Raven-Symoné has said she is able to separate the art from the artist when it comes to Bill Cosby.
Cosby, 88, has been accused of rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment by more than 60 women, with alleged incidents spanning from the mid-1960s to the 2000s. He has denied all allegations involving sex crimes.
Symoné, 39, who appeared as Olivia Kendall on The Cosby Show as a child, said of Cosby during an appearance on the Hate to Break It to Ya podcast: “Separate the creator from the creation. And that’s just where I live. The creation changed America… changed television.”
“He’s also been accused of some horrific things,” Symoné acknowledged. “That does not excuse, but that’s his personal [life]. So personally, keep that there, and then business-wise, know what he did there as well.”
Symoné, who went on to star in the Noughties Disney Channel hit That’s So Raven, said that The Cosby Show “deserves all of its flowers, no matter what happened after.”
“I will always credit everyone on that set from top to bottom for creating who I am today and allowing me to have the career that I have,” she said. “They took a chance on someone who had never been in the industry before.”
Cosby was released from prison in 2021 after his 2018 sexual assault conviction was overturned by Philadelphia’s Supreme Court. He had originally been convicted on three counts of aggravated indecent assault and had been sentenced to three to 10 years in prison.
The comedian first faced sexual assault allegations in 2004 from Andrea Constand, and the allegations became widely known in 2014.
In recent years, a string of lawsuits have been filed against Cosby under the Adult Survivors Act, which gave victims of sexual abuse a one-year window for claims that would otherwise be barred by time limits.
Last year, a woman came forward claiming that Cosby drugged her and gave her alcohol before he proceeded to sexually assault her at the Las Vegas Hilton in 1986. The woman sued Cosby for exploitation of a minor, assault and false imprisonment, among other allegations.
In 2022, a Los Angeles jury awarded $500,000 to a woman who said the former Cosby Show star had sexually assaulted her at the Playboy Mansion in 1975 when she was a teenager.
Cosby denied the allegations, saying the “accusers have resurfaced to file a frivolous civil lawsuit” against him.
Symoné appeared as Olivia Kendall alongside Cosby on his NBC sitcom from 1989 until the show’s end in 1992. The show, in which Cosby starred as Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable, earned six Emmy awards and ran for 197 episodes.
Rape Crisis offers support for those affected by rape and sexual abuse. You can call them on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, and 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland, or visit their website at www.rapecrisis.org.uk. If you are in the US, you can call Rainn on 800-656-HOPE (4673)
