Close friend of Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s widow launches GoFundMe to support her as legal battle over his estate continues
Destiny Rael, who has been close to Tenisha Warner for nearly 20 years and introduced her to the actor, says the GoFundMe is for Warner and their daughter and that she isn’t taking sides in the family drama.
Last month, the court battle over Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s estate gained national attention after his widow, Tenisha Warner, sought to receive funds from the family trust, which is overseen by his mother, Pamela. Now, one of Tenisha Warner’s closest friends is asking for assistance for her and her 9-year-old daughter.
Destiny Rael, who has been close to Tenisha for 19 years, established the GoFundMe not to get involved in the family drama between Tenisha and Pamela, but to help out the woman whom she introduced to Malcolm.
“I am organizing this campaign because I have witnessed, up close, the depth of Tenisha’s grief and the weight she has had to carry,” she wrote. “Because I know she would never ask for this kind of support herself, so I am asking on her behalf.”
She added, “I have watched Tenisha spend this year grieving the love of her life while honoring the promise they made to each other, to homeschool their nine-year-old daughter. Every single day she shows up for her child as though her own world had not fallen apart, and still makes sure breakfast is on the table.”
The GoFundMe has a goal of $150,000.
Malcolm died in July 2025 in a drowning accident while the family was on vacation in Costa Rica.
In the year that followed, both Tenisha Warner and Pamela Warner shared tributes to him, all while quietly attempting to sort out his estate. In a tribute shared on Malcolm’s legacy Instagram account, Pamela wrote, “During my year long journey, I have discovered how cruel, evil and greedy a human can be,” she wrote in part, without naming anyone. “I have also discovered the depth of love, care, concern and support that humans are capable of.”
In a lawsuit filed in Georgia, Tenisha claimed she is owed more than $1.2 million under a premarital agreement and a $1 million life insurance policy that Malcolm agreed to for her and their daughter but sadly never got to fulfill.
“Malcolm had worked with his attorneys to update his estate plan to provide for his wife and daughter, but he passed away before he could sign it,” Rael wrote. “They thought they had time.”
The current plan in place for the late actor dates back to 1996, the one overseen by Pamela Warner. In her GoFundMe post, Rael insists that the GoFundMe was not established to get in between the ongoing court battle between Tenisha and Pamela and is only to support Tenisha and her daughter.
“I am not asking anyone to take sides in a family matter that was never meant to be public,” she wrote. “I am asking you to stand with a grieving wife and mother, and her young daughter, so they don’t lose what Malcolm always intended to provide for them.”
“Every contribution, no matter the amount, makes a meaningful difference. If you are not able to give, sharing this page and keeping Tenisha and her daughter in your thoughts is a powerful gesture of support.”