Clair Huxtable, Please Just Shut The F*ck Up!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpEj00g9CyE&w=420&h=315%5D

Dear “Clair Huxtable,”

Let me first start by saying THANK YOU. Thank you so much for setting us back 50 years. Instead of using your status as a well-loved and revered actress to help give women a voice, you decided to take that trust and smash it to pieces. Girl, you had one job and you failed us.

In case you guys haven’t already heard, Phylicia Rashad recently broke her silence on the allegations against Bill Cosby. In an interview with Showbiz 411, Rashad was quoted as saying that we should “Forget these women. What you’re seeing is the destruction of a legacy. And I think it’s orchestrated. I don’t know why or who’s doing it, but it’s the legacy. And it’s a legacy that is so important to the culture.”

Say what?

What’s even more interesting is that once the floodgates opened, she announced to the press that she was misquoted. In an effort to make things “right” (and protect her own ass), she then followed up with: “This is not about the women. This is about something else. This is about the obliteration of legacy.” Thank you so much for clarifying and letting us know that “this is not about the women.”

More than 20 women have shared their stories about the sexual assault they allegedly faced at the hands of comedian and (former) TV legend Bill Cosby. With some of their accounts dating back all the way to the late 1970s, it still really isn’t that surprising that yet another celebrity has decided to speak up in his favor in spite of the accusations stacking against him. However, the one person that some people were secretly hoping would comment on these allegations finally did. But what she had to say seriously broke my heart…and also pissed me the hell off.

The Cosby Show‘s Clair Huxtable has often been hailed as one of the biggest feminist icons in TV history. As a once avid Cosby fan (now I can’t even stomach it), there’s no question that her role as a kick-ass attorney helped redefine the representation of working women in the media. But when Phylicia Rashad decided to step in, she pretty much confirmed the argument that I’ve been spitting at Cosby fans—and all of those sites that are quick to use her as a figurehead for black woman— for years. Yes, Clair Huxtable was a successful, strong-willed woman who more than held her own. But Rashad is NOT her character. Not to say that she doesn’t have the right to her opinion, because we all do, but hearing her tell the world to “forget these women” (or according to her correction, “this is not about the women”) is just so utterly tragic.

In fact, according to Phylicia Rashad, all of this is nothing more than an “orchestrated plan” to attack the “legacy” of the show because at the end of the day, fictional television is more important than the lives of actual people.

As a woman, hearing that there is a chance, no matter how slight, that another woman may have been abused, taken advantage of, and degraded leaves a heavy feeling in my chest. As a human, I don’t think it matters whether you believe the allegations are true or not; it’s about having the decency to tread carefully on such a tragic subject. To first discredit the alleged victims because of their gender and then tell society that we need to “forget” them is not only the biggest slap in the face to women everywhere, but to the feminist movement (and humanity) as a whole. The fact that she can reduce women to nothing without batting an eye and can only think of it as a ploy to destroy that superficial legacy is disappointing and just plain ignorant on so many levels. Bye, Phylicia.

What I think she meant to say is that these allegations are attacking her chance of having an even fatter wallet from all of those royalty checks.

But her misguided and straight up selfish comment isn’t even the worst part about this. I find it strange that everyone is so invested in hearing what she has to say about the case instead of, you know, the actual person being accused. Where are all of those “WTF, Bill Cosby?!” articles? When will everyone stop patting him on the back and defending him just because he was the star of a freaking show? Why are we holding our breath that his coworkers, close friends and family would ever speak out against him? Why did it take comedian Hannibal Buress, a man, to accuse Cosby on Twitter (of all places) for us to take notice?

I don’t know about you but I think that is a major f*cking problem.

This post originally appeared at YourTango.