Contrary to speculation by Judd Apatow, fired “Celebrity Apprentice” contestant Keshia Knight does not hate her former “Cosby Show” dad, Bill Cosby, because of numerous allegations of sexual assault.
“What I can say is this: I wasn’t there. No one was there except for the two people who know exactly what happened,” Pulliam, who played Rudy Huxtable on the NBC sitcom, told “Today Show” host Savannah Guthrie in an interview on Monday. “All I can speak to is the man that I know and I love.”
Pulliam, who more recently starred in TBS sitcom “Tyler Perry‘s House of Payne,” got the axe from “Apprentice” boss Donald Trump because she did not ask Cosby for a charitable donation during the premiere episode’s challenge, which her team lost.
Apatow, a filmmaker who has continued to criticize Cosby on social media, tweeted “she didn’t because she probably hates him.”
“She has know [sic] for years that he is an awful person,” Apatow continued. “Accusations started in 05.”
Pulliam said her decision against reaching out to Cosby had nothing to do with the controversy surrounding his name.
“I know the ‘Cosby Show’ is in re-runs, and everyone has seen we’re this family that has dinner every Friday night, but the reality was I hadn’t spoken to Mr. Cosby,” Pulliam said, “and I felt that it would be kind of tactless… you know, very rude to call someone and be like, ‘Hey, so let me have some money right now.’ Honestly, with the other checks that I had lined up, I didn’t feel that I needed to make that phone call.”
When asked for her thoughts on sexual assault allegations against Cosby leveled by over 20 women, including former models Janice Dickinson and Beverly Johnson, Pulliam defended the man she knew as a child.
“You can’t take away from the great that he has done. You know, the millions and millions of dollars that he has given back to colleges and education,” Pulliam said. “It’s very much been played out in the court of public opinion, but we’re still in America where, ultimately, you’re innocent until proven guilty. And I wasn’t there. That’s just not the man I know, so I can’t speak to it.”