Earlier in the week, we reported on Bill Cosby‘s TV wife and longtime friend, Phylicia Rashad, coming to his defense against allegations he sexually assaulted and drugged a number of women going back as far as two decades ago.
Cosby’s accusers even include former models Janice Dickinson and Beverly Johnson. It was during a recent red carpet appearance for independent film, Selma, that Rashad defended Cosby. She was even quoted as saying “forget these women.”
The actress is now clarifying her statements during a sit down interview with ABC News.
When asked about the “forget these women” quote, she said:
“I am a woman. I would never say such a thing. I would never think such a thing. My message is, what happens to a nation in which people knowingly and willfully disavow the tenets that describe the nation? … This is not about the women. This is about something else. This is about the obliteration of a legacy.”
On innocent until proven guilty:
“We are really missing what is wrong here, which is, this is the United States of America. I know it’s changing, but it’s still the United States of America and there are tenets that we live by. There is the Constitution of the United States, which ensures innocence until proof of guilt and that has not happened.”
On the destruction of Bill Cosby’s legacy:
“But what has happened is declaration in the media of guilt, without proof. And a legacy is being destroyed because of it. It’s being obliterated.”
On Bill Cosby…the individual:
“Speaking to the character of the man that I know, this has not been easy. This has not been easy at all but he’s not a coward. I don’t know what he will do in that way but I know that he won’t be hiding. … He likes being around people too much and he respects people.”
Head over to Mediaoutrage.com for more on this story. You may also watch Rashad’s full interview with ABC below.
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