During the second episode of The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, the host took on Bill Cosby’s ongoing scandal with humor and intensity. The humor is self-evident, but the intensity? Sure, it’s easy to understand why anyone would feel strongly about either defending the esteemed comedian’s reputation or supporting the victims of his numerous alleged sexual crimes. But Wilmore came out swinging when he declared, “That motherf*cker did it!”
Turns out, there’s a very personal reason for Wilmore’s unwillingness to support Cosby — his mother:
THR: Night two, you go after Cosby. A lot of black comics have not wanted to attack a guy who opened so many doors…
Wilmore: Unfortunately, some of those doors were to hotel rooms. (Laughs.)
THR: Did you have any hesitation?
Wilmore: He was never a hero of mine. I liked Cosby, but I have a different relationship with him than a lot of people because I didn’t grow up on The Cosby Show. I grew up on I Spy and Chet Kincaid. I remember in the late ’70s, early ’80s, my mom met Bill Cosby down in San Diego at this tennis tournament. She came back and said, “We asked him for his autograph, and he was so mean, so nasty. He said, ‘I don’t do that.’ ” I was like, “Man, what an asshole.” My opinion of Cosby at that point was like, “What a jerk.” I never even watched The Cosby Show. I always thought, “That’s great that that show is on,” but about him I was like, “Whatever, Cosby.” Richard Pryor was my hero. Richard Pryor was keeping it 100 [percent real]. (Via THR)
That Wilmore dislikes Cosby so much for something that didn’t even happen to him over 30 years ago seems a bit silly. Then again, the Nightly Show host is talking about his mom — you don’t mess with mom. Once you add the particular nature of the sexual abuse allegations and Wilmore’s preference for Pryor, that second episode begins to make a lot more sense.
(Via The Hollywood Reporter)
