The Internet defends Phylicia Rashad after she and her ‘Cosby Show’ character were embroiled on Twitter on Mother’s Day

Actor Phylicia Rashad was attacked on Twitter on Mother’s Day by a woman who blamed her for Bill Cosby’s sexual assault, and the internet came to the “Cosby Show” star’s defense.

“Claire Huxtable is the creator of the longest running and most prolific drug rapist in American history, Bill Cosby,” Twitter user Lisa Talmadge wrote in a now-deleted tweet, according to TMZ. “Everyone on set knew he was a brutal predator.” . Everybody. 75 women were drugged and raped by Cosby and he got away with it thanks to his helpers.”

Talmadge was referring to Clair Huxtable, Rashad’s character on “The Cosby Show,” who was married to Cosby’s Cliff Huxtable. Most of Twitter did not respond well to this tweet.

“So this morning you woke up to attack a Black woman (first confusing her with her character and then disrespecting her real name) for the despicable actions of your fellow her career. Why is there no fire for white show producers, Lisa?”, one user tweeted at Talmadge.
Cosby was convicted in 2018 of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004. He is currently behind bars, serving a sentence of three to 10 years. While he was convicted of an assault, more than 50 women came forward with allegations that Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted them over the course of decades.

Back in 2015, Rashad defended her co-star, noting that she never noticed any behavior that suggested he was a predator, Hollywood Reporter reported at the time.

“Forget these women,” she said. “What you are seeing is the destruction of a heritage. And I think it was staged. I don’t know why or who is doing it, but that’s the legacy. And that is a very important heritage for the culture.”

In a more recent October 2020 interview with Bustle, she did not directly mention Cosby but continued to defend the work they did together. When asked how she might respond to people who say they can’t watch “The Cosby Show” anymore, she replied: “I don’t know why people feel that way. I just don’t accept what someone says because they say it and they say it loudly. The Internet has given many anonymous people a huge voice. And this has happened before.”

Her defenders argued on Sunday that Rashad was not responsible for Cosby’s behavior and that she did not appear to be aware of his actions at the time.

“Neither Claire Huxtable nor Phylicia Rashad is responsible for Bill Cosby’s actions. She was his co-worker and employee, not his supervisor or accomplice in his crimes,” one Twitter user exclaimed