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Bill Cosby's sex assault conviction overturned by court
Bill Cosby's sex assault conviction was overturned by Pennsylvania’s highest court. The court said Wednesday that they found an agreement with a previous prosecutor that prevented him from being charged in the case.
LOS ANGELES - Actor and comedian Bill Cosby was released from prison Wednesday following a decision from Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court to overturn his sexual assault conviction, spawning widespread reaction from celebrities worldwide.
"Cosby Show" star Phylicia Rashad issued a strong reaction to the vacated conviction, defending her former co-star.
"FINALLY!!!! A terrible wrong is being righted – a miscarriage of justice is corrected!," Rashad, who co-starred as Clair Huxtable alongside Cosby, wrote on social media.
Journalist and former TV host Geraldo Rivera also spoke out in defense of the court’s ruling Wednesday.
"Told you so on #BillCosby. He was convicted by a court so tainted by public opinion and social pressure that it allowed obviously prejudicial evidence and improper witnesses. He may be a bad guy, but in this case he was railroaded by the mob," Rivera wrote.
While Rashad and Rivera are some of the latest celebrities to stand with the court’s decision, many celebrities and public figures were quick to acknowledge their opposition to the ruling.
"To every woman who was sexual assaulted by #BillCosby my heart hurts for you today and I am full fury. It’s horrifying," actress Debra Messing wrote.
"Heartbreaking for all survivors. #MeToo lasts forever," actress Ellen Barkin added.
Actress Rosanna Arquette wrote, "Bill Cosby was not put in prison because he was a Black man he was put in prison because he drugged and raped many women for decades."
Actress Amber Tamblyn, known for the movie "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" has been open on social media regarding her own experiences with sexual assault. She noted that she was "furious to hear the news" of the Cosby’s vacated conviction and she personally knew "women who this man drugged and raped while unconscious."
The court found that an agreement with a previous prosecutor prevented Cosby from being charged in the case. He has currently served over two of his three to 10-year sentence.
RELATED: Bill Cosby charges: Timeline of case leading up to vacated conviction
Cosby, 83, was arrested in 2015 and convicted in 2018 of drugging and assaulting Andrea Constand, a Temple University employee, at his suburban estate in 2004.
He had vowed to serve all 10 years rather than acknowledge any remorse over the 2004 encounter with accuser Andrea Constand.