No one has the public ear about Bill Cosby more than Phylicia Rashad, who played Claire Huxtable to Cosby’s Cliff on the iconic The Cosby Show. Rashad’s close working relationship with Cosby over such a long period makes her an obvious witness to his character–a witness people want to hear from. Yet Rashad has been notably silent as multiple Cosby accusers have come forward. She didn’t give any credence to the accusations, nor did she rush to join the public defense of Cosby either, as Jill Scott, Whoopi Goldberg and Cosby’s wife Camille have.
But at a recent lunch to celebrate the new film Selma a reporter caught up with Rashad in a moment of candor. Roger Friedman of Showbiz411 reports that Phylicia Rashad told him that in all the years she’s known Bill Cosby, she never saw the behavior alleged by the women who have come forward. (This, of course, is not surprising since the victims all claim to have been alone with Cosby during his alleged crimes.) Further, Rashad believes there is some kind of cabal against Cosby, saying “someone is determined to keep Bill Cosby off TV.” Rashad thinks Bill Cosby is being railroaded: “Forget these women,” Rashad told Friedman. “What you’re seeing is the destruction of a legacy. And I think it’s orchestrated. I don’t know why or who’s doing it…”
