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Bob Saget Believes Mentor Bill Cosby Has Done “Despicable” Things and “Has Been Tarnished”

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Bob Saget is used to making people laugh, but the actor and comedian took a more serious tone when he sat down with HuffPost Live on Tuesday, Nov. 24. When a fan asked if he thought Bill Cosby still retains some meaning to the history of comedy after dozens of women have come forward alleging the icon sexually assaulted them, the Fuller House star shared his disappointment.

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“I think any human being that does things that are despicable to other human beings will be slightly tarnished by history,” he replied. “I went to [Cosby’s alma mater] Temple University, and he was a mentor of mine. … It’s very sad. I think the answer is obvious: The man has been tarnished. And it’s just sad for all of the people involved.”

Bob Saget
Bob Saget

Saget, 59, graduated in 1978 from the Philadelphia university, which Cosby attended in the 1960s. Cosby resigned from the university’s board of trustees in December 2014, but both he and his lawyers continue to deny the numerous allegations of sexual assault made against him.

The How I Met Your Mother alum also mentioned how Cosby influenced his late mentor Richard Pryor, who died in 2005. “I was fortunate enough to know Richard Pryor, and Richard Pryor started by copying Cosby’s material,” said Saget, who is reprising his role as Danny Tanner in Netflix’s Full House reboot. “Then he went, ‘I’m gonna go try it this way.’ And that was more my influence [from Pryor], but I also had respect for Cosby because he changed stand-up comedy.”

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And while the man formerly beloved as “America’s Dad” has done much for the art form, Saget said things have changed. “You do find out the people you look up to, unfortunately, they’re down off their throne when things like this happen.”

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