Bill Cosby has responded to the death of The Cosby Show co-star Malcolm-Jamal Warner, describing the news as deeply painful and bringing back memories of the loss of his own son.
Warner, best known for playing Theo Huxtable on the long-running sitcom, died from an accidental drowning while on a family holiday in Costa Rica. His death was confirmed on Monday, July 21, per ABC News.
According to Cosby’s longtime representative Andrew Wyatt, the 88-year-old comedian was deeply affected by Warner’s passing.
Speaking to TMZ, Wyatt said that receiving the news reminded Cosby of the moment he was informed that his son, Ennis Cosby, had been fatally shot during an attempted robbery in 1997. Cosby also lost his daughter Ensa in 2018 at the age of 44.
Wyatt explained that the emotional impact of Warner’s death felt “identical” to the grief Cosby experienced following the loss of his son. He added that Warner and Ennis had known each other during childhood and would often spend time together during filming.
Cosby and Warner portrayed father and son (Cliff and Theo Huxtable) on The Cosby Show, which aired from 1984 to 1992 and became one of the most iconic American sitcoms of its time.
The show depicted an upper-middle-class Black family living in Brooklyn and was praised for its positive representation of Black family life.
Wyatt said Cosby is reflecting on memories of Warner visiting the Cosby estate in Massachusetts and recalled the actor’s ability to make the family laugh.
He also shared that Warner had recently been excited about a concert in Minneapolis and had told Cosby he felt he was “changing the world," per The Mirror.
According to Wyatt, Cosby described Warner as a figure many young men admired and aspired to be like during the show's peak. “Every young man who came from the projects wanted to be like Theo and have a family like the Huxtables,” he reportedly said.
Though Cosby and Warner shared a close working relationship during the show’s original run, their connection became more complicated in later years following the numerous sexual assault allegations brought against Cosby.
In 2015, dozens of women came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct, leading to Cosby’s conviction in 2018 on three counts of aggravated indecent assault. He was sentenced to up to 10 years in prison, but the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned the conviction in 2021, and Cosby was released, BBC News reported.
Warner addressed the allegations publicly on several occasions. In a 2015 interview with Billboard, he described the situation as “painful,” saying Cosby had been a mentor and significant influence in his life. “It’s just as painful to watch my friend and mentor go through this,” he said at the time, while also acknowledging the importance of supporting survivors of sexual assault.
He added: “I can't speak on the allegations because I wasn’t there. The Bill Cosby I know has been great to me... What he's done for comedy and television has been legendary. What he's done for the Black community and education has been invaluable.”
In his final public remarks on the matter, shared in a 2023 interview with journalist Jemele Hill, Warner expressed the complexity of his feelings. Asked if he felt resentful that Cosby’s controversies had affected the cast and the legacy of The Cosby Show, he replied (via PEOPLE): “Not resentment… It’s just so layered, man.
“I can't defend him or his actions at all. But I also can't throw him under the bus completely,” he continued. “There are so many shades of gray that most people will never get.”
Malcolm-Jamal Warner was 54.