The Kennedy Center has revoked two honors it bestowed on Bill Cosby over the past two decades following a Pennsylvania jury reaching a guilty verdict against the comedian on charges of aggravated indecent assault.
“Today the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts voted to rescind two artistic achievement awards the institution had previously bestowed upon Bill Cosby: the Kennedy Center Honors (1998) and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor (2009),” The Kennedy Center said in a statement.
“The Honors and Mark Twain Prize are given to artists who, through their lifetime of work, have left an indelible impact on American culture,” the statement continued. “As a result of Mr. Cosby’s recent criminal conviction, the Board concluded that his actions have overshadowed the very career accomplishments these distinctions from the Kennedy Center intend to recognize.”
The Kennedy Center’s decision comes on the heels of the Television Academy removing Cosby from its hall of fame last week. Since his conviction on April 26, Yale University and Temple University (Cosby’s alma mater) have also rescinded honorary degrees they gave Cosby, and Bounce TV has pulled Cosby Show reruns from the air indefinitely.
Cosby faces more than 50 accusations of sexual misconduct from women across four decades. He was convicted in April of aggravated indecent assault against Andrea Constand, former director of operations for the women’s basketball team at Temple University, over an incident that occurred in 2004.
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