Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
In the last few months, when asked about their support of their former co-star (and, basically, former boss), the cast members of The Cosby Show have offered words of support for Bill Cosby. Phylicia Rashad told a reporter, ““What you’re seeing is the destruction of a legacy. And I think it’s orchestrated.” Malcolm Jamal Warner gave a less aggressive response, saying, “The Bill Cosby I know has been great to me and great for a lot of people. What he’s done for comedy and television has been legendary and history-making.” But this week, former Cosby Show actor Joseph C. Phillips, who played Denise Huxtable’s husband Martin Kendall, wrote a very blunt blog post with the title: “Of Course Bill Cosby Is Guilty!”
In the post, Phillips recognized what most long-time Cosby fans are feeling: a mixture of shock and disgust, with a slight bit of disbelief. He recognizes Cosby as a role model, a pop culture figure he aspired to be like long before he was cast on his sitcom. “Few get an opportunity to meet their idol, much less work with them,” he writes. “I was blessed in that regard, and even more blessed that I found my idol as clever, kind, and brilliant as I had imagined.”
But he also doesn’t mince words when it comes to the subject at hand. When the accusations started hitting the front pages of newspapers, Phillips confesses, “I was fairly certain that some of the women were lying through their teeth, but certainly not all of them. Discovering that the man you idolize may be a serial rapist is a bit traumatic. I don’t imagine it is anything near to the trauma of the alleged victims. Nevertheless, I found it unsettling.”
But in the back of his mind was a memory of an open-secret on The Cosby Show‘s set: “When I joined the cast of the Cosby Show in 1989, it seemed to be common knowledge that Bill played around.” Although that information didn’t necessarily prove to Phillips that his co-star and idol was a rapist.
But it was an encounter with a former Cosby associate that changed it all for Phillips. He writes:
I was particularly shaken the afternoon I bumped into an old friend while shopping. The controversy was at its height. The story of Bill was all over the press. I hadn’t seen this woman for many years. Back in the day, I had asked her out on a few dates, but was relegated to the friend zone so fast it made my ears wiggle. We had kept in touch for a few years, but our lives had taken different paths. Over the years, I had watched with a passive interest as her career grew, so I was excited to see her and catch up a bit.
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.
We spent the next two hours sitting on a bench talking. Through tears, she told me her story. She cursed him for violating both her trust and her body. She cursed herself for not being smarter, and for degrading herself in pursuit of success. I listened patiently. As she began to run out of steam, she turned to me. “Do you believe me?”
“Yes.” I said. “I believe you.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Because I don’t believe that you are crazy and only a crazy person would sit with me all this time and share a fantasy.”
I am not sure if our conversation was cathartic for her. I know it was heart-breaking for me.
Phillips changed his perspective on Cosby’s legacy, because he heard first-hand from someone he knew and trusted that confirmed many of the accusations we’ve seen in the press from women we — and Phillips — don’t know personally. Sometimes, that’s what it takes for the disbelief to turn. But he also offered a final piece of advice to Cosby himself, who, alongside his wife, Camille, has furiously denied the accusations in an attempt to retain his legacy as one of the greatest TV personalities of the 20th Century. “Bill, you have a family who loves you, a wife who is devoted to you; you have more money than you can spend,” Phillips writes. “Please, go live a quiet country life. Allow those of us who truly love you to preserve just a bit of our enchantment.”
Related: ’30 Rock’ Episode Slyly Called Out Bill Cosby For Sexual Assault Back In ’09
Related: Bill Cosby’s Rape-y Tendencies Were Secretly Displayed In This ‘Cosby Show’ Episode About “Special” BBQ Sauce
Like what you see? Follow Decider on Facebook and Twitter to join the conversation, and sign up for our email newsletters to be the first to know about streaming movies and TV news!
