Since Bill Cosby’s release from prison on account of a once-lost previous agreement to keep the comedian and television star from going behind bars, the 84-year-old has fired back at his critics and even announced he would be going on tour. (He later announced he would be cancelling the tour as a result of further legal proceedings.)
Last night, upon the news that R. Kelly had been found guilty on 9 federal counts including racketeering, sex crimes, kidnapping, obstruction of justice and human trafficking, Cosby and his camp decided it would be a good idea to come to the defense of the “I Believe I Can Fly” singer.
Andrew Wyatt, Cosby’s spokesman, told TMZ that Cosby said R. Kelly was “railroaded” and blamed prosecutor Gloria Allred and systemic racism in the process.
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Cosby’s sentiments on Kelly’s conviction, however, should come as no surprise.
Allred, along with representing victims in the R. Kelly case, also represented alleged victims in Cosby’s sexual assault in 2018 and played a role in putting the comedian behind bars.
Wyatt’s conviction that, despite Kelly being found guilty and facing 10 years to life, the singer would not be sentenced and the case would be overturned in appeals court, is a possibility but unlike Cosby, Kelly does not have any deal in place to prevent prosecution.
Cosby, who said (through Wyatt) that Allred is using the same playbook on Kelly that she used to put him away, faces a new court date in 2022 and upon his release from prison in back in June, has created a huge divide between those who see him as Cliff Huxtable of The Cosby Show and those who see him as a sexual predator who belongs in prison.
Either way, Cosby’s belief that R. Kelly comes as no surprise. The guy has taken the less-popular side of nearly every issue of the last decade and is railing against a prosecutor who worked tirelesslly to put him in prison.
Let us know what you think of Cosby’s comments on the R. Kelly conviction in the comments.
[Via]