Bill Cosby's "work wife" Phylicia Rashad apologized to her Howard University community Friday for supporting the actor's release from prison this week.
"This week, I tweeted a statement that caused so much hurt in so many people — both broadly and inside the Howard community," Rashad, who played Clair Huxtable, the wife of Cosby's Heathcliff Huxtable on "The Cosby Show," wrote in a letter to Howard University students, faculty, staff, parents, and alumni.
"I offer my most sincere apology. I have since removed that upsetting tweet. I am sorry. I intend to earn your trust and your forgiveness."
The dean of the college of fine arts at Howard University, Rashad's deleted a tweet that read a "FINALLY!!! A terrible wrong is being righted – a miscarriage of justice is corrected," as Cosby was released from prison from his 3- to 10-year sentence for sexual assault. Cosby served just two years and a Pennsylvania Supreme Court vacated the sentence because the state violated a past agreement to not to prosecute him.
Still, Rashad was forced to apologize because her tweeted position "lacked sensitivity" to sexual assault victims. She deleted her original tweet and issued a new one vowing to fully support "survivors of sexual assault coming forward."
"My remarks were in no way directed toward survivors of sexual assault," she added in her letter. "I vehemently oppose sexual violence, find no excuse for such behavior, and I know that Howard University has a zero-tolerance policy toward interpersonal violence.
"The most important role I have ever played in my life is that of mother to my children, who have taught me to live a life that nourishes, protects, and encourages others. Though they are adults now, I still feel the primal instinct to protect them. This is the same feeling that hold for Howard University and each of her students.
"As a dean in this revered and beloved institution, I am committed to this."
Rashad added she is going to "engage in active listening and participate in trainings to not only reinforce University protocol and conduct, but also to learn how I can become a stronger ally to sexual assault survivors and everyone who has suffered at the hands of an abuser."
Howard University tweeted a statement showing it had an impact on Rashad's multi-layered response.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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