On the heels of even long-time supporter Whoopi Goldberg turning her back on Bill Cosby, Joseph C. Phillips — the actor who played Lt. Martin Kendall, Denise Huxtable’s husband and Olivia’s father on The Cosby Show — has written a lengthy blog post declaring what he believes is the beleaguered comedian’s guilt.
He starts out praising Cosby as his childhood idol, the man he looked up to next to his own father. As he recalls how lucky he was to get a chance to work with what he perceived to be a great, respected man, he admits Cosby’s dalliances were fairly well known at the time.
When I joined the cast of the Cosby Show in 1989, it seemed to be common knowledge that Bill played around. When I say common knowledge, I mean that it was just something that people seemed to know without anyone saying anything. Bill sleeping around was a “fact” that, like, the air, seemed to just be. You didn’t have to see it or hear it to know that it existed.
He continues to say that when the scandal broke in the fall of 2014, he initially believed Cosby to be innocent, and that the many of the women who came forward were “lying through their teeth.” However, he became increasingly disturbed as the accusations piled up, and it became more difficult to accept Cosby as being innocent. It wasn’t until running into an old friend, a woman who had once been close with Cosby, that he realized the gravity of the allegations.
As we spoke, I recalled that Bill had been her mentor (play father, teacher… something. I couldn’t quite recall what it was). The question popped into my head.
“Hey, do you mind if I ask you something?”
She looked at me and then asked, “Is it going to make me cry?”
I was a bit taken aback. “Well,” I stammered. “I hope it doesn’t make you cry.”
She smiled. “Go ahead and ask your question.”
“Back in the day,” I started. “I remember that you knew Bill – that he was like your mentor or something. Did he ever…”
Before I finished the sentence, she began to cry.
You can read his entire post here, but he finishes with a plea that Cosby retire and live his remaining years out of the public eye, so that those who loved him can retain the enchantment they once felt. Phillips is the first Cosby Show cast member to come forward with a statement perceiving Cosby’s guilt.
(Via Joseph C. Phillips via TheWrap)
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