Bill Cosby Rape and Sexual Abuse Scandal: 'Cosby Show' Co-Star Malcolm-Jamal Warner Admits 'It's Painful to Watch'
Malcolm-Jamal Warner is breaking his silence about the flood of sexual assault allegations now dogging former TV dad Bill Cosby.
"It's just painful to watch my friend and mentor go through this," Warner told US Magazine. "He's one of my mentors, and he's been very influential and played a big role in my life as a friend and mentor. Just as it's painful to hear any woman talk about sexual assault, whether true or not, it's just as painful to watch my friend and mentor go through this."
The now 44-year-old Warner, who played Theo Huxtable on the beloved network series "The Cosby Show" later added "I can't really speak on any of the allegations because obviously, I was not there. The Bill Cosby I know has been great to me and great for a lot of people. What he's done for comedy and television has been legendary and history-making. What he's done for the black community and education has been invaluable. That's the Bill Cosby I know. I can't speak on the other stuff."
Warner is the latest member of the Cosby cast to at least somewhat defend the much beleaguered legendary actor. Phylicia Rashad, who played Cosby's wife on the show, and Keshia Knight Pulliam, who played his daughter, also recently told reporters the allegations described and put forth by at least 30 women does not sound like the man they long ago came to know and admire.
"This is not about the women - this is about something else," the 66-year-old Rashad recently told ABC News. "This is about the obliteration of legacy."
Days later, the 35-year-old Pulliam told "Access Hollywood" on Jan. 5 "I can only speak to the great man that I know and that I love. Unfortunately, in the court of public opinion everyone has formed their opinion, but we're still in America and you're innocent until proven guilty of any crimes."
The 77-year-old Cosby has not been criminally charged in any of the cases and through his attorneys has staunchly proclaimed his innocence.
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