Entertainment

How Does Cosby's Wife Feel About the Allegations?

by Marenah Dobin

It's so hard to reconcile Bill Cosby's public image as the all-American dad, witty comedian, and JELL-O enthusiast, with a man being accused of multiple counts sexual assaults over the years. These allegations have been going on for years, but, somehow, they have never been this prevalent in the news before. One person who seems to be overlooked in the controversy is Bill Cosby's wife Camille Cosby. What does Camille Cosby think of the allegations against her husband? This is no doubt a difficult time for her.

If you haven't heard anything from Camille, it's not surprising because we haven't heard much from Bill himself. Pretty much all we have from Bill Cosby is that he'll give no comment. The following statement from his lawyer was released on Sunday:

Over the last several weeks, decade-old, discredited allegations against Mr. Cosby have resurfaced. The fact that they are being repeated does not make them true. Mr. Cosby does not intend to dignify these allegations with any comment. He would like to thank all his fans for the outpouring of support and assure them that, at age 77, he is doing his best work. There will be no further statement from Mr. Cosby or any of his representatives.

In a previously unreleased segment of an interview with the Associated Press — which was mainly focusing on the couple's art collection — Bill sat beside his wife and was asked about the sexual assault allegations over the years. His response? "I don’t talk about it." Then Bill asked the reporter not to release this part of the interview and said he did not specify this as an off-limits topic because he thought Associated Press "had integrity" and assumed that he would not be asked about the claims. He added, “There is no comment about that. And I’ll tell you why. I don’t want to compromise your integrity, but I don’t talk about it.” What did Camille Cosby say? Nothing. She sat there silently.

It's possible that Camille was advised not to give a comment. She has not defended her husband against the allegations. Conversely, she has not left his side, so it is unclear what she thinks. And this has been the case since the allegations came out originally when Andrea Constand filed a suit against Cosby alleging sexual abuse that was later settled outside of court in November 2006. Constand's case involved allegations from 12 anonymous women, at least three of which who later came forward publicly — Tamara Green, Beth Ferrier, and Barbara Bowman. More recently, two other women (it is unclear if they were included in the anonymous count) came forward — Joan Tarshis and model Janice Dickinson.

While Bill has responded to at least some of the claims, there hasn't been any statement from Camille.

Camille is said to have served as both a muse and an idea maker for Bill's best material over the years. For instance, she was one of the people who told him to have both Bill and Clair Huxtable be college-graduated professionals on The Cosby Show. In addition to making the TV show unique, input like this made her a part of the Cosby entertainment machine. Obviously, if Camille left their marriage or made a public comment questioning Bill's innocence, it would be extremely difficult for Bill to come back from it — professionally, but quite possibly legally, as well.