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The news that Bill Cosby has been released from prison has enraged sexual assault victims advocates and MeToo activists.
Dozens of women going back decades accused Bill Cosby of sexual harassment and assault. In 2018, a jury found him guilty of three counts of aggravated indecent assault for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his home in Cheltenham, Pa., outside Philadelphia. On Wednesday, a Pennsylvania Supreme Court vacated the indecent assault conviction against him on a legal technicality. It s really sending shockwaves through our survivor community, Angela Rose, founder and president of Promoting Awareness Victim Empowerment, told NPR. In 2018, Rose supported Andrea Constand in the courtroom when Bill Cosby was convicted for sexual assault. I fear that this is going to really hinder other survivors from coming forward.
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June 30, 2021
Many on Twitter condemned Bill Cosbyâs release from prison on Wednesday as a setback for the #MeToo movement. But his staunchest supporters, including actress Phylicia Rashad, celebrated his freedom.
âFINALLY!!!!â Ms. Rashad, who appeared as Mr. Cosbyâs wife in âThe Cosby Show,â wrote on Twitter. âA terrible wrong is being righted- a miscarriage of justice is corrected!â
Mr. Cosby, whose 2018 sexual assault case was seen as the first major criminal conviction of the #MeToo era, was freed from prison on Wednesday after a Pennsylvania appeals court overturned his conviction.
The court ruled that a ânon-prosecution agreementâ should have prevented him from ever being charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault against Andrea Constand, to whom Mr. Cosby had been a mentor.
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Rashad tweeted support for her co star shortly after his sexual assault conviction was overturned Wednesday
The two worked together on all eight seasons of the Emmy Award-winning sitcom from 1984 to 1992
Hubert said that allegations against Cosby were common knowledge in the entertainment industry dating back decades
Rashad later took to the site to clarify her feelings on the issue, saying she fully supports sexual assault survivors coming forward
Rashad has expressed support for her former co-star in the past despite the allegations against him
She was recently named dean of the Howard University College of Fine Arts
Others Cosby Show cast have expressed support for the star, including Keshia Knight Pulliam, who played his on-screen daughter