“Very sad day”: Disgraced star Bill Cosby offers support to rapist Harvey Weinstein
Convicted sex offender Bill Cosby has shared a statement in support of Harvey Weinstein, claiming the movie executive’s rape trial was not fair and saying his conviction marked a “very sad day”.
The disgraced comedian’s publicist Andrew Wyatt took to Instagram to release a statement which questioned where “wealthy and famous men” can “go in this country to find fairness and impartiality”.
Yesterday, Weinstein was convicted of raping a former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and sexually assaulting a slew of other women in 2013.
Cosby’s account suggested the verdict was “not shocking” – but he placed the blame on the legal process.
He said because jurors were exposed to media coverage of the high-profile case, they were swayed by “the sentiments of public opinion”.
“There’s no way you would have anyone believe that Mr Weinstein was going to receive a fair and impartial trial,” said the statement.
It also suggested the judge “wanted a conviction" as he told jurors to spend more time deliberating when they had been hung over some of the charges.
“Here’s the question that should haunt all Americans, especially wealthy and famous men … where do we go in this country to find fairness and impartiality in the judicial system,” read the statement.
It was then accompanied by hashtags including “#FreeBillCosby” and “#FarFromFinished”.
In 2018, Cosby was found guilty on three counts of aggravated indecent assault and sentenced to serve three to 10 years in prison.