Malcolm-Jamal Warner's widow, friend speak out about fundraising effort amid legal battle

The woman who started an online fundraising effort for the widow and daughter of the late "Cosby Show" star Malcolm-Jamal Warner says she hopes the effort helps provide them financial relief amid a legal battle over his estate.

"This year has been so extremely painful for Tanisha and their daughter," Destiny Rael said in an interview that aired Friday on "Good Morning America," referring to Dr. Tenisha Warner and the young daughter she shared with Malcolm-Jamal Warner.

"It's her life completely disrupted, completely turned upside down, you know?," Rael said of her longtime friend. "Malcolm is the love of her life."

Malcolm-Jamal Warner, best known for playing Theo Huxtable on "The Cosby Show," died on July 20, 2025, while swimming during a family vacation in Costa Rica. The actor was caught by a strong rip current and accidentally drowned, according to police. He was 54.

Last month, Tenisha Warner filed a lawsuit against her late husband's mother, Pamela Warner, the successor trustee of Malcolm-Jamal Warner's family trust.

In her lawsuit, filed in DeKalb County Superior Court in Georgia, Tenisha Warner claims that she is owed more than $1.2 million under a premarital agreement, including an alleged $1 million life insurance obligation, and claims that Malcolm-Jamal Warner intended to provide for her and their daughter.

Rael told ABC News any money raised through her online fundraising effort will help with Tenisha Warner's housing costs and day-to-day stability amid the legal battle.

Tenisha Warner said the fundraising effort by Rael, whom she described as a close friend of 19 years, was created with her "blessing."

"I am deeply grateful to Destiny, and to every person who has donated, shared, or simply kept my daughter and me in their thoughts," she said in a statement to ABC News.

Malcolm-Jamal Warner's mom has not commented on the fundraising effort for her granddaughter and Tenisha Warner.

In a statement to ABC News, attorneys for Pamela Warner said her priority "has always been ensuring the financial security of Malcolm’s family and the preservation of Malcolm’s legacy."

"Tenisha's recent public representation that Pamela was trying to block her granddaughter's financial support is untrue," Pamela Warner's legal team, Jeffer Mangels & Mitchell LLP, said in a statement Thursday, adding, "Pamela has since reached a settlement with her granddaughter’s representatives which is subject to court approval ... The agreement provides for Malcolm’s daughter to receive the majority remainder of the Trust and Estate.”

The statement continued, "Pamela remains hopeful that all parties will support the resolution and that her granddaughter will receive the full benefit of Malcolm's legacy without further delay."

Attorneys for Pamela Warner also told ABC News that Malcolm-Jamal Warner provided for his wife and daughter with a separate trust.