Whoopi Goldberg and Raven-Symoné, co-hosts of "The View," defended Bill Cosby in light of his admission that he gave Quaaludes to women for sexual purposes, saying he's innocent of sexual assault until proven guilty.
"I say this because this is my opinion, and in America, still, I know it’s a shock, but you actually — we’re innocent until proven guilty," said Goldberg,
according to Entertainment Weekly. "He has not been proven."
Raven-Symoné echoed Goldberg's comment, saying, "I don’t really like talking about it that much because he’s the reason I’m on this panel in the first place — he gave me my first job. But, at the same time, you know, you need the proof and then I’ll be able to give my judgment here or there."
"We’ll see what happens," Goldberg continued. "As more information comes out people can make judgments. I don’t like snap judgments because I’ve had snap judgments made on me. So I’m very, very careful. And save your texts, save your nasty comments, because I don’t care."
This week it came to light that Cosby once admitted in a 2005 deposition that he had in the past kept Quaaludes on hand for sexual purposes. He stopped short of saying he gave them to women without their consent, however, leaving open the possibility that the women he gave the pills to knew they were taking them.
Cosby eventually settled that case, brought by Andrea Constand, for an undisclosed sum. She had accused him of drugging and sexually assaulting her.
Dozens of women have since come forward accusing Cosby of the same or similar crimes, however it appears that the statute of limitations has run out on any criminal claims that could be made against the famous comedian.
In lieu of criminal complaints, however, some accusers have filed defamation suits against Cosby, claiming that his denial of their accusations misrepresents the truth, and in turn defamed them. It is unclear if the evidence from 2005 will affect the outcome of the new defamation suits.