Both of Bill Cosby’s ‘wives’ are supporting him until the very end. As the 79-year-old heads into his sexual assault trial on Monday in Philadelphia, he’s expected to have at least two supporters there: his real-life wife of more than 50 years, Camille, and his TV wife, Phylicia Rashad.
Although both women have been generally quiet as the comedian faces numerous sexual assault allegations, sources say their private support has never faltered. Rashad, 68, is best known for her role as Claire Huxtable on the 1980s television hit, The Cosby Show, a series loosely based on Bill and Camille’s life. From 1996 to 2000, she once again played Cosby’s fictional wife, Ruth Lucas, in Cosby. Although she’s kept mostly quiet regarding the allegations of nearly 60 women who say Cosby drugged and assaulted them, Rashad said in a 2015 interview that she believed her friend was the victim of a scheme to end his career. ‘I think it’s orchestrated, I don’t know why or who’s doing it, but it’s the legacy,’ she told Showbiz 411. ‘And, it’s a legacy that is so important to the culture. Someone is determined to keep Bill Cosby off TV, and it’s worked.’
