11 Celebrities Who Defended Bill Cosby

Jill Scott

The soul singer likes to use social media to share her beliefs and point of view. Late last year, Scott took to Twitter to defend Cosby after his victims went public. When asked why, she explained:

“I’m respecting a man who has done more for the image of Brown people that almost anyone EVER. From Fat Albert to the Huxtables”

She took to Twitter again this week to voice her disgust after the deposition news broke:

“About Bill Cosby. Sadly his own testimony offers PROOF of terrible deeds, which is ALL I have ever required to believe the accusations.”

Whoopi Goldberg

Whoopi Goldberg is no stranger to defending a dubious friend, even when they are in the middle of a public furor. She came to the defense of Mel Gibson after his anti-Semitic controversy, and she continues to have Cosby’s back. Here’s what she said on The View this week:

“Save your texts; save your nasty comments. I don’t care. I say this because this is my opinion, and in America, still, I know it’s a shock, but you are still innocent until proven guilty…He has not been proven a rapist.”

Rush Limbaugh

Limbaugh loves controversy, so the radio show host made sure he publicly defended Cosby when the allegations went public last year. He casually dismissed it all as someone setting him up:

“And I asked myself, what did Bill Cosby ever do to tick off some producer at CNN? Or some reporter? Or some assignment? What happened here?”

Don Lemon

You can always count on Don Lemon to make a bad situation worse, and his Cosby coverage was no different. While he didn’t defend Cosby, he went out of his way to blame one of the victims, Joan Tarshis, for not stopping the abuse:

“Because I know some of you — and you said this last night, that he — you lied to him and said ‘I have an infection, and if you rape me, or if you do — if you have intercourse with me, then you will probably get it and give it to your wife…’ And you said he made you perform oral sex…You know, there are ways not to perform oral sex if you didn’t want to do it.”

Phylicia Rashad

When news of the Cosby scandal first broke, everyone wanted to see what his TV wife would say about the matter. It wasn’t good. At first, she was quoted as having said “Forget those women.”

When asked about the situation again, Rashad had this to say in an ABC interview:

“That was 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…I am a woman. I would never say such a thing.”

Raven-Symoné

Another Cosby Show alumnus, Symoné opted to reserve her judgments when the ladies of The View talked about the scandal this week:

“I don’t really like to discuss [this] because he is the reason I am on this panel in the first place. He gave me my first job,” she said. “But at the same time, you need proof, and then I’ll be able to give my judgment here or there. And now there are real facts. More people can come up.”

Faizon Love

The Friday actor has been very vocal in his defense of Cosby, a bit too vocal. Yesterday, after the deposition went public, Twitter users reached out to Love in hopes of hearing him renounce his previous statements. Instead, he went all the way off. He posted pics of lynched Black men, and called Black people “new slaves” and “porch monkeys” for paying attention to the Cosby sex scandal instead of Dylan Roof and the Black Lives Matter movement.

“I hope that White boy get off and him and George Zimmerman go to the BET AWARDS together.. sponsored by BURGER KING.”

Whaaaaaat?

Keshia Knight Pulliam

Pulliam, who played Rudy Huxtable on The Cosby Show, said this earlier in the year about the accusations against her former TV dad:

“Ultimately, they’re just that, allegations,” she said. “You know, it’s very much been played out in the court of public opinion. But we’re still in America, where ultimately you’re innocent until proven guilty. I wasn’t there. That’s just not the man I know. So I can’t speak to it.”

Glenn Beck

The extreme right-wing radio host and author decided to step out in defense of Cosby in the worst way possible. He accused the media, specifically the AP, of raping Cosby by asking him a question about the rape allegations during an interview after allegedly claiming they wouldn’t. Beck had this to say:

“You want to talk about rape? That’s media rape right there. You said you would not do that. Since when does your ‘no’ mean ‘yes’? Do you know the definition of ‘no,’ sir? You’ve just raped Bill Cosby. You said you wouldn’t do it. You just did it and then you blamed it on him. My gosh, maybe we should have a lesson on rape.”

Azealia Banks

The outspoken rapper ranted on Twitter in defense of Cosby late last year. She even managed to throw some shade at her arch-nemesis, Iggy Azalea, in the process.

“A black man in office is SCARY to white folk, and they will try and do ANY AND EVERYTHING to remind us that they are in control.”

“from police murders, to macklemore and igloo australia…. They are even trying to tear down our father figure BILL COSBY”

Stacey Dash

After defending Bill Cosby, Dash has since said that she regrets sticking up for the comedian when she did. Back in November, she posted her thoughts on the allegations against Cosby on Twitter.