CULTURE

Bill Cosby's Wife Defends Comedian: "He Is the Man You Thought You Knew"

1:57 PM PST 12/15/2014 by THR Staff

AP Images/Invision
Camille Cosby

The comedian faces multiple claims of sexual assault

Bill Cosby's wife, Camille, has issued a statement in support of her husband in the wake of multiple new and resurfaced sexual assault allegations against the comedian. 

"He is the man you thought you knew," Camille Cosby wrote in a statement that reported by ABC News and CBS News. 

"A different man has been portrayed in the media over the last two months. It is the portrait of a man I do not know. It is also a portrait painted by individuals and organizations whom many in the media have given a pass," the comedian's wife wrote. "There appears to be no vetting of my husband's accusers before stories are published or aired. An accusation is published, and immediately goes viral." 

Multiple women, including Janice Dickinson, Barbara Bowman, Beverly Johnson, Angela Leslie, Joan Tarshis and others, have publicly told their stories in recent weeks, accusing the comedian of sexual assault. 

Read more Bill Cosby Faces Defamation Lawsuit From Alleged Sex Abuse Victim

In the Monday statement, Camille Cosby also likened the media's coverage of her husband to the fallout surrounding a Rolling Stone article about a rape on the campus of the University of Virginia that the magazine later admitted had reporting errors.

Bill Cosby has remained mostly silent about the allegations, aside from brief comments to a New York Post reporter where he stated that media should approach the issue with a "neutral mind." The comedian is currently on a live standup tour, although multiple tour dates have been canceled in recent weeks. 

Camille Cosby's full statement: