Boston Herald

Cosby's TV family vows to come to his defense

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Nothing to see here folks — except the happy Huxtables are headed to court.

Bill Cosby might have a team of high-powered attorneys trying to get him off that 2004 rape charge, but his best courtroom weapon is his TV daughter.

Cosby is hoping Keshia Knight Pulliam — aka Rudy Huxtable — will turn the jury in his favor.

Because questions have been raised about what his wife in real life knew and when she knew it, we will instead see his fictional family in court. TV wife Phylicia Rashad is expected later this week in the Pennsylvan­ia courtroom.

“Phylicia has never wavered in her support of Bill and she’s said she’ll be available for whatever he might need, whenever he might need it,” a friend of the actress told Page Six.

About 50 women have come forward in recent years claiming one of America’s favorite TV dads raped, drugged, coerced or sexually assaulted them going back to 1965.

Since the actor was loved by so many, these women claimed, no one would believe that Dr. Huxtable could do such a thing.

Now the 79-year-old disgraced actor hopes he can use the same logic to convince the jury this funny man wouldn’t hurt a fly, much less a woman.

In 2015, Pulliam responded to the allegation­s against Cosby. “You know, it is very unfortunat­e, but that’s not the man I know,” she told Inside Edition. “That is not what I experience­d.”

Cosby is accused of having drugged and raped Temple University employee Andrea Constand.

Cosby is not expected to testify. Several of his accusers were present for opening statements.

Assistant District Attorney Kristen Feden told jurors, “Trust, betrayal, and the inability to consent. That’s what this case is about. ... This is a case about a man, this man,” she said as she pointed at Cosby, “who used his power and his fame and his previously practiced method of placing a young trusting woman in an incapacita­ted state so that he could sexually pleasure himself so that she couldn’t say no.”

Defense attorney Brian McMonagle reminded the jury that the original prosecutor in the case never charged Cosby after they “exhaustive­ly investigat­ed” him at the time.

“Their investigat­ion revealed that Andrea Constand had been untruthful time and time and time again,” he said.

Cosby’s fake family needs to persuade the jury that the man known for cracking corny jokes for decades is the same man in real life.

If so, he will get the last laugh.

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