Bill Cosby Praises Stephanie Mills for Her Words about Phylicia Rashad Following Backlash

Singer Stephanie Mills recently chimed in on Phylicia Rashad’s backlash for celebrating Bill Cosby’s prison release. “The Cosby Show” actor also added his opinion by praising the singer on Twitter.

Bill Cosby’s release from prison has been nothing short of newsworthy with all of the controversies that have followed it. In turn, Cosby has been quite vocal on social media since the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania vacated his conviction.

The actor most recently praised singer Stephanie Mills for her Tweet defending Phylicia Rashad from backlash. Rashad has been in hot water since sharing a celebratory message for Cosby’s release on her social media.

Mills is the latest drama instigator regarding Bill Cosby’s much-talked-about prison release. The singer shared a tweet in support of Phylicia Rashad, who found herself under fire after sharing her support for Cosby.

In her tweet, Mills addressed the rumor that Rashad would be let go as Howard University’s art college Dean. The songstress expressed that if the termination rumors were true, the university should return all of Cosby’s donations.

As expected, Twitter users did not take Mills’s message well and called Mills out for not considering the safety of women. However, one Twitter user, who happened to be Cosby himself, agreed with Mills’s sentiments.

The actor shared a quote Tweet that was full of praise in response to Mills’s message. Cosby mentioned that Mills’s voice has always been powerful, insinuating she was courageous for sticking up for the former convict.

Mills’s support for Rashad comes after Howard University denounced the “Cosby Show” actress. The university expressed its disapproval of Rashad applauding her former co-star and long-time friend’s release from prison.

Rashad later wrote an apology letter addressed to Howard University students and parents. In the letter, Rashad promised to actively engage with the topic of sexual abuse to learn how to become a “stronger” ally.

Simultaneously, rumors that Rashad had been fired from her role as the dean of the university’s College of Fine Arts were spreading. The rumors upset Cosby so much that he responded to them through Mills’s tweet and an official statement.

The statement released by Cosby’s spokesperson, Andrew Wyatt, addressed the university directly. In the statement, Cosby urges the historically black institution to support Rashad’s freedom of speech.

Cosby also takes a dig at the university in his request and mentions that the law school should be teaching freedom of speech daily. The statement, along with his Twitter activity, caused speculations about his donations.

Cosby famously donates large sums of money to historically black universities, Howard being one of them. Other institutions the actor has made donations to include Spelman College, Temple University, and Lincoln University of Pennsylvania.

Cosby’s donations towards higher learning institutions created quite a buzz when allegations against him surfaced. The Berklee College of Music and Highpoint University publicly removed Cosby’s name from scholarships and boards in 2014.

Unfortunately, Howard’s stance against Cosby and Rashad in light of the recent events may cost them a fortune. If the actor’s co-signing of Mills’s tweet is anything to go by, Howard could face the opposite of Cosby’s generosity soon.

Additionally, Cosby’s social media engagement has not been limited to his praise for Mills’s powerful voice recently. The actor also took to Twitter to defend his release from prison by addressing claims that he got off on a technicality:

“DUE PROCESS IS NOT A TECHNICALITY. THE MEDIA CAN’T SILENCE THE TRUTH”

The actor reiterated his previous statement that due processes by the Supreme Court justified his release. Twitter users disputed his message, with many pointing out that sixty women could not have all lied about the allegations.