Bill Cosby's youngest daughter, Evin Cosby, maintains in a new passionate defense of the disgraced comedian that he "loves and respects women" -- despite the dozens of allegations of sexual assault and harassment that have piled up against him over the years.
In the letter published by the The Hollywood Reporter Wednesday, Evin noted that the the unknown knowledge of the truth has brought upon a hard time for her entire family. She wants people to know that her father is not a rapist, nor is he abusive. In the letter, she detailed all of the rough waters her family had had to go through since allegations against her father first appeared.
"I know that my father loves me, loves my sisters and my mother. He loves and respects women. He is not abusive, violent or a rapist," Evin wrote. "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."
Bill Cosby Charged with Sexually Assaulting a Woman In His Home 12 Years Ago
View StoryAt the end of 2015, the "Cosby Show" star was charged for drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his home 12 years earlier. The first criminal charges against the formerly beloved sitcom dad followed accusations of rape, sexual assault or sexual misconduct from over 60 women, with alleged incidents dating back as far as 1965. The media honed in on the reports that have been floating around for years in 2014, and Bill's star never recovered.
"The public persecution of my dad, my kids' grandfather, and the cruelty of the media and those who speak out branding my father a 'rapist' without ever knowing the truth and who shame our family and our friends for defending my dad, makes all of this so much worse for my family and my children," Evin wrote. "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."
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View StoryEvin noted that at one point when several women came out to say that they had been raped and drugged by Cosby, but these stories did not match up. She claimed the justice system failed in the situation. "These stories never got investigated and just got repeated. They have been accepted as the truth," she wrote.
"My dad tried to defend himself. His lawyers tried to defend him, but they all got sued. People were constantly reaching out to me about why doesn't your dad say something. I kept saying he's trying, but the media is only interested in the stories of the women," Evin added. "Friends of ours tried to help, but the media wouldn't print what they said or knew. Our friends that spoke up were pressured to shut up. No one wanted to print their supportive words. We live in a scandalous country where the more sexualized and provocative the story, the more attention it gets."
She ended the letter by explaining to potentially sympathetic readers that her whole family has been "punished" by the situation.
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View Story"The harsh and hurtful accusations of things that supposedly happened 40 or 50 years ago, before I was born, in another lifetime, and that have been carelessly repeated as truth without allowing my dad to defend himself and without requiring proof, has punished not just my dad but every one of us."