Keshia Knight Pulliam, best known for playing Bill Cosby’s youngest child Rudy in the iconic sitcom The Cosby Show – which was pulled from syndication on a number of networks – does not feel the controversy surrounding her famous TV father should cloud the show’s undeniable legacy.
“You can’t take back the impact that it’s had on generations of kids, and it’s continuing to have such a positive impact on them,” Pulliam, 36, told The Grio. “So I feel like the place that it has in people’s hearts is such a nostalgic part of childhood and beyond, it’s going to be difficult to take back those memories.” She then went on to say that the man the public perceives Cosby to be today is not the person she grew up knowing: someone who is philanthropic and charitable.
“All I can speak to is the man that I know and I love,” she said. “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 … Ultimately, they’re just that, allegations.”
The groundbreaking comedian has been under fire after more than 50 women have come forward claiming that Cosby had drugged and or sexually assaulted them- claims spanning several decades. Cosby has had many colleges and universities cut ties with him in the wake of the controversy, including Spelman College, Pulliam’s alma mater. This Friday (Oct. 9), NBC’s Dateline will be airing a special joint interview with 27 of Cosby’s accusers.