Shortly after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled to vacate Bill Cosby’s 2018 conviction of sexual assault, the comedian’s former co-star on ‘80s hit sitcom The Cosby Show celebrated his release from prison after over two years behind bars.
“FINALLY!!!! A terrible wrong is being righted- a miscarriage of justice is corrected,” actress Phylicia Rashad tweeted Wednesday afternoon. Rashad, who played Cosby’s wife on The Cosby Show and is now a dean of Howard University’s fine arts college, notably limited who could reply to her tweet supporting the 83-year-old comedian.
Rashad has previously expressed sympathy for Cosby following his initial 2018 criminal conviction, suggesting last year that his numerous sexual assault accusers had a secret motive. In its ruling on Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court tossed his conviction in part because his testimony from a civil suit brought by Andrea Constand was presented at his sexual-assault trial despite previous promises from a prosecutor that he would never be charged.
Rashad eventually softened her celebratory remarks following intense backlash on Wednesday afternoon, additionally tweeting: “I fully support survivors of sexual assault coming forward. My post was in no way intended to be insensitive to their truth. Personally, I know from friends and family that such abuse has lifelong residual effects. My heartfelt wish is for healing.”
