(CNN) — Bill Cosby’s TV wife is standing firmly in his corner.
Showbiz 411 reported that Phylicia Rashad, who played Clair Huxtable on NBC’s “The Cosby Show,” told the outlet that she never saw any indication of the behavior that many women have attributed to the legendary actor.
He has been accused of harassing, drugging and sexually assaulting multiple women. No charges have ever been filed against Cosby.
“Forget these women,” Rashad said. “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, but it’s the legacy. And it’s a legacy that is so important to the culture.”
More than 20 women have come forward with claims, and a defamation lawsuit has been filed against Cosby. The long-admired actor and comedian has seen his reputation suffer in the wake of the allegations, including the cancellation of a planned television show and the suspension of the Cosby Chair for the Humanities at Spelman College in Atlanta, where he and his wife, Camille, have been longtime benefactors.
Rashad, who also starred as the actor’s wife on the CBS show “Cosby,” said she sees the controversy as part of a larger plot.
“Someone is determined to keep Bill Cosby off TV,” she said. “And it’s worked. All his contracts have been canceled.”
The actress said she loves Cosby and defended his wife, saying there was no way Camille Cosby would stand for such behavior from her husband of 50 years.
“This is a tough woman, a smart woman,” Showbiz 411’s Roger Friedman writes that Rashad told him. “She’s no pushover.”
She also spoke on the legacy of the beloved show that cemented her and Cosby as one of TV’s favorite couples.
“This show represented America to the outside world,” she said. “This was the American family. And now you’re seeing it being destroyed. Why?”
Asked why she believed Cosby hasn’t spoken up to defend himself other than to say that the black media should cover the story with a “neutral mind,” Rashad said she believes he has too much pride to do it.
“If he spoke now, what do you think the media would do with it?” she said.
The-CNN-Wire
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