Don’t count on a Cosby show of support from Phylicia Rashad.
Rashad, who played opposite Bill Cosby on NBC’s “The Cosby Show” from
1984 to 1992, does not plan to be part of Monday’s courtroom drama when
the disgraced comedian goes on trial in Philadelphia for sexual assault,
according to a source close to the actress. Instead, she’ll opt for
comedy.
Our insider says that Rashad will spend Monday afternoon in rehearsals
for the Public Theater’s presentation of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,”
which opens July 11 in Central Park.
It was reported over the weekend that both Rashad, Cosby’s TV wife, and
Camille Cosby, his real wife of 53 years, would attend Monday's legal
proceeding. It’s still possible that Rashad could make the nearly
200-mile round trip between New York and Philadelphia on Monday, but
that’s unlikely, we’re assured.
“Nobody runs around like that while they’re working,” our insider says.
In January 2015, shortly after NBC canceled a project starring Cosby,
Rashad defended her former co-star, who has been accused of sexual
misconduct by nearly five dozen women.
"Someone is determined to keep Bill Cosby off TV, and it's worked," Rashad reportedly told Showbiz 411.
After her Emmy-nominated run as Clair Huxtable on “The Cosby Show,”
Rashad returned to work with Cosby from 1996 to 2000 on the CBS sitcom
“Cosby.”
There are also reports that Malcolm Jamal-Warner, who played Cosby’s TV
son Theo Huxtable on “The Cosby Show,” will attend the trial, though
he’s been reluctant to render a verdict on the mentor he still refers to
as “Mr. Cosby” in interviews.
“I am in no position to defend him because I can’t,” he said on BET’s
“The Real” last spring. “Nor will I throw him under the bus.”
Cosby is facing trial on Monday for his alleged 2004 sexual assault of
Temple University basketball director Andrea Costand. If convicted on
all three counts against him, Cosby could face 10 years in prison.
The Public Theater did not return a request for comment, nor did Rashad’s manager.
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