Joey Lawrence Recalls Chasing Mom's Mugger Down the Street at Age 5

Joey Lawrence Recalls Chasing His Mother's Mugger Down the Street — at Age 5: 'Apparently I Went Nuts'

The former child actor tells his Brotherly Love podcast co-hosts Matthew and Andy Lawrence about how he pursued the robber and yelled, "You're not throwing my mom in a trash can!"

Stephanie Wenger

Published on February 23, 2023 02:27PM EST

Joey Lawrence can now look back and laugh at an intense incident from his childhood.

In an exclusive preview of the new Brotherly Love podcast, the 46-year-old actor recalls coming to his mother Donna's defense as a 5-year-old when she was mugged in New York City in 1981 while helping him pursue his dream of stardom.

"We get off [at] the train station and we're trying to hail a cab," he tells his brothers and co-hosts Matthew and Andy Lawrence. "You know, 5 years old and mom, God bless her, was all dressed up for my auditions. She had on a navy blue blazer. She had a little brooch with two gold pins with her sons on them."

According to Lawrence, a man approached the mother and son after they had ben in the big city "for three seconds, like, 'Welcome to New York.'"

He recalls, "He picks mom up because she is not a very big person. She is 5 feet [tall]. Picks her up, rips the brooch. I'm standing right in front of her, I'll never forget it. I mean, again, I was 5 — but I remember it like it was yesterday."

Joey Lawrence — Kelsey McNeal/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

The Blossom alum says the man ripped his mother's jewelry "right off her lapel" and then picked her up and threw her in "one of those big trash cans that are on the corner."

"And apparently I went nuts," he says. "Mom told me — I don't remember this part — I must have chased the guy halfway down the block, going, like, 'You're not throwing my mom in a trash can!'"

In November, Joey opened up to PEOPLE about working with his brothers ahead of the launch of the new podcast.

"We have been working together more and more last few years," he shared at the time. "We did a Christmas movie for Amazon called Mistletoe Mixup and we're shooting a sequel to that right now, which will be out next Christmas for Amazon. We took a little break from doing that."

He added, "And now, as grown men we're like, 'Let's do this. Let's have some fun.' It just felt like the right time. I think the fans have really been driving it."

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The Lawrences' Brotherly Love podcast drops Friday morning at 3 a.m. ET, with a video version to follow at 9 a.m. ET on YouTube.