On Tuesday, entertainer Bill Cosby was sentenced to three to 10 years behind bars for the sexual assault of Toronto woman Andrea Constand, and in a press conference, his publicist Andrew Wyatt said the disgraced actor is the victim of a “sex war.”
Wyatt compared Cosby’s conviction to the misconduct allegations against U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, and said it was the result of “the most racist and sexist trial in the history of the United States.”
(Kavanaugh is currently facing two accusations of sexual misconduct, both of which he denies, calling them a “smear.”)
READ MORE: Read Andrea Constand’s emotional victim-impact statement about Bill Cosby
“What is going on in Washington today with Judge Kavanaugh is part of that sex war that Judge O’Neill along with his wife are part of,” Wyatt said, referring to the judge in the Cosby case, Montgomery County Judge Steven O’Neill.
“Dr. Cosby has been one of the greatest civil rights leaders in the United States for over the last 50 years,” proclaimed Wyatt outside the Pennsylvania courthouse. “He has also been one of the greatest educators of men and boys over the last 50 years. This was not pointed out to the jury or allowed in court, because the racist and sexist mass media was attacking and denouncing Dr. Cosby whenever his lawyers even hinted there was racism and sexism present.”
Wyatt also referred to the psychologists who testified during the Cosby trial, seemingly accusing them of racist motivations in their testimony.
“All three of the psychologists who testified against Dr. Cosby were white women who make money off of accusing black men of being sexual predators,” he said. “It is no accident that the prosecutors still worked so close with anti-black and anti-male activist groups who tried to extort $100 million from Dr. Cosby in 2014 and continue to produce racist and sexist publicity against him.”
WATCH BELOW: Bill Cosby accuser Sunni Welles reacts to sentencing, says ‘You will always be unforgivable’
He went on to also accuse prosecutors of falsifying evidence, without presenting evidence to support that fact. He also didn’t elaborate on why he thinks psychologist witnesses would commit perjury in order to convict Cosby.
Wyatt’s most egregious statement came when he seemed to compare Cosby to Jesus Christ — though he denied outright comparing the two.
“Mr. Cosby’s doing great, and Mr. Cosby knows that God is watching over him,” he said. “He knows that these are lies. They persecuted Jesus and look what happened. I’m not saying Mr. Cosby is Jesus, but we know what this country has done to black men for centuries.”
Judge O’Neill also declared Cosby, 81, a “sexually violent predator” early Tuesday, ensuring that the former Cosby Show star must undergo monthly counselling for the rest of his life and report four times a year to authorities.
As a result of the classification, he’ll also have to appear on a sex-offender registry sent to schools, neighbours and victims.
READ MORE: Bill Cosby star on Hollywood Walk of Fame vandalized (again)
The judge denied Cosby’s legal team’s request for bail pending appeal. He appeared incredulous over the request and turned it down, saying that even considering Cosby’s age and blindness, “he could quite possibly be a danger to the community.”
Cosby was also fined US$25,000.
Cosby declined the opportunity to address the court before the judge retreated to his chambers to weigh the sentence. After the sentence was announced, he sat smiling, laughing and chatting with his defence team. His wife of 54 years, Camille, was not in court. Constand smiled broadly upon hearing the punishment and was hugged by others in the courtroom.
(You can watch Wyatt’s post-trial commentary in the video, top.)