Raven-Symoné has broken her silence after her former The Cosby Show costar Malcolm-Jamal Warner tragically died at age 54.
“Words cannot describe the pain and the sadness and surprise that I feel with the recent loss of MJW,” Symoné, 39, said in an audio recording shared via Instagram on Tuesday, July 22. “He was the big brother, he was a beacon, he was one of the most multifaceted, talented men. So gentle, and my heart and soul and hugs and kisses go out to his daughter and his wife and his mother.”
Symoné played Olivia, the stepdaughter of Lisa Bonet’s Denise Huxtable, on the final seasons of The Cosby Show. Warner, for his part, starred as Theo Huxtable for the sitcom’s entire run.
“He gave the best advice, he gave the best hugs and his smile will always be a huge, bright f***ing white smile in my head forever,” Symoné tearfully added. “I love you, and I know you’re watching over all of us now. Bye, Malcolm.”
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Symoné captioned her social media video, “I love you 
.”
News broke on Monday, July 21, that Warner had died one day earlier. His death was ruled as asphyxia due to submersion after drowning while swimming in Costa Rica. Local medical examiners also confirmed that Warner’s death was accidental.
Warner was known for his acting career, including starring roles on Malcolm & Eddie, Reed Between the Lines, Sons of Anarchy, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story and, most recently, a four-episode arc on ABC’s 9-1-1 in 2024. His most famous role, however, was as Theo on The Cosby Show from 1984 to 1992.
Symoné is not the only former Cosby Show star to share tributes to Warner and his legacy.
“This reminds me of the call I got when I was taping The Cosby Show and I got a call saying that my son, Ennis, had been murdered [in 1997],” show patriarch Bill Cosby told Us Weekly in a statement shared via his spokesperson, Andrew Wyatt. “It’s just devastating.” (Cosby’s son was 27 years old when he was shot and killed in Los Angeles during a failed robbery attempt.)
According to Cosby, 88, he and Warner kept in touch through the years.
“He was so ecstatic about how the crowd received him,” Cosby further recalled of working alongside Warner on The Cosby Show. “Malcolm was changing the world, humanizing the world through his acting, his music, his poetry and even his new podcast. … You never heard anything negative about the child actors from The Cosby Show. No drugs, no alcohol, none of that. Even though I was their TV dad, I never stopped being their father figure.”
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Geoffrey Owens, who portrayed Elvin on The Cosby Show, called Warner’s death a “tragedy [that] has almost left [him] speechless.”
“Malcolm was a lovely man, a sweet and sensitive soul,” Owens, 64, told Us in a statement. “I respected him for many reasons, including the fact that he genuinely loved the act of creation. He had the mind of an actor and the heart of a musician. He was generous too. I did a theater project long ago and asked him to participate, and he was there for me. My heart goes out to his family.”
Warner is survived by his mother, his wife and the couple’s daughter.
