‘The View’s’ Rosie O’Donnell Predicts There are ‘Hundreds’ of Bill Cosby Rape Victims (Video)

“People can say anything,” Whoopi Goldberg says, sticking in the comedian’s corner

The Bill Cosby controversy is far from over, according to Rosie O’Donnell. “The View” co-host made a bold prediction on Tuesday’s show, saying she thinks there are “hundreds” of alleged victims that have yet to come forward.

“I think it will probably end up in the hundreds, and I don’t necessarily think that that’s such an outlandish possibility,” O’Donnell said of the number of women who will eventually accuse Cosby of rape.

On the other side of the table, Whoopi Goldberg challenged yet again whether or not Cosby should be convicted in the court of public opinion.

“People can say anything,” Goldberg said. “If you’ve been on the other side of this, then you know. Once somebody paints you with that brush, you are that forever. So I want to be surer.”

“When you have been the victim of rape or child molestation, what you want is accountability for the person who did it to you — who kind of shattered your perspective of the world for a very long time,” said O’Donnell, who  in the past has herself talked about being abused as a child. “It’s like looking through a broken mirror, and it’s very painful.”

“And when you’re the person that’s been accused, and it turns out that you are innocent, like the Duke lacrosse boys, their lives are shattered as well,” Goldberg said. “Which is why I always say, please, I want as much information as I can get, because nobody wins here. Nobody wins. As the grandmother of a son, you want to be sure before anybody says this is what it is.”

The two continued to go back and forth, with O’Donnell eventually asking Goldberg: “What would be the number that you would think, ‘well maybe it’s true.’ Would it be, like, 100? How many women would have to say it?”

“Whatever the truth is, let’s fight for it,” Goldberg said. “Let’s not just accept what’s being said. Let’s say, OK, we hate that this is true, and if it is true, then we’ll get him. But I can’t just say, OK, I’m just going to take your word.”

“I think I might agree with you if it were one or possibly two, but it’s 26 right now,” O’Donnell said.

Guest co-host Michelle Beadle questioned whether Cosby will ever publicly address these many claims.

“He has settled many cases where there’s a gag order, and they’re not allowed to speak,” O’Donnell said. “He has settled them out of court, but he has not addressed this aside from tweeting support to people who he feels are supporting him publicly.”

“Like myself,” Goldberg noted.

As TheWrap previously reported, Cosby thanked Goldberg personally on Twitter. He also thanked singer-songwriter Jill Scott, who also came out publicly to dispute anyone who rushed to judge Cosby without proper evidence.

As heated as the discussion became, Goldberg ended the “Hot Topics” segment with an explanation that she and her co-hosts are capable of having lively debates while still respecting each other’s opinions.

“I know people get very nervous, but don’t,” Goldberg said. “We’re actually adults; we can have this conversation and disagree with each other very stridently, but that’s what conversation are for. That’s what women do.”

Watch video from “The View” here.

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