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Actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner Dies At Age 54; Sentencing Hearing Underway for Ex-Officer in Breonna Taylor Case. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired July 21, 2025 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[15:00:41]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: Breaking news, an actor who rose to fame on "The Cosby Show" has died, tragically. Fans and the entertainment world mourning the loss of Malcolm-Jamal Warner, killed in a drowning accident in Costa Rica at the age of 54. We have new details on his untimely passing.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Plus, a sentencing hearing underway for former Louisville police officer convicted in the death of Breonna Taylor. He is facing life in prison, but the Justice Department says he should only be sentenced to one day in jail.

And a humanitarian group is warning of, quote, "new levels of desperation in Gaza," as the health ministry there says more than 1,000 people have been killed while seeking food aid since late May.

We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SCIUTTO: We begin with breaking news and, well, sad news, the passing of actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, best known and beloved for his groundbreaking role as Theo Huxtable on the groundbreaking "Cosby Show." A source close to the actor tells CNN he died in a drowning accident while vacationing with his family in Costa Rica.

KEILAR: Yes, and we just got confirmation from authorities there that the drowning happened yesterday. The acclaimed actor, musician, inspirational speaker and cultural force was just 54 years old. Joining us more - joining us now with more details is CNN Entertainment Correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister, along with CNN Entertainment Reporter Lisa France.

Elizabeth, what else are you learning here?

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: So, I just got off the phone with a source in the last hour who sadly did confirm this tragic, tragic news that Malcolm-Jamal Warner was on a family vacation with his wife and daughter when he suffered this fatal drowning accident, obviously coming as such a shock to his family, to his fans around the world. I mean, this is a true, true accident. And his family, I hear, is just beside themselves, as you can understand. Now, I do want to note that this was not just a TV icon who had such

profound impact on American television and American culture, but he was working up until his death at the young age of 54 years old. Many child stars have a tough time when they are on an iconic role. They can be typecast, but he continued working repeatedly throughout the years.

And I have to tell you, everybody who worked with him loved him. He had a stellar reputation. I was talking with someone who worked very closely with him, who is crying and just cannot believe that this has happened. So, he had a wonderful reputation on and off the screen. And I had the chance to meet him when he was on the show, "The People vs. O.J. Simpson." And he was just such a lovely man. So, this is just tragic, tragic news that will absolutely impact so many, those who know him and those who felt like they know him, from their television screens.

SCIUTTO: The Costa Rican authorities are saying that his drowning death took place at Playa Grande, which is a popular beach there. I just happened to have been there with my family a couple weeks ago, the very same beach, and it does have - it's got surf, like a lot of beaches do. And sometimes surf can be unpredictable, and it sounds like he got caught in the surf and drowned - dragged out. People on the beach tried to help him, and unfortunately, he passed away.

Lisa, the cultural significance of "The Cosby Show," at a time in the late '80s and early '90s, when a big portion of this country would sit down and watch the same show on the same night, which is something that just doesn't happen anymore, just tiny little fractions of the population, but particularly for, as we were speaking in the last hour to Bomani Jones and others about how impactful it was to have this Cosby family represented in the way it was, successful, middle class family, just what a cultural touchstone it was, and Warner's involvement in that was central.

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LISA RESPERS FRANCE, CNN REPORTER: Absolutely. And, Jim, Malcolm-Jamal Warner was family. He was absolutely family, and the black community is grieving, just like they did with Chadwick Boseman and Kobe Bryant, because when you have a black celebrity, especially a black man, who is representing the black community, you know, representation really does matter. We say that, but it's so very true.

And when it came to Malcolm-Jamal Warner, he was like our brother. He was like our cousin. You know, I have a funny story in that - back in 2017, I interviewed him, and he was talking about being a brand-new dad. His daughter was four months old at the time, and he was so excited about that. He also made me promise not to call him Theo. He said as much as he loved the role, you know, his name was Malcolm.

And a year later, I was supposed to interview him and do a set visit on the set of "The Resident," which was another show that he was beloved for. And I got sick. I caught the flu, and I posted about not being able to see him and not being able to go to see Childish Gambino. I had tickets with friends, and he came in my comments on social media, and he said that, you know, basically he was sorry that I was sick, but could he get those Childish Gambino tickets? And that was Malcolm-Jamal Warner. He was just funny, and then his co-star came in and co-signed and said, yes, we're down for that a hundred percent. Like, can we get your tickets?

And, I mean, that was the thing. Like, we felt like we knew him from TV, but also, as Elizabeth points out, he was just beloved as a human being, as a person, as a man who loved music, as a man who loved culture, and he fully understood what he meant, Jim, to the black community, playing that role. Being able to see an affluent black family on TV, it was the first time, it was groundbreaking, and it still hits you in the gut when you watch it, how important and vital The Cosby Show was, and this is - I can't state enough what a huge loss this is. This literally feels like we have lost a family member today.

KEILAR: It certainly does. And stand by for us, if you would, Lisa and Elizabeth, as we bring in Van Jones, CNN host and founder of DreamMachine.org. He's on the phone with us.

Van, how are you reflecting on this?

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I mean, it's just devastating, I mean, to the extent that, you know, the Huxtables were everybody's family. I mean, Bill Cosby, in those days, Mr. Huxtables was everybody's dad, and that made, you know, Theo everybody's little brother, and it really was the first time that you saw a black affluence on television. There have been other shows with black people, "Sanford and Son" was important, but, you know, he was a junk dealer, and he lived in, you know, in a junkyard. It wasn't - you just didn't see it. You know, "The Jeffersons" were important, but they had just made it, and they lived in some kind of skyrise, but it wasn't a family. They were grownups.

Suddenly, here's a family with a mom and a dad, and they're both professionals, and the kids are relatable, but, you know, they're expected to go to college. These are things that were completely revolutionary, and that show had a Super Bowl-sized audience every night. It's hard for people to understand, you know, 20-, 30, you know, plus million people watching every single night. I mean, every single week - night that it came on, it was mandatory television for America, and it changed people's perceptions. I don't think you got Barack and Michelle Obama without the Huxtables.

And so, Theo in particular for me, as a young black guy, he's the first guy that I saw on TV who I could relate to. I had two professional parents. They didn't let me get away with much, and, you know, and he just - he was a role model, and he was very, very important.

And then, also, you know, he didn't just stop with the Huxtables. He went on, you know, to do other shows, to do other things, but that was the iconic role, and it was groundbreaking. And it gave me something to shoot for, something to aim for. It gave me something to model myself after. I've talked to people, you know, cast members today, off the record,

who are just devastated, just literally devastated. It's so unexpected. It's so unfair, but I'm going to tell you right now, everybody of my age, you know, people of 40s, 50s, early 60s, this is a family member that's been lost for all of us, and especially for people in the African-American community.

SCIUTTO: You know, the show went off the air 33 years ago, I think, 1992. Since then, he has continued his career. He won a Grammy for R&B performance. He had a show opposite Eddie Griffin, "Malcolm & Eddie," and more recently, a podcast.

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And I just want to quote, Van, to you - him on the podcast just last year, speaking about some of the cultural issues that you were just describing, and his place in them. He said, "when we talk about the black community, we tend to speak of it as a monolith, when the reality is there are so many different facets of the black community, and we wanted to have a space where we can really explore, discuss, and acknowledge all those different aspects. He's someone who tried to continue a public discussion of so many issues. I think you were talking about that were groundbreaking at the time of this show.

JONES: Yes. Look, I mean, he used his platform very well. Also, he talked about mental health issues. He talked about things that were taboo. You know, in the black community, it's just now become okay to say you're not okay. We have this, you know, cultural expectation that we're tough, we're strong, can handle anything. The strong black woman, the strong black man, we're human beings. We're human beings.

We have good days. We have bad days. We have strengths. We have weaknesses. But this kind of facade that we've had to put up, you know, he pulled that down. You know, he said, look, we need to talk. He used his platform well. That's really all you can do, I think. You know, if you're not going to be, you know, the president or the pope, you know, where you've got, you know, some institutional power behind you, what you can do is use your voice to try to help people. Use your fame to try to help people. Use the fact that people will listen to you to license a better conversation.

And the amazing thing about him, for all of his awards and his acclaim, he never took the cheap road. He never did the easy thing. Everything about him is dignity. Everything about him is class. And he's successful and relatable. This is the kind of person that should be up on the pedestal. This is the kind of person that should be, you know, on the Mount Rushmore of what it means to be an American, a man, and a black man.

I mean, it's still - it's very difficult to process that he's gone. He's so young. But, you know, other celebrities, you know, unfortunately, they cash it in for the cheap stuff, the stuff that's corrosive of the culture. He never, ever did that. He started high, and he went higher.

KEILAR: Yes, and he had so much more of life to live, which makes it tough, Van, as we are honoring his contributions. We feel, of course, that he had decades more of them to give, and it's really upsetting that he's gone. Also, Van, I mean, just to be clear, he grew up, you know, in the spotlight. It's such a critical time, and at a time, mind you, when there were so many other programs on TV where you saw people going through that under that spotlight, they did not weather it well. He did.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

KEILAR: I think that's just something that really makes him stand out, Van.

JONES: Yes, I think so. And, you know, for all of the, you know, the sadness of the downfall of Bill Cosby, you'll notice, you know, pretty much all of those young people on those shows went on and did well. Jasmine Guy went on and did well. You know, every - you walk through the names of the young people on that show, and he did a good job of picking young people, and somehow, almost all of them wound up being fantastic. Lisa Bonet is still a global icon. Her name is now Lilakoi Moon, but she's a global icon, and she somehow went on to do well.

So, you know, some good things came out of that show, that moment, that period, those young people, and maybe they understood they had a responsibility to keep alive the torch that they lit of black excellence. Listen, now, you know, nobody wants to talk about DEI and you're playing the race card, and woke, blah, blah, blah.

You know, look, can we just have a moment to recognize that it once was shockingly, bracingly unusual to see a black person on television who was not a butler, a maid, a slave, a drug dealer or a buffoon. It was so shocking that 30 to 40 million Americans would tune in every week just to see it. That's in my lifetime. That's when I was in high school and in college. That is not a thousand years ago. That is not 20 generations ago. That is literally just a couple of decades ago. It was so shocking to see black people on television with dignity that it was the number one show on planet Earth. And so, you know, to lose one of those cast members, it's just devastating for everybody.

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SCIUTTO: Yes, it was a time when we had shared cultural touchstones, right, shows that you watched together at the same time. You know, that just doesn't happen that much anymore.

KEILAR: Yes.

SCIUTTO: This is a tough, tough day, Van, and we thank you for being with us to talk about it. Thank you so much. And our thanks to Elizabeth and Lisa as well.

Still to come, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsening as there are more reports surfacing of the Israeli military firing on crowds of hungry Palestinians waiting for food relief.

SCIUTTO: And later, could A.I. take your job? Why tech leaders are split on exactly how much artificial intelligence will impact the workforce. All that and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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KEILAR: For the first time since her killing, more than five years ago, a sentencing hearing is happening now for an ex-police officer involved in the botched police raid death of Breonna Taylor. Former Louisville officer Brett Hankison was convicted last year. Former Louisville officer Brett Hankison was convicted last year. An ex- police officer involved in the botched police raid death of Breonna Taylor.

Former Louisville officer, Brett Hankison, was convicted last year, federally, of violating Taylor's civil rights. Last week, outrage was reignited after President Trump's Justice Department recommended that Hankison be sentenced to only one day in jail. Chants of lock him up, along with several expletives, being yelled as Hankison arrived to court just a short time ago.

SCIUTTO: In March of 2020, you may remember, Taylor was killed during an early morning no-knock raid, as they're known. Taylor's boyfriend opened fire when he says police did not identify themselves. Officers then fired back, striking Taylor.

Hankison fired multiple shots into the department, though he was not the officers whose bullets struck her. With us now is CNN Law Enforcement Analyst, former chief - police chief Charles Ramsey.

Charles, good to have you.

CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: So, tell me your reaction to the DOJ asking for a one-day sentence for this, following an indictment and conviction by a jury.

RAMSEY: Well, I was surprised, to say the least, coming from the prosecutors of all people. I mean, the attorney said that - that's one thing, but the DOJ, it's another. I mean, you know, listen, I'm sensitive to what police officers go through on the street. Obviously, it's been 47 years of active service in policing, where you have to make split-second decisions. Sometimes you get it right, sometimes you get it wrong. That's not the case here.

He - there's not a police academy in the country that trains police officers to fire their weapon if they cannot see what they're shooting at. And that's what he did, he fired blindly into the home 10 times. I mean, certainly that goes beyond just civil. That is criminal, in my opinion.

Now, it's one thing to say, you know, whatever the minimum sentence is, you know, that's one thing. But one day, to me, when I hear people say it's a slap in the face of a family, I have to agree.

KEILAR: Now, DOJ's reasoning on this was they said the federal conviction was excessive because the officer was acquitted on state charges. What do you make of that reasoning?

RAMSEY: Well, I mean, that was a jury, wasn't it? As far as the federal trial, I believe. I mean, that's the system, right? I mean, it is what it is. And so, you know, the inconsistency I see now, you know, they're concerned about this police officer. And I can certainly appreciate all that. But you're also talking about an administration that, you know, pardoned over 500 people that actively assaulted police officers on January 6th. I mean, you know, I don't get it. I truly don't get it.

And, you know, I'm not arguing that this guy should get, you know, a hundred years, 20 years, 30 years. That's not for me to decide. It's up to a judge to decide. But for a prosecutor to ask for one day after a conviction, in my opinion, is way too lenient for the actions that this officer took. Now, that's just my opinion. I know a lot of people will disagree. They think that, you know, because I'm a former cop, that I should be supporting, you know, what's right is right.

SCIUTTO: Right.

RAMSEY: But somebody lost their life in that entire incident and he fired recklessly. And it's just a wonder that more people didn't die that day because of his actions.

SCIUTTO: It's part of a broader trend, is it not? You and I have talked about this. Because for a period of time, there seemed to be juries, prosecutors assigning greater accountability to police officers. You think of George Floyd, the convictions there and what followed.

Now, you have a new administration that is rescinding consent decrees with police districts around the country and a case like this. Are you worried that you have a new administration, a new sheriff in town, as it were, that is giving - taking away accountability to some degree from police officers?

RAMSEY: I am concerned about it. There's no question about that. I mean, you could also point to, you know, the ICE agents being - wearing masks as they're working, you know? And in my opinion, that's another bad thing that's going on right now. I mean, we're losing it as far as credibility goes with law enforcement. I mean, you know, we're supposed to be building trust and legitimacy with our communities. These things set us back.

I mean, listen - you know, there are ways to correct police departments that are off track. You mentioned consent decrees. There was something called collaborative reform.

[15:25:05]

When I was the chief in Philadelphia, the commissioner in Philadelphia, I requested Justice to come in to take a look at our department. I did the same thing in Washington, D.C. I knew we had problems, and those problems were beyond what we can internally fix. We needed an outside agency and there was, at the time, no one had more credibility than the Department of Justice. That's not the case anymore.

I mean, think about it. You know, that was the one thing that would calm people down if there was something controversial. We'll bring in the Justice Department. I'm afraid this Justice Department doesn't have that same kind of weight in many communities any longer, and it's a shame. It's a loss for everybody.

SCIUTTO: Chief Ramsey, we appreciate you joining.

RAMSEY: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Coming up, the World Food Programme says the hunger crisis in Gaza has reached, quote, "new levels of desperation." We're going to take you live there. Coming up.

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