Posted 2 hours agoSubscribe to BuzzFeed Daily NewsletterCaret DownJaleel White Was Caught Off Guard When A Reporter Asked About Malcolm-Jamal Warner's Death - Just Hours After The News BrokeHours after the news of Malcolm's death became public, Jaleel was asked about it at the red carpet premiere of "Happy Gilmore 2."by Chelsea StewartBuzzFeed StaffFacebookPinterestLink This week, news broke that Malcolm-Jamal Warner had tragically died in a drowning accident in Costa Rica. Lester Cohen / Getty Images According to ABC News, the actor was swimming on Sunday afternoon when he was caught in a rip current. He was pulled to the shore and given CPR for 45 minutes, but attempts to revive him were unsuccessful. He was 54. Later that night, Jaleel White was asked about Malcolm's death at the premiere of Happy Gilmore 2. The two were, of course, television icons in the '90s, with Malcolm starring on The Cosby Show and Jaleel on Family Matters. John Nacion / Getty Images "I'd be remiss not to ask you," the reporter, who was representing Extra, began. "Obviously, today we heard the news of Malcolm-Jamal Warner as well. You guys [were] both on TV around the same time. Just, what does that mean to his impact and to The Cosby Show's impact?" @extra_tv / Via tiktok.com Jaleel, appearing visibly shaken, replied, "I mean, Malcolm and I were industry peers. I mean, really, I can't even say that. Like, I grew up looking up to him. He was ahead of me in the game." @extra_tv / Via tiktok.com "I'm kind of waiting for more details to come out because it was just a very disturbing report... Just accidentally this. But I don't know," Jaleel said, pausing as he struggled to find words to describe the loss. "You kind of caught me at a loss for words and kind of reflecting on my own memories." @extra_tv / Via tiktok.com Jaleel went on to recall his "close" friendship with Malcolm - including their shared connection to Michelle Thomas, the late actor who had dated Malcolm and appeared on The Cosby Show and Family Matters before dying of cancer in 1998. "Malcolm was like the first former child actor that my mother even let me go out with late at night past 11 p.m.," Jaleel, 48, recalled, "and I had a very close relationship with him, both him and Michelle Thomas. May they both rest in peace." @extra_tv / Via tiktok.com He finished his statement by calling on people to remember Malcolm as a man of many talents. "Please remember him as a poet, a Grammy Award-winning musician, and an actor who did a lot more than just star on a sitcom when he was a kid," Jaleel concluded. @extra_tv Jaleel White remembers his friend Malcolm-Jamal Warner after his shocking death: "I grew up looking up to him." 🙏 #malcolmjamalwarner #jaleelwhite #familymatters #cosbyshow ♬ original sound - ExtraTV Later on, he also took to Instagram to correct an error made in news coverage on Malcolm's death. On Monday, Us Weekly appeared to share an X post that said, "Hollywood is mourning The Cosby Show actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who died on Sunday, July 20, at age 54" - except the thumbnail used a photo of Jaleel. Jamie Mccarthy / Getty Images Sharing a screenshot of the apparent blunder on his Instagram account, Jaleel wrote, "All for clicks? @usweekly 🤷 Cmon Guys, fix this." As of writing, it appears the post has since been removed. You can see Jaleel's post below. @jaleelwhite / Us Weekly / Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images / Via Instagram: @https://www.instagram.com/jaleelwhite/?hl=en