Donald Trump fired Cosby kid, Keisha Knight Pulliam, from The Celebrity Apprentice after she refused to ask Bill Cosby to make a donation to her project.
On the Today show this morning, Keisha, who played Rudy Huxtable on the iconic 80s sitcom, The Cosby Show, defended her decision not to approach her former TV dad for help, and also defended the beleaguered comedian against sexual abuse allegations from over 20 women.
“I know ‘The Cosby Show’ is in reruns, and everyone thinks that we’re this family that has dinner every Friday night,” Keisha said. “But the reality was I hadn’t spoken to Mr. Cosby. I felt that it would be tactless, very rude to call someone and be like, ‘Hey, so, let me have some money right now.'”
After last night’s premiere–Keisha was the first contestant fired when the group she project managed lost the first challenge–viewers wondered if there were darker reasons for the contestant’s refusal to seek help from an old friend. Keisha defended Cosby, putting those rumors to rest.
“What I can say is this: I wasn’t there,” Keisha said. “No one was there except for the two people who know exactly what happened. All I can speak to is the man that I know and I love.
The actress only knew a man who accomplished great things.
“The fact that he’s been such an example, you can’t take away from the great that he has done. You know, the amount … the millions and millions of dollars that he has given back to colleges and education, and just what he did with ‘The Cosby Show’ and how groundbreaking that was.”
Cosby is innocent until proven guilty, Keisha said.
“Ultimately, they’re just that, allegations,” she said. “You know, 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. I wasn’t there. That’s just not the man I know. So I can’t speak to it.”
Watch Keisha Knight Pulliam talk about her experience on The Celebrity Apprentice with The Today Show
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