Camille Cosby, who has previously held her tongue about the more than 20 allegations that have arisen against comedian Bill Cosby, finally issued a statement of support for her husband.
Camille, a highly educated philanthropist, is an extremely well-respected figure in the Black community. She and her husband are responsible for donating $20 million to Spelman College in 1988, the largest donation ever given to an HBCU.
On Sunday, the all-women’s college confirmed the indefinite suspension of The Cosby Chair for the Humanities, a prestigious endowed professorship at Spelman College, in light of the recent allegations, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“The William and Camille Olivia Hanks Cosby Endowed Professorship was established to bring positive attention and accomplished visiting scholars to Spelman College in order to enhance our intellectual, cultural and creative life,” Audrey Arthur, a school spokeswoman, told the AJC. “The current context prevents us from continuing to meet these objectives fully. Consequently, we will suspend the program until such time that the original goals can again be met.”
To clarify her position, Camille issued a statement in defense of her husband.
Camille refers to her husband of 51 years as “a kind man, a generous man, a funny man, and a wonderful husband, father and friend.”
“He is the man you thought you knew,” she wrote.
Camille went on to address her issues with the media portrayal of her husband. In her statement she claims that the media is portraying an image of a man she doesn’t know. She accuses the media of not thoroughly investigating the accusations before publishing them. Camille likened the media coverage to that of Rolling Stone’s coverage of rape at the University of Virginia. The magazine made an apology after finding some inconsistencies in the story of the alleged victim.
Camille concludes her statement by asking “who is the victim?” implying that Bill Cosby has been victimized by the rape allegations.
Questions over what Camille is thinking over the past several weeks intensified the longer she and Bill remained silent. In interviews with her husband, Camille sat silently and smiled as Bill refused to answer questions regarding the multiple accusers.
In an interview with Page Six on Friday, Bill praised his wife for standing by him. He referred to “love and the strength of womanhood” when asked about how his wife was holding up.
