Phylicia Rashad and her "Cosby Show" character have been accused of enabling co-star Bill Cosby, who was convicted of sexual assault in 2018, and now the internet is fuming.
Rashad played Cosby's wife, Clair Huxtable, in the series. The character was once one of America's most-loved mothers, but on Sunday — Mother's Day — she was Twitter-shamed.
"Clair Huxtable was an enabler of the longest and most prolific drug rape predator in U.S. history, Bill Cosby," Lisa Talmadge wrote in a now-deleted tweet, according to the Daily News. "Everyone on set knew he was a sadistic predator. Everyone. Seventy-five women drugged and raped by Cosby and he got away with it because of enablers."
It was not long before Twitter users jumped to defend Rashad.
"Neither Claire [sic] Huxtable or Phylicia Rashad are responsible for Bill Cosby's actions. She was his co worker and employee not his supervisor or co conspirator in his crimes," one Twitter user wrote.
"It’s NOT a good idea to BLAME a Black for the behavior of a Black man, especially on Mother’s Day where a lot of people look to Phylicia Rashad/Claire Huxtable as the greatest TV mother, especially Black TV mother, of all time. This is a little bit of poor timing," another user wrote, referring to the fact that Talmadge wrote the tweet on Mother's Day, according to the Daily News.
"This is dismissive and unacceptable. As someone who has liked and admired your work and passion, and as a survivor myself, this doesn’t help anyone. You deliberately dehumanized a woman by referring to her as a fictional character. You accused her of specific actions," a third tweeted.
"Phylicia Rashad and Debbie Allen have helped hundreds, maybe even thousands, of Black women succeed in life and better themselves over the last 50 years. What has Lisa Talmadge done for Black women?" another Twitter user added.
In a second now-deleted tweet, Talmadge responded to her critics, stating that her loyalty lay with Cosby’s rape survivors.
"I’m sorry people don’t like me today but my allegiance will always be with the survivors and I will always side eye all the enablers,” she wrote, according to the Daily News.
Cosby, a comedian and actor best known as the lovable father from the 1980's TV hit “The Cosby Show,” was convicted of 3 counts of aggravated indecent assault after drugging a former friend, Andrea Constand, in January 2004 at his suburban Philadelphia mansion. At the time, Constand was director of operations of Temple University women’s basketball team. Cosby is serving a 3-to-10-year sentence in a state prison near Philadelphia.
Related Stories:
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.