Family Matters executives told Jaleel White to wear looser jeans on the show because Steve Urkel’s ‘bump’ was too much for TV

FAMILY Matters star Jaleel White was once told to change his beloved character Steve Urkel’s signature uniform of suspenders and tight jeans – because his nether regions were becoming too much for TV.

Jaleel, who played favorite nerd Steve on the family-friendly sitcom from 1989 to 1998, recounted the exchange with network executives in his memoir, Growing Up Urkel, released Nov. 19.

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After the show’s eighth season, Jaleel, now 47, was over 20 years old and felt like he was growing out of the character — but network executives were desperate to keep the show going, he wrote.

However, the higher-ups agreed to make some minor superficial changes to Steve’s geeky appearance, Jaleel claimed.

“Let’s get rid of the suspenders. Drop his pants too,” Jaleel claimed the exes said.

“Oh and… it’s going to be a little awkward seeing him in tight jeans. There’s a, uh… bulge.”

Jaleel said that by the time he went to college, he was “peeling” himself out of his skin-tight pants “like a banana.”

HIGH AND LOW

It also became increasingly difficult for him to recite lines in Steve’s signature high-pitched voice.

Jaleel even said that speaking as Steve was “physically painful” now that his voice was naturally much lower as an adult.

He felt so much tension that he said he almost left the show that made him a star.

However, he remained in the series until it was canceled in 1998.

FAMILY CONFLICT

Jaleel not only clashed with the executives, he also had conflicts with his co-stars.

He once claimed that his national fame was too great for his older fellow actors.

“I didn’t see me stepping on someone’s toes, I was taking someone’s shine,” he told TVOne’s Uncensored in 2021.

“It’s very important that I say this: I was not welcomed well by the cast at all, okay?

“And I don’t have to repeat that over and over again with the adults. They know what it is.’

He even claimed that Reginald VelJohnson and Jo Marie Peyton even made him burst into tears during the table read.

After some time out of the spotlight, Jaleel is now the host of the game show Flip Side.

He married technology executive Nicoletta Ruhl in a lavish ceremony in LA in May 2024, and is father to 15-year-old daughter Samaya.

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