--- title: Bill Cosby's Co-Star Defends Him: "Forget These Women" description: Bill Cosby's former TV wife Phylicia Rashad defended him against sexual assault allegations Tuesday. canonical: https://time.com/3657437/phylicia-rashad-bill-cosby-rape/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-07T15:22:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:42:43.356Z og:title: Bill Cosby Co-Star Phylicia Rashad Defends Him: 'Forget These Women' og:description: The actress, who played Clair Huxtable on 'The Cosby Show', dismissed sexual assault allegations against her television husband in a recent interview og:url: https://time.com/3657437/phylicia-rashad-bill-cosby-rape/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfc15e93300fe5959/6987787c55a85924e6a851c1/459142258.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: "Side Show" Broadway Opening Night - Arrivals & Curtain Call og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Bill Cosby Co-Star Phylicia Rashad Defends Him: 'Forget These Women' twitter:description: The actress, who played Clair Huxtable on 'The Cosby Show', dismissed sexual assault allegations against her television husband in a recent interview twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfc15e93300fe5959/6987787c55a85924e6a851c1/459142258.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Bill Cosby's Co-Star Phylicia Rashad Defends Him: 'Forget These Women'  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Jan 7, 2015 3:22 PM UTC  Phylicia Rashad attends the Broadway Opening Performance of 'Side Show' on Nov. 17, 2014 in New York City. Phylicia Rashad attends the Broadway Opening Performance of 'Side Show' on Nov. 17, 2014 in New York City.Walter McBride—Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Jan 7, 2015 3:22 PM UTC Bill Cosby’s former TV wife defended him against sexual assault allegations Tuesday, sticking up for him amid a growing scandal that now includes [a defamation lawsuit](http://time.com/3657035/three-women-file-defamation-lawsuit-against-bill-cosby/) against Cosby. “Forget these women,” Phylicia Rashad [said to Roger Friedman of Showbiz 411](http://www.showbiz411.com/2015/01/06/exclusive-bill-cosby-co-star-tony-winner-phylicia-rashad-speaks-out-for-first-time-defends-her-friend) about those who have accused Cosby of sexual assault. After initially hesitating to speak about Cosby, Rashad continued, “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.” Rashad also lamented the effect the rape allegations will have on the Cosby show: “This show represented America to the outside world. This was the American family. And now you’re seeing it being destroyed.” ### Bill Cosby’s Public Life in Photos  Bill Cosby performs on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. CBS/Getty Images  A portrait of Bill Cosby taken in 1965. Hulton Archive/Getty Images  Bill Cosby poses with his Emmy for his role in I Spy at the Primetime Emmy Awards in New York City in 1966. AP  A portrait of Bill Cosby taken in 1969. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Bill Cosby performs on The Second Bill Cosby Special in 1969. Fred Sabine—NBC/Getty Images  Bill Cosby attends the "Concert at Town Hall" at Town Hall in New York City in 1971. Ron Galella—WireImage/Getty Images  Bill Cosby as Chet Kincaid on The Bill Cosby Show. NBC/Getty Images  Bill Cosby as Dr. Heathcliff 'Cliff' Huxtable in The Cosby Show. Frank Carroll—NBC/Getty Images  Bill Cosby is interviewed by Jay Leno on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno in 1992. Wendy Perl—NBC/Getty Images  Bill Cosby speaks to an audience on the campus of the University of the District of Columbia in 2006, in Washington D.C. LAWRENCE JACKSON—AP  Host Bill Cosby speaks onstage at the 2011 Jackie Robinson Foundation awards gala atThe Waldorf Astoria in 2011 in New York City. Stephen Lovekin—Getty Images  Bill Cosby attends the 2011 Temple University Commencement at the Liacouras Center in 2011 in Philadelphia, Pa. Gilbert Carrasquillo—Getty Images  Bill Cosby attends the 2014 American Comedy Awards at Hammerstein Ballroom on April 26, 2014 in New York City. Andrew Toth—FilmMagic/Getty Images _Read next:_ [_Bill Cosby’s Youngest Daughter Defends Him Against Sex Assault Allegations_](http://time.com/3636255/bill-cosby-youngest-daughter-speaks-out/?xid=time%5Freadnext) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3657437/phylicia-rashad-bill-cosby-rape/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3657437/phylicia-rashad-bill-cosby-rape/"},"headline":"Bill Cosby's Co-Star Phylicia Rashad Defends Him: 'Forget These Women'","datePublished":"2015-01-07T15:22:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:42:43.356Z","description":"The actress, who played Clair Huxtable on The Cosby Show, dismissed sexual assault allegations against her television husband in a recent interview","url":"https://time.com/3657437/phylicia-rashad-bill-cosby-rape/","keywords":["Living","Sexual Assault","celebrities","Bill Cosby topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfc15e93300fe5959/6987787c55a85924e6a851c1/459142258.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfc15e93300fe5959/6987787c55a85924e6a851c1/459142258.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"\"Side Show\" Broadway Opening Night - Arrivals & Curtain Call","caption":"\"Side Show\" Broadway Opening Night - Arrivals & Curtain Call","creditText":"Walter McBride—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3657437/phylicia-rashad-bill-cosby-rape/","name":"Bill Cosby's Co-Star Phylicia Rashad Defends Him: 'Forget These Women'"}}]}] ```