Over the weekend Bill Cosby‘s daughter Ensa Cosby reportedly died in Massachusetts. She was 44 years old.
TMZ reports that as of Monday (Feb. 26) the cause of death is renal disease, which is a disease that impairs kidney function. TMZ reported Ensa may have been in line for a transplant. Shortly after news broke of Ensa’s death, a spokeswoman for the Cosby family confirmed the news.
“The Cosby Family thanks many people for their prayers for their beloved and beautiful Ensa,” a statement obtained by CNN reads.
As Cosby dealt with sexual assault allegations from more than a dozen women, Ensa was always a staunch supporter for her father, even publicly defending him in a statement.
“I strongly believe my father is innocent of the crimes alleged against him, and I believe that racism has played a big role in all aspects of this scandal,” she said.
Ensa called the media attack launched against her father a “lynching” and spoke about the affect it’s had on the family.
“My father has been publicly lynched in the media and my family, my young daughter, my young niece and nephew have had to stand helplessly by and watch the double standard or pretending to protect the rights of some but ignoring the rights of others,” she said.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first child Cosby and his wife Camille have lost. In 1997, their son Ennis was murdered during a robbery gone awry.
Check out an episode of The Cosby Show featuring Ensa wearing orange pants.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=lt_OqrwgWiI