An Open Letter To Phylicia Rashad

Did you ever hear the expression, ‘Sometimes it’s best to say nothing’? I wish you had because maybe then you would have kept quiet, rather than coming out in support of ALLEGED serial rapist Bill Cosby.

Sure, you can support your friend; you can say you are shocked to hear these stories; you can say this doesn’t sound like the man you know. But what you cannot, and should not, say is that this never happened, and especially not for the ludicrous reasons you give.

You said, and I’ll quote:

“What you’re seeing is the destruction of a legacy. And I think it’s orchestrated. I don’t know why or who’s doing it, but it’s the legacy. And it’s a legacy that is so important to the culture.”

So, you’re just gonna toss out a conspiracy theory with absolutely nothing to back it up? Not so bright, Phylicia. And why, why, would nearly thirty women, over the course of forty-some-odd years, who don’t know one another, suddenly gather now to destroy the legacy of a TV star? What do they gain by that?

Nothing; nothing except having their voices heard, their accusations levied.

You said all of this is being done to keep him off television — Cosby had a new TV deal in the works before these dozens of women came forward which has since been canceled — but if that’s the story, then why didn’t these women come forward back in his 1980s heyday with their ‘lies’? Why now, is what I’m asking? Why would a woman say that Cosby raped her in the 70s … in the 80s … in the 90s … wait twenty, thirty, forty years to come forward? What do they have to gain?

Nothing; nothing except having their voices heard, their accusations levied.

And I am not saying he’s guilty, though I am saying that once nearly thirty women come forward with nearly identical tales of being drugged and raped by Bill Cosby, his innocence seems slightly tarnished; I do believe in innocent until proven guilty but since he’ll never have to face his accusers, and since he refuses to even speak about it, do we just look the other way and pretend these women don’t exist?

But you don’t stop there, with talk of legacies and conspiracies, you take the ridiculousness up a notch by claiming that, while working with Cosby, you never saw any sign of this type of behavior from him. Well, Phylicia, did you expect? Do you think he would have brought these women onto the set of The Cosby Show and drugged and raped them in front of everyone? Rapists hide; rapists lie; rapists deceive. They don’t declare to their co-workers that they spent the weekend trying to drug Beverly Johnson so they could forcibly rape her.

And then you appeared on Good Morning America and continued to put your foot in your mouth. You said Bill Cosby could not do those things because he’s an intellectual.

So, smart men don’t rape?

You said he couldn’t do it because he’s generous.

So, men who give of their time and money cannot force themselves on women?

I understand you are trying to stand up for your friend, but you need to realize your arguments are lame. No one is trying to tarnish his legacy; not one woman said, back in the 70s, Hmmm, I’ll wait until 2014 and then I’ll say Cosby raped me just so they could ruin his reputation. That’s ridiculous.

Also ridiculous is the way you oh so subtly blame the victims — I’m not talking about your “Forget those women” comment … I’ll get to that in a minute — and yet simply ignore the fact that there must be some shred of truth when thirty women step forward and tell the same story of how they met Cosby, what he said to them, where he took them, what he did to them, and what he said to them after.

Thirty women cannot be wrong; not all of them.

Now, I’ll back you up on this, because, in your statement, you said, and again I quote in full, about Beverly Johnson and Janice Dickinson specifically:

“Forget these women. What you’re seeing is the destruction of a legacy. And I think it’s orchestrated. I don’t know why or who’s doing it, but it’s the legacy. And it’s a legacy that is so important to the culture.”

You didn’t mean to literally forget them, you meant to take them out of the equation so you could show off your conspiracy theory about a shadowy someone trying to ruin Cosby’s legacy. But you are being rude, and shaming, to these women when you say Bill Cosby couldn’t have done these things because he’s smart, philanthropic and never did it in front of you.

Stand up for your friend, if you will, but bear in mind there has to be a grain of truth, or perhaps an entire sand dune of truth, in the stories. Stand up for your friend, but take a minute to stop and think about why, why, these women would do this now, and why, why, Bill Cosby won’t answer his accusers. Stand up for your friend, but realize that when you do, you are also saying that these thirty women ... and counting ... are all liars.

Then take a seat.