Phylicia Rashad claims she was misquoted & this is not about the women
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Yesterday, we talked about Phylicia Rashad’s defense of Bill Cosby. She called his ongoing scandal “orchestrated” and insinuated that a mysterious force was trying to destroy the Cosby “legacy.” As many of you pointed out, Phylicia can’t be pleased about how TV Land’s cancellation of The Cosby Show reruns has affected her residuals. She gave a baffling, victim-blaming rant to journo Roger Friedman. He enthusiastically (and I infer this from his narration of events) published Phylicia’s quotes.
It was a big day for Cosby news. Gloria Allred held another press conference (a month after the first one) where she introduced the world to three more Cosby accusers. Gloria called out Rashad: “Phylicia, if anyone did to you or to your daughter, your sister or or your mother, what Cosby is alleged to have done to these women, I have no doubt that you would not be saying forget these women.” Yep. The “forget those women” will forever tarnish Rashad’s legacy. Now she claims to have been misquoted, for real. Rashad visited Nightline last night. I included a clip, but here she is digging a deeper hole:
The amazing Bill Cosby: “He’s a genius. He is generous. He’s kind. He’s inclusive.”
The problem: “What has happened is the declaration in the media of guilt … without proof.”
On “forget those women”: “That is a misquote. That is not what I said. What I said is ‘This is not about the women. This is about something else. This is about the obliteration of legacy.’
She was misquoted, for real? “I am a woman. I am a woman. I would never say such a thing.”
On the allegations: “I had never heard that before. And I can’t even speak to those things and don’t want to.”
Who would have a vested interest to “orchestrate” this? “That’s my question too.”
[From ABC – Nightline]
Huh. She completely denies saying “forget those women,” so it’s her word against Roger Friedman. He must be thrilled. What’s odd is that Rashad actually sounded worse as she tried to defend herself. “This is not about the women,” really? All of the allegations have everything to do with the victims, but Rashad refuses to open her eyes. All she sees is the marvelous Bill Cosby — who was the reason she was still making money in syndication. I guess maybe it’s not about women at all for Rashad. It’s only about her wallet.
Meanwhile, Cosby returned to the stage (for the first time since November) last night. After canceling about 10 concerts, he surfaced in Toronto to make cold weather jokes. How wholesome, right? His appearance was greeted by a dozen or so protesters and hundreds of fans.
Photos courtesy of WENN
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