The myriad of reactions from various Cosby Show members has been an intriguing scenario to watch during the year-long stretch of allegations forced upon the comedic legend.
Phylicia Rashad took a controversial dismissive approach to the various claims of sexual assault against Bill Cosby where as Joseph C. Phillips implied he had first-hand knowledge of the embattled actor’s guilt; all the while Raven-Symoné proved you can watch from afar like the rest of the world and still remain neutral, or as some would put it, mum.
Two members of America’s once beloved Cosby Show family is all grown up–have been grown up–and are back in the news with new respective projects but couldn’t escape the ominous shadow cast by the scandal that seems have a new turn nearly every week.
Keisha Knight Pulliam, who played youngest Cosby kid Rudy during the entire 80s hit’s run, is back with the times as she stars in the a new straight-to-DVD comedy opposite Marques Houston and Draya Michele titled Will to Love. While speaking to theGrio, the conversation inevitably shifted to the now 50 accuser-strong Cosby sex scandal however she doesn’t feel it has tarnished the positive reputation The Cosby Show built over the course of four decades.
“I can say that, based upon the people that continuously approach me and talk about how it’s profoundly impacted their lives, I don’t feel you can take that back,” Pulliam, 36, stated. “You can’t take back the impact that it’s had on generations of kids, and it’s continuing to have such a positive impact on them. So I feel like the place that it has in people’s hearts is such a nostalgic part of childhood and beyond, it’s going to be difficult to take back those memories.”
Plenty of television outlets, educational facilities and celebrity figures would beg to differ with the former child star, as would Malcolm-Jamal Warner, a.k.a. Theo Huxtable, who famously won over viewer’s hearts for his portrayal of a curious African-American teenager trying to make sense of the world.
Canadian Press caught up with Warner, now a 45-year-old man, as he prepared to promote his role in the upcoming miniseries, American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson. The always well-spoken Warner didn’t mince his words when speaking on the collateral damage Bill Cosby’s darkest hour has brought up The Cosby Show and he expressed immense sorrow for the accusers that could be interpreted as guilt towards his former TV dad.
“My biggest concern is when it comes to images of people of colour on television and film, no matter what … negative stereotypes of people of colour, we’ve always had The Cosby Show to hold up against that. And the fact that we no longer have that, that’s the thing that saddens me the most because in a few generations the Huxtables will have been just a fairy tale,” Warner said, while also admitting that he had spoken to Cosby in the recent months, but wouldn’t elaborate on the details of the conversation.
“I think the things that we discussed really have to stay private between us. But it’s just a bad situation all around — for him, for his family, the women, their families, the legacy of the show,” he continued.
And there you have it.
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Photo: WENN
