Malcolm-Jamal Warner Emailed Podcast Cohost Candace Kelley From the Plane to Costa Rica (Exclusive)

Malcolm-Jamal Warner emailed his “Not All Hood” podcast cohost, Candace Kelley, shortly before his sudden death at age 54.

“I spoke to him on Friday before he left,” Kelley exclusively told Us Weekly on Wednesday, July 23. “He wrote me this long, five-paragraph email from the plane, which is so strange. I’m like, ‘[You’re going to] Costa Rica.’ But, now that I’m going back to reading it, I’m very glad he did.”

According to Kelley, most of Warner’s final message revolved around their podcast, including how “to continue to grow” the show “in terms of its impact on people.”

“He had a serious commitment to his community and to his family and to his own personal legacy of what was right from wrong to make sure that the tropes of Black people that have been out there that he used his power to stamp them out,” Kelley told Us. “So, this email was just talking about, ‘All right, let’s, kind of, regroup. Let’s do it. Let’s go after this, and shift some of the dynamics.’ … We had a lot planned.”

Kelley and Warner launched their “Not All Hood” podcast in June 2024, examining the different experiences and lives of Black individuals in the United States. Warner also told Kelley that he was on the plane to meet his wife and daughter in Costa Rica for a family vacation.

The Cosby Show alum died on Sunday, July 20, after drowning while swimming. His death was ruled as asphyxia due to submersion, with Costa Rican medical examiners confirming that the circumstances were accidental.

Warner is survived by his mother, his wife and the couple’s young daughter, also leaving a profound impact on his colleagues and friends. Kelley further recalled to Us that she had many “fond memories” of Warner texting her just to “check in.”

“[He once wrote,] ‘I want to make sure that I’m not being that. I want to make sure that how I’m being perceived is the way that I want.’ And I said, ‘OK, what is it?’” she told Us, noting that he questioned whether he spoke about his wife and daughter too much on the podcast.

Kelley reassured Warner that he hadn’t spoken about his family too much, adding that being a parent was one of his No. 1 achievements.

“His family [was] the light of his life,” Kelley said, noting he was “so proud” of his daughter.