After months of relative silence, Bill Cosby has finally addressed the rape and sexual assault allegations against him, broaching the subject in an interview on Good Morning America.
Cosby was on the show to discuss his work with the Black Belt Foundation, which works to transform underfunded and underperforming areas in the South, when GMA‘s Linsey Davis asked him what he would say if a young person pressed him on the allegations.
“I am prepared to tell this young person about life,” he said. “I think that many of them say, ‘Well you’re a hypocrite. My point is, ‘OK, listen to me carefully, I’m telling you where the road is out. I’m telling you where as you’re driving you’re going to go into water and it looks like it may only be three inches but you and your car are going to go here. Now, you want to go here or you want to be concerned about who’s giving you the message?'”
So far, 41 women have accused Cosby of rape and sexual assault in the 1970s and 1980s, with most of those allegations coming to light in recent months. Davis asked if Cosby was concerned that the allegations would overshadow the message of the Black Belt Foundation.
“I have been in this business over 52 years and I have never seen anything like this,” Cosby said. “Reality is the situation. And I can’t speak.”
ABC’s Nightline will air more of the Cosby interview on Friday night.
H/T THR | Screengrab via ABC News