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Bill Cosby, Convicted Of Drugging, Raping Woman, Calls Himself ‘America’s Dad’ In Father’s Day Message From Prison
Cosby’s post didn't exactly generate warm feelings on social media.
Bill Cosby may be currently incarcerated, but he didn’t let that stop him from wishing the world a happy Father’s Day.
The 81-year-old disgraced actor and comedian posted a message on his Instagram on Sunday that reads, “Hey, Hey, Hey...It’s America’s Dad...I know it’s late, but to all of the Dads... It’s an honor to be called a Father, so let’s make today a renewed oath to fulfilling our purpose — strengthening our families and communities.”
The accompanying hashtags included “AmericasFavoriteDad” and “FarFromFinished.” Also posted alongside was an old video of Cosby discussing America’s history of slavery and racism.
Cosby is currently incarcerated at Pennsylvania's State Correctional Institute at Phoenix, where he began serving a prison sentence of three to 10 years in September after he was found guilty of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004. A judge also ruled in favor of classifying Cosby as a sexually violent predator, one of many decisions that Cosby’s legal team is reportedly fighting against.
Andrew Wyatt, a spokesperson for Cosby, told USA Today that Cosby requested that his team post a Father’s Day message on his behalf in support of Man Up, a nonprofit organization focused on providing mentoring and other resources to under-served youth.
“Mr. Cosby’s (message) consisted of telling these men who have been incarcerated for many years, but are up for parole soon...to...take the word ‘disadvantage’ and remove the ‘dis,’ and start focusing on the advantage,” Wyatt told the outlet. “That advantage is to be better fathers and productive citizens.”
Cosby may have had good intentions, but his message was met with derision online, with many scoffing at the decision to refer to himself as “America’s dad.”
“Not so much dad as the creepy uncle we all stopped inviting to Thanksgiving. You're still not invited, Bill,” one Twitter user wrote amid a sea of gifs.
“Why did you think this was a good idea?” wrote another.
Amid his mounting legal troubles in recent years, Cosby has steadily fallen from grace, and was stripped of numerous honors ahead of his eventual conviction.
