EXCLUSIVE: Malcolm Jamal-Warner Died ‘Totally Conflicted’ Over Bill Cosby’s Sexual Assault Shame — And How It Cost Sitcom Stars Millions in Earnings

Malcolm-Jamal Warner once said: “It truly sucked to watch the ship go down the way it went down.”

Now, just days after the 54-year-old’s sudden death in Costa Rica, those close to the late actor tell RadarOnline.com the emotional weight of The Cosby Show’s tarnished legacy remained a source of deep inner turmoil throughout his final years.

Warner died on July 20 after reportedly drowning while swimming during a family vacation – and we can reveal he went to his grave filled with mixed feelings about his mentor Cosby and the fact the show’s cast could have made fortunes from a reboot if it hadn’t been for the comic’s horrific sex assault scandal.

Best known for playing Theo Huxtable, the witty and warm-hearted son of Bill Cosby’s character in the hit sitcom that aired from 1984 to 1992, Warner had long wrestled with the emotional and financial fallout that followed Cosby’s dramatic fall from grace.

A source close to the actor said he died “totally conflicted” over how the accusations against Cosby, now 88, impacted his own career and those of his castmates.

Cosby was convicted in 2018 on three counts of aggravated indecent assault, after Andrea Constand testified he had drugged and sexually assaulted her in his Pennsylvania home in 2004.

Though his conviction was overturned in 2021 due to a prior agreement with a prosecutor, more than 60 women have since come forward with allegations. Cosby and his legal team continue to deny all accusations.

For Warner, the emotional conflict was deeply personal.

“He’s one of my mentors, and he’s been very influential and played a big role in my life as a friend and mentor,” Warner said in 2015.

“Just as it’s painful to hear any woman talk about sexual assault, whether true or not, it’s just as painful to watch my friend and mentor go through this.”

In recent years, Warner had expressed regret over the show's lost potential – particularly in the era of reboots and nostalgia-fueled revivals.

Speaking to journalist Jemele Hill in 2023, Warner said: “We could have made a lot of money. Fuller House, they’re doing their thing.The Conners, man, we’d be making a killing right now.”

Asked whether he felt bitter about how Cosby’s actions had derailed that opportunity, Warner added: “No. Not resentment… I get how this business works. And just that whole situation is so layered, man.”

He went on: “I can’t defend him or his actions at all. But I also can’t throw him under the bus completely… it’s so complex and it’s so many shades of gray, that most people will never get.”

Warner often spoke with pride about his work on The Cosby Show, but admitted the allegations against its leading man had left an unshakable stain.

“Regardless of how some people may feel about the show now, I’m still proud of the legacy and having been a part of such an iconic show,” he said in 2023.

Though Warner managed a successful career post-Cosby, including roles in Malcolm & Eddie and Reed Between the Lines, he was open about the financial impact. But he said he “set up this life after the show so my life would not have to be dependent upon that show or dependent upon Theo.”