In commemoration of Black History in Comedy, actor Malcolm Jamal Warner reposted a Cedric the Entertainer video on Instagram which celebrates the many accomplishments of disgraced comedian and TV star, Bill Cosby.
In addition to reposting the video, Warner also wrote a lengthy post, explaining past comments he made to the media regarding the legacy of The Cosby Show in which he co-starred during his youth.
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“In 2015, I put out my last album, “Selfless” (I know, I know I’m past due for my 4th one), the former Cosby kid began. “The press sleeps on spoken word so much that even though I had just won a Grammy w @roberglasper and @lalahathaway that same year, the only way I could get press coverage on my album was if I agreed to answer at least one question about the allegations against Mr. Cosby in interviews. I did an interview w associated press,” Warner wrote on Instagram.
He mentioned that the interview, which focused on his acting and music career, lasted 20 great minutes, and ended with the interviewer asking if he believed the legacy of the Cosby Show had been tarnished because of the sexual misconduct allegations against Cosby.
“Yes, the legacy of the show has been tarnished because whenever we saw negative stereotypical images of Black people on tv and/or film we’ve always had The Cosby Show to hold up juxtaposed to that, but now that it’s taken off the air we no longer have that,” Warner replied.
He wrote that to his dismay, the headline the next day read: “Malcolm-Jamal Warner says the legacy of The Cosby Show has been tarnished.”
He compared that news report, which he claims was out of context, to the time “the media world took a bogus untrue story from one source that I kicked an ex-loved one and her son out of our house a few years before that.”
Warner said the media took the “truncated Cosby quote and ran with it.” He was referring to media reports that he kicked actress/director Regina King and her son out of his home, per the New York Daily News. “And, once again the altered truth took off like wildfire,” he continued.
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Warner went on to say that his TV sister, Keshia Knight Pulliam, was asked the same question by an interviewer and her response that “the legacy of the show could never be tarnished because of all the good it did for our culture,” is something he has quoted ever since.
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