Bill Cosby’s TV Wife Phylicia Rashad Celebrates His Prison Release: ‘A Terrible Wrong Is Being Righted’
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Phylicia Rashad, who played Bill Cosby’s TV wife on all eight seasons of The Cosby Show, celebrated his shocking release from prison on Wednesday.
Shortly after the comedian’s sexual assault conviction was overturned by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Rashad took to Twitter to share her satisfaction with the news.
“FINALLY!!!! A terrible wrong is being righted- a miscarriage of justice is corrected!” the actress wrote, along with a photo of Cosby.
FINALLY!!!! A terrible wrong is being righted- a miscarriage of justice is corrected! pic.twitter.com/NrGUdwr23c
— Phylicia Rashad (@PhyliciaRashad) June 30, 2021
Claire Huxtable, the name of Rashad’s Cosby Show character, quickly began trending on Twitter — where many condemned the actress:
The bye Phylicia to end all bye Phylicia’s. https://t.co/w7oeYrKGHe
— Billy Baldwin (@BillyBaldwin) June 30, 2021
It’s almost like one of the reasons people don’t come out against powerful men is that the people around the powerful men are fucking entranced. https://t.co/giSOtOXqid
— Louis Virtel (@louisvirtel) June 30, 2021
Bill Cosby admitted to drugging women and he was released on a technicality. Bill Cosby is still a rapist, and I hope the Cosby Show residual checks are worth what is left of your dignity. https://t.co/LId0SIymgs
— Christopher Bouzy (@cbouzy) June 30, 2021
Phylicia! #BillCosby being released from prison on a technicality is a complete miscarriage of justice & will never be an exoneration for the brutal crimes he committed against women. The world is now woke & women will no longer be silenced. You should be ashamed of yourself. https://t.co/BVWbmZME3m
— Gretchen Carlson (@GretchenCarlson) June 30, 2021
I’m sure Phylicia Rashad being the new dean of Howard University’s College of Fine Arts will have absolutely no bearing whatsoever on how that program handles student claims of sexual harassment and assault. Yep, nothing to see here, folks. Shut up and dance. https://t.co/MoNjHeFCYW
— Saeed Jones (@theferocity) June 30, 2021
Cosby had been serving three to 10 years in prison at Pennsylvania’s State Correctional Institution at Phoenix since 2018. He had been found guilty of raping former Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his Philadelphia home in 2004.
On Wednesday, however, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court announced that Cosby’s agreement with a previous prosecutor in 2005 should have prevented him from being charged in the case, and his conviction has been vacated.
Rashad previously defended Cosby in 2015, denouncing the dozens of allegations of sexual assault against the comedian as nothing more than an “orchestrated” effort to tarnish his legacy.
Update: After receiving backlash over her post, Rashad tweeted a follow-up statement reading, “I fully support survivors of sexual assault coming forward. My post was in no way intended to be insensitive to their truth. Personally, I know from friends and family that such abuse has lifelong residual effects. My heartfelt wish is for healing.”
I fully support survivors of sexual assault coming forward. My post was in no way intended to be insensitive to their truth. Personally, I know from friends and family that such abuse has lifelong residual effects. My heartfelt wish is for healing.
— Phylicia Rashad (@PhyliciaRashad) June 30, 2021
