Conservative African-American group defends Bill Cosby against "opportunistic" women

The public policy group Project 21 says Cosby accusers should have been prepared to "live with whatever transpired"

Published July 10, 2015 2:23PM (EDT)

  (Reuters/Lucas Jackson)
(Reuters/Lucas Jackson)

A prominent group of conservative African-Americans is the latest to defend Bill Cosby against allegations that he drugged and raped numerous women over the course of several decades, but they're taking an interesting approach. In fact, Project 21, a black conservative public policy organization, isn't so much defending the embattled comedian against the allegations -- they're just defending him against the women making them.

Archbishop Council Nedd II, one of the founders of Project 21, criticized Judge Eduardo Rebreno's decision this week to unseal Cosby's testimony from a 2005 civil lawsuit brought forth by sexual assault accuser Andrea Constand, in which the comedian admitted to procuring quaaludes in order to sedate and assault women with whom he wanted to have sex. Insinuating that Rebreno's decision to release the court documents to the Associated Press was biased and unfair, Nedd called the scores of women who have come forward to accuse Cosby of sexual assault "opportunistic."

“What we have seen over the last year is Bill Cosby repeatedly attacked and tried in the media,” Nedd said in a statement. “Based on the fact that none of the accusers, seen on the variety of news and talk shows, saw fit to push for criminal charges when the events occurred, tells me that they made a personal and calculated decision to live with whatever transpired. To me, it seems opportunistic to seek media headlines now.”

The group claims it is not defending Cosby's innocence or his admission that he acquired sedatives for clandestine purposes, but rather critiquing the process by which his alleged actions have been made public.

(h/t The Hill)


By Jenny Kutner

MORE FROM Jenny Kutner


Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Bill Cosby Conservatives Project 21 Rape Rape Apologia Sexual Assault