Bill Cosby Lashes Out At Howard University Following The Backlash Against Phylicia Rashad

Yesterday Bill Cosby slammed Howard University after the school chastised his on-screen wife, Phylicia Rashad, for celebrating his recent prison release after his rape conviction was overturned this week.

In a statement, Cosby argued that freedom of speech “is taught or supposed to be taught every day at that renowned law school, which resides on your campus.” The actor also blamed the media for the January Capitol riot.

“Those same media insurrectionists are trying to demolish the Constitution of these United States of America on this Independence Day,” he said in a statement released by his representative, Andrew Wyatt. “No technicality—it’s a violation of one’s rights & we the people stand in support of Ms. Phylicia Rashad,” he said.

The outburst came after Rashad faced criticism for tweeting her support for Cosby only hours after his release last week. Rashad captioned her tweet with, “FINALLY!” and a photo of her former co-star. “A terrible wrong is righted- a miscarriage of justice is corrected!”

Rashad, a Howard University alumna and current dean of the College of Fine Arts, was chastised for publicly endorsing the widely accused actor and has now deleted her “upsetting tweet.” She offered her “most sincere apology” to Howard University students and parents on Friday, claiming that her prior post was not meant for sexual assault survivors.

In a letter, she stated, “I vehemently oppose sexual violence, find no excuse for such behavior, and I know that Howard University has a zero-tolerance policy toward interpersonal violence.”  The actress also stated that she intends to become more proactive in attending trainings that will help her become a stronger ally to survivors of sexual assault.