All About Laughs
Everyone is coming to terms with the new verdict regarding embroiled comedy legend Bill Cosby. The former sitcom star has been battling allegations for years of misconduct. He has been spending time in a federal prison already serving 3 years of his 10 year sentence. Well it appears now Cosby will be getting off. One person weighing in already is his former television wife Phylicia Rashad.
Bill Cosby was accused of and later convicted of several counts of assault resulting in his incarceration. Many felt justice was served and sided with the victims in the case, while other stayed silent on the matter. Cosby was recently denied parole despite his continued claims of innocence.The Keystone State’s Parole Board had made it very clear that he was not getting out of jail anytime soon. Via their statement: “Following an interview with you and a review of your file, and having considered all matters required pursuant to the parole board, in the exercise of its discretion, has determined at this time that: you are denied parole/reparole.” According to TMZ, “A lot of factors went into [the] decision to rule against the [Cosby]. For instance, he didn’t participate in a treatment program for offenders and he failed to develop a parole release plan.”
Can’t fathom how infuriating and devastating today’s decision is for so many women who waited for accountability for so long. Or as NY mag once put it: “No one wanted to believe the TV dad in a cardigan was capable of such things, and so they didn’t.”https://t.co/MLJr4M8v8n
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) June 30, 2021
Via NBC News: “When an unconditional charging decision is made publicly and with the intent to induce action and reliance by the defendant, and when the defendant does so to his detriment (and in some instances upon the advice of counsel), denying the defendant the benefit of that decision is an affront to fundamental fairness, particularly when it results in a criminal prosecution that was foregone for more than a decade,” according to the high court opinion.
Cosby’s greatest contribution to the world was by far the sitcom The Cosby Show. Debuting in September of 1984, Cosby was involved in every aspect of the series, even pulling inspiration from his own life to inform the characters and plot lines. Clair was played by Phylicia Rashad, who has been adamant about her support for Cosby since his initial conviction. “I just don’t accept what somebody says because they say it, and they say it in a loud voice,” Rashad told Bustle last year when asked about Cosby. “The internet has given a lot of anonymous people a very loud voice.”
Today she tweeted a picture of her on screen husband with the caption “Finally!!! A terrible wrong is being righted- a miscarriage of justice is corrected!”
FINALLY!!!! A terrible wrong is being righted- a miscarriage of justice is corrected! pic.twitter.com/NrGUdwr23c
— Phylicia Rashad (@PhyliciaRashad) June 30, 2021
Phylicia Rashad’s celebratory tweet was met with a ton of backlash – mainly critics calling out her recently being named, Howard University College Of Fine Arts Dean and requesting she stepped down immediately (all before her role begins).
Check out the backlash below:
Phylicia Rashad should STEP DOWN as the dean of Howard University’s College of Fine Arts. Having an r*pe apologist as dean of a college will put students’ safety on the line and demonize survivors when they report their cases on campus.
— 𝐵𝑒𝒸𝒸𝒶 (@MJFINESSELOVER) June 30, 2021
Petition to remove Phylicia Rashad as the dean of the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts at Howard University. https://t.co/87iQH4PVkT
— uchenna andrew (@UcheOfforjebe) June 30, 2021
Phylicia’s response here is not surprising but it is disappointing, given her role as an academic dean charged with the welfare of her students, some of whom will be survivors. https://t.co/TtOshLqtMk
— Victoria M. Walker (@vikkie) June 30, 2021
I feel absolutely awful for women at @HowardU. I wouldn’t feel safe coming forward with people like this in leadership roles. https://t.co/icr6a1Rffc
— Trill (@NotHustleAndFro) June 30, 2021
