He was the dude on The Cosby Show whom Denise (played by Lisa Bonet) brought home and introduced to Dr. and Mrs. Cosby as her husband: Lt. Martin Kendall.
The actor Joseph C. Phillips, now 53, wrote a lengthy post on his blog about how, although he has always idolized Bill Cosby, he has since come to believe that the entertainment icon is, in fact, guilty of some of the sexual assault allegations made against him.
The smoking gun? Phillips explained how he ran into an old friend, and she divulged that she was a victim of Cosby's alleged modus operandi of drugging women and then sexually assaulting them.
"Through tears, she told me her story. She cursed [Cosby] for violating both her trust and her body. She cursed herself for not being smarter, and for degrading herself in pursuit of success," Phillips said about the conversation he had with the woman.
Phillips described the feeling that many former Cosby apologists have come to experience ever since unsealed court documents revealed that Cosby had once confessed to using drugs to get women to sleep with him.
"I was angry with Bill … I was also angry at myself for falling for the okey-doke, of putting Bill on a pedestal," Phillips wrote.
The actor spoke about the duality of men, specifically of Cosby, and that he's come to understand that people can be good, and make wonderful contributions to society, and yet also do incomprehensible things.
"The good Bill has done over the years is real and enduring. I am not prepared to simply dismiss his brilliance, his wisdom, or his legacy," Phillips wrote. "I am not going to toss all of that away, at least not yet."
He encouraged Cosby to get out of the public sphere so that folks can hold on to the parts of his legacy that made a postive impact on American culture: "[Cosby,] go live a quiet country life. Allow those of us who truly love you to preserve just a bit of our enchantment."
Although I'd argue that the predatory parts of Cosby's legacy are equally important: They'll help people realize that sexual predators come in all shapes, sizes and professions and with varying intentions.
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Diana Ozemebhoya Eromosele is a staff writer at The Root and the founder and executive producer of Lectures to Beats, a Web series that features video interviews with scarily insightful people. Follow Lectures to Beats on Facebook and Twitter.
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