Bill Cosby Speaks Out in First Post-Prison Interview

Bill Cosby has already given his first interview after his surprise release from prison on Wednesday.

Cosby was freed after his 2018 sexual assault conviction was overturned.

The 83-year-old spoke with Detroit radio host Frankie Darcell, speaking out about what he argues was his wrongful imprisonment.

Cosby told her, “There are some people who do the correct thing, and they don’t join in. But, here’s what you can see, clearly, Frankie… Frankie, you can see how powerless many of us feel, because there’s a saying that is my mantra: ‘It’s not what they’re doing to you, it’s what you’re not doing.’ And when you are, Frankie Darcell, and you do it, look at what you did. Take advantage of this situation, and play it like you have never played something before, because your audience needs the truth, they need clarity, they need guidance, and they need to know where to go, and how to join, and how to do things.”

He went on, “Because this is not just a Black thing — this is for all the people who have been imprisoned wrongfully, regardless of race, color or creed.”

The former actor added, “Because I’ve met them in there. People who talked about what happened and what they did, and I know there are many liars out there, but these people can’t get lawyers. And the lawyers they get are with the lawyers that are going against them.”

His message was similar to the statement delivered by Cosby’s rep Andrew Wyatt at a press conference yesterday. Wyatt said, “What we saw today was justice, justice for all Americans. Mr. Cosby’s conviction being overturned is for the world and all Americans who are being treated unfairly by the judicial system and some bad officers.”

While Cosby didn’t speak at the press conference, he released his first statement on Twitter. He wrote, “I have never changed my stance nor my story. I have always maintained my innocence. Thank you to all my fans, supporters and friends who stood by me through this ordeal. Special thanks to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for upholding the rule of law.”

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued its opinion to vacate the conviction after deciding a 2005 agreement between Cosby and a previous prosecutor should have prevented him from being charged in the case.

The court’s judgment stated that Cosby “must be discharged [from prison], and any future prosecution on these particular charges must be barred.”

Cosby was convicted in 2018 on three counts of aggravated indecent assault.

In the case, Andrea Constand, the former director of operations for Temple University’s women’s basketball team, accused Cosby of sexually assaulting her in his home in January 2004. In a 2005 court deposition, Cosby admitted he had acquired Quaaludes with the intent to give them to women with whom he wanted to have sex, but he denied criminal activity and adamantly denied his encounter with Constand — who came out as a lesbian in 2015 — was not consensual.

Cosby was charged days before a 12-year statute of limitations in the Constand case.

Only one other accuser was heard in his first trial, which resulted in a deadlocked jury. Five were subsequently heard at Cosby’s retrial, and he was convicted.