President-elect Donald Trump has been extremely controversial. The former President had a polarizing tenure from 2016 and it is only bound to be more during his upcoming presidency. Trump is also the oldest president of the USA and the only one with pending criminal charges on him.
Trump also reportedly has a connection to disgraced comedian and actor Bill Cosby. Cosby was accused of s*xual assault by over sixty women and was convicted of one count of aggravated assault in 2018. Trump mentioned once that he had never been a fan of the actor.
What Was Bill Cosby Convicted For?
Bill Cosby was known for his image as ‘America’s Dad’ for years. He was known for his stand-up comedy as well as headlining the sitcom The Cosby Show. For many decades, he was one of the most respected actors in the industry, though he reportedly still had multiple allegations against him. However, by 2015, over sixty women came forward and accused him of s*xual assault (via NBC).
Cosby was reportedly convicted in 2018 on one count of aggravated s*xual assault as everyone else’s cases had crossed the statute of limitations, with cases reportedly dating back to the 1960’s. The disgraced actor’s conviction was seen as a win for the Time’s Up and MeToo Movements. He was reportedly sentenced to three to ten years in prison (via The New York Times).
However, in 2021, Cosby was freed with his conviction overturned by the Pennsylvania court According to PBS, the attorney who filed the lawsuit days before the statute of limitations was set to expire was reportedly bound by an agreement between Cosby and a preceding attorney that charges would not be filed, which resulted in an incriminating testimony.
What Did Donald Trump Say About Bill Cosby’s Allegations In 2015?
Bill Cosby’s lawsuits became a subject of controversy due to the actor’s largely accepted image as a father figure. Preceding the MeToo Movement and the Harvey Weinstein scandal, the allegations of Cosby showed the levels to which powerful people could stoop and how they could get away with it.
Back in 2016 when the allegations had surfaced, President-elect Donald Trump reportedly made a controversial statement about how Cosby had handled the allegations at the time and even urged him to defend himself better. He said (via Huffington Post),
I think it’s very sad, and frankly, I don’t think he’s handling it very well. And he should say something because he is being accused of terrible things. And to have absolutely no comment ― I think he’s getting very bad advice from a PR standpoint. And he should do it differently. He’s not doing a very good job of handling it.
Cosby at the time had reportedly maintained silence about the allegations. He has still denied all accusations.
Donald Trump Had A ‘Bad Experience’ With Bill Cosby
Donald Trump had reportedly commented on Bill Cosby’s allegations back in 2015. The President-elect was asked about Cosby’s mounting allegations at the time, to which he reportedly mentioned that he never found the actor funny. He also reportedly mentioned that he had a bad experience with the actor when he met him.
Speaking to THR, Trump mentioned that Cosby was supposed to follow him after an appearance on Letterman and told him he would buy him a suit when they met backstage. However, the actor reportedly sang a different tune when a topic about Trump was broached to him in a separate show. He said,
He said, ‘Oh, I want to buy you a suit.’ It was nice, he bought me a suit. And then he was on [the Today show], and my name was mentioned, and he went absolutely crazy. And I said, ‘What the hell was that all about?’ I was never a fan. His humor was always, like, slow and stupid to me. I never saw it. And then he’s obviously got this stuff.Â
Trump also speculated about Cosby’s silence at the time and wondered if he was drunk during the depositions.
