Jaleel White says "I was never invited to the Emmys, even to present"

[JO Sweet Heart]

^^^ I second this. There are plenty of other reasons out there besides prejudice why certain things do not take place.

God bless you always!!!

Holly

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by PracTz

I'm NOT a fan of Mr. White nor, especially Urkel, (and I am particularly appalled that he bullied his young costar back then AND made fun of her performance so many years late)r.

However, since neither of us have ever met nor had anything to do with whoever was in charge of the Emmys, IMO one can't say for certain that the 'Family Matters' cast not being invited is "not an example of racism." I mean, for we know, that COULD have been the Emmy folks' MO but short of them actually saying "Yeah, we didn't invite the 'Family Matters' cast because we didn't want them around since they are African-Americans" there's no way to definitively prove or disprove that their motive could have been due to racism.

I think it would be fairer to say 'As far as we know, their lack of invites may or may not have been an example of racism'.

Remember, there's more than one way to skin a cat!

All good points!

[TMC]

To play devil's advocate a bit, I wouldn't be so quick to suggest that there was absolutely a discrimination element to play so much that Family Matters to borrow from a bit from one-time Laverne and Shirley writer Winifred Harvey, wasn't considered a "cool enough" of a show.

Family Matters was almost a borderline kids show but not something that you wouldn't feel inherently embarrassed to like if you were an older kid (i.e. above the age of 13) when compared to something decidedly "edgier" like Boy Meets World or Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

I don't think that shows that came from the Miller-Boyett factory like Family Matters and Laverne and Shirley were ever critically acclaimed.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by TMC

To play devil's advocate a bit, I wouldn't be so quick to suggest that there was absolutely a discrimination element to play so much that Family Matters to borrow from a bit from one-time Laverne and Shirley writer Winifred Harvey, wasn't considered a "cool enough" of a show.

Family Matters was almost a borderline kids show but not something that you wouldn't feel inherently embarrassed to like if you were an older kid (i.e. above the age of 13) when compared to something decidedly "edgier" like Boy Meets World or Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

I don't think that shows that came from the Miller-Boyett factory like Family Matters and Laverne and Shirley were ever critically acclaimed.

Yeah, the later seasons of Family Matters were slapstick comedy one step down from Three's Company. People wouldn't invite Bozo the Clown to present at the Emmys; why would they invite Urkel/Urkelbot/Myrtle Urkel?

[TMC]

I think that Darius McCrary hit the nail on the head on Vice TV's Dark Side of the Ring when he said that Family Matters at the end of the day, was a show that just seemed "too white" to be embraced and honored at something like the BET Awards but it was also probably "too black" to be acknowledged by the Emmy Awards.