Malcolm-Jamal Warner Sounds-Off on Cosby Scandal, Talks 'The People v. O.J. Simpson'

Actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner joined “Extra's” Charissa Thompson at Universal Studios Hollywood this week.

The star talked about his former TV dad Bill Cosby, who has been dominating news headlines over sexual abuse allegations, and about playing O.J. Simpson's best friend and infamous Bronco driver A.C. Cowlings in “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.”

Warner, who spent eight seasons on “The Cosby Show,” revealed he is still in touch with Bill Cosby. “We've always had a good relationship; he's always been wonderful to me and he's been really wonderful to a lot of people… It's not a good situation for anybody, for him, his family, or the women and their families — it's just a bad situation all around.”

Warner was critical of the media coverage surrounding Bill, saying, “I think what was more difficult was to separate the headlines from the headlines, the media paints a certain picture that, if you don't do due diligence and actually spend time looking through the stories that are being told, you are just going on what you're being spoon-fed.”

He elaborated, “I'm neither defending him nor throwing him over the bus; I'm looking at the media's role and how the media forms public opinion.”

In “The People v. O.J. Simpson,” Malcolm takes on controversial subject matter surrounding O.J. Simpson. The FX series is a huge hit with millions of people watching. Last night's episode featured the famous Bronco car-chase scene. Malcolm told Charissa he remembers where he was when the actual chase went down, saying, "I was home folding clothes and my mom called me and said, 'Hey, you got to turn on the TV,' and I remember being glued to the TV.”

He also explained what it was like to shoot the car chase. “We had to take some kind of dramatic license with… obviously, only A.C. and O.J. know what went on inside that truck, so we kind of went on what we would all imagine went on. O.J.'s back there with a gun to his head and the cops are chasing him.”

Cowlings reportedly said he will sue the production if he is looked at in a negative light. Warner said of that threat, “I heard that. I can definitely say we don't portray him in a bad light at all; I portray him as a guy who is really there for his best friend.”