Cosby Show star Phylicia Rashad blasted as 'rape apologist' for celebrating Cosby's impending prison release


Phylicia Rashad, the actress behind Clair Huxtable on The Cosby Show, is under fire after celebrating her former co-star Bill Cosby's impending release from prison.
After a court overturned Cosby's sexual assault conviction on Wednesday, Rashad, who starred as the wife of Cosby's character on the hit sitcom, celebrated the news in a tweet, writing, "FINALLY!!!! A terrible wrong is being righted — a miscarriage of justice is corrected!"
Her reaction came amid a sea of other tweets decrying the news that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned Cosby's conviction on charges of sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Rashad's tweet immediately drew heavy criticism, with The West Wing star Joshua Malina writing, "Better to remain silent and be thought a rape apologist, than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt." Others blasted her reaction as "awful" and the "all time most disapointing tweet" while noting that she was appointed dean of Howard University's College of Fine Arts in May.
"Phylicia's response here is not surprising," reporter Victoria M. Walker wrote, "but it is disappointing, given her role as an academic dean charged with the welfare of her students, some of whom will be survivors."
Rashad previously addressed the allegations against Cosby in 2015, saying "I love him" and criticizing what she described as the "destruction of a legacy."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
August 31 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include FEMA's new scheme, Gavin Newsom's antics, and a clue in the Epstein files
-
Disarming Hezbollah: Lebanon's risky mission
Talking Point Iran-backed militia has brought 'nothing but war, division and misery', but rooting them out for good is a daunting and dangerous task
-
Woof! Britain's love affair with dogs
The Explainer The UK's canine population is booming. What does that mean for man's best friend?
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play