Bill Cosby’s youngest child, Evin Cosby, defended her famous father in a new open letter, which the star published on his Facebook page on Tuesday, April 25.
“I felt loved and remembered loving the moments that my parents shared with us by exposing us to all types of people from all walks of life. We grew up appreciating my father’s success because we knew the prejudice and racism he endured getting to where he got and how hard he worked for our family,” Evin wrote in her statement. “When people are so quick to cast hate, and make accusations of horrific violence against my dad, they are callous in their carelessness about the harm they are causing to others.”
The comedian, 79, has been charged with three counts of felony aggravated assault from an alleged encounter with Andrea Constand in 2004, but he has pleaded not guilty.
As previously reported, Constand claimed that the actor drugged and violated her at his home when she was a Temple University employee. In recent years, dozens more women have come forward accusing the Cosby Show alum of sexual misconduct.
Evin counters, however, that her father is “not abusive, violent or a rapist.”
“My dad, like anyone in this country, deserves to be treated fairly under the law. My dad broke barriers and raised the conscious of America on important topics, especially for the advancement of women,” she wrote. “He raised me to go to college, start my own business, and be my own woman. He is helping me raise my children and teach them family values. I know that my father loves me, loves my sisters and my mother. He loves and respects women… Sure, like many celebrities tempted by opportunity, he had his affairs, but that was between him and my mother. They have worked through it and moved on, and I am glad they did for them and for our family.”
In October 2016, the star’s lawyers argued in court that the actor can’t identify his accusers because he is “legally blind.” His wife, Camille, has supported him amid the scandal.
Read Evin’s full letter here.