family Matters , where he took over with his breakout character Steve Urkel and the catchphrase “did I do that?”
White’s career stalled out a bit in the 00’s due to the ubiquity of his Steve Urkel portrayal, and he has tried for many years to get past the highly-defining role. It would also seem that White may have fallen into some of the child-star pitfalls seen by many stars of the 80’s and 90’s, experiencing some intense baby mama drama in recent years and popping up on sites like TMZ in the aftermath.
Last year, the former Steve Urkel appeared in the then-new video for Cee-Lo Green’s follow-up to his massive hit “**** You,” “Cry Baby,” and earlier this year, it was announced that White would be joining the career graveyard that is Dancing With the Stars .
But as soon as Jaleel White surfaced again, so too did his angry ex , repeating the allegations of abuse from a few years back that landed him in the headlines in the first place. White noted the timing as he recently acknowledged Bridget Hardy’s renewed claims about him, addressing her comments at length. White says:
“The allegations made against me back in 2010 have suspiciously resurfaced in time to coincide with my new show on Syfy and Dancing With the Stars ; Bridget Hardy has consistently shown a knack for timing throughout our child custody disputes… When you’re doing well in life it’s par for the course certain individuals will try and knock you down. When the individual is also the mother of your only child it is particularly hurtful. I have co-parented in peace and compliance with the law for over two years now.”
White also says that he cannot address the claims due to a family court order prohibiting him from doing so, but hints that money is the motivator:
“As much as I would love to go detail for detail refuting Ms. Hardy’s claims about the specifics of what was our relationship, the family court judge made it very clear to me any public discussion of our case and ordeal would be held against me in a court of law. Ms. Hardy’s attempts at greater sums of money above and beyond child support have continued now for two years. And I guess my most recent successes have been too much for her to stomach. I’m assuming I have not received her votes these past Monday nights.”
You can read former Steve Urkel Jaleel White’s full commentary about the abuse allegations over on E! .