Last night, Keshia Knight Pulliam, who played Rudy Huxstable on The Cosby Show, was fired from Celebrity Apprentice when she failed to contact her former TV dad, Bill Cosby, to help raise money for a fundraising task.
The 35-year-old actress appeared this morning on NBC’s TODAY and further explained why she didn’t call Cosby to ask for money.
“I know The Cosby Show is in reruns, and everyone thinks that we’re this family that has dinner every Friday night,” Pulliam said. “But the reality was I hadn’t spoken to Mr. Cosby. I felt that it would be tactless, very rude to call someone and be like, ‘Hey, so, let me have some money right now.'”
Taping of last night’s Celebrity Apprentice episode took place back in March 2014, months before more than two dozen women came forward with sexual assault allegations against Cosby.
Pulliam took the opportunity this morning to address the claims surrounding Cosby.
“Ultimately, they’re just that, allegations,” she said. “You know, it’s very much been played out in the court of public opinion. But we’re still in America, where ultimately you’re innocent until proven guilty. I wasn’t there. That’s just not the man I know. So I can’t speak to it.”
“What I can say is this: I wasn’t there,” she said. “No one was there except for the two people who know exactly what happened. All I can speak to is the man that I know and I love.”
Pulliam also talked about Cosby’s legacy and overall impact on society and culture.
“The fact that he’s been such an example, you can’t take away from the great that he has done,” Pulliam added. “You know, the amount … the millions and millions of dollars that he has given back to colleges and education, and just what he did with The Cosby Show and how groundbreaking that was.”
Pulliam also appeared on The Wendy Williams Show and addressed being fired from the Celebrity Apprentice. She also said she would never consider becoming a Real Housewives of Atlanta cast member.
http://thegrio.com/2015/01/05/keisha-knight-pulliam-cosby-rape-celebrity-apprentice/
