Renowned singer Stevie Wonder recently shared his profound grief following the sudden death of Malcolm-Jamal Warner. In an interview with TMZ, the 75-year-old American-Ghanaian singer-songwriter and musician reminisced about his time with the late The Cosby Show star and the lessons he learned from him.
Notably, Warner famously played the role of Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show in the 1980s and 1990s, while Wonder made a special guest appearance in the 1986 episode, A Touch of Wonder.
Sharing his feelings on the passing of the Suits star, he stated, “My heart is broken.”
Wonder then drew a poignant cultural comparison between West African traditions and Warner’s role. He explained, “I don’t know if you know what a ‘griot’ is. It’s like the African who told the stories in the various villages would have the griot. Whenever a griot would die, it would be like a whole library of information burning.”
For those unfamiliar, Merriam-Webster defines a griot as “an African tribal storyteller and musician. The griot’s role was to preserve the genealogies and oral traditions of the tribe.”
“My heart is broken because not only was he a talented man growing up and doing The Cosby Show, but even more important his commitment was telling the story, the truth,” the Master Blaster hitmaker continued.
“And for me, in a time where we have so many in high places telling low-down lies, we need the truth. So yeah, I miss him,” Stevie Wonder admitted.
It’s important to note that Malcolm-Jamal Warner passed away on July 20, 2025, at the age of 54. The autopsy report indicated his cause of death as asphyxiation by submersion.
