Rappers React to Bill Cosby’s Sexual Assault Conviction Being Overturned
Bill Cosby's freedom came sooner than he expected.
According to ABC News on Wednesday (June 30), the veteran actor-comedian was released from State Correctional Institution Phoenix in Montgomery County, Penn. this afternoon just hours after the state's Supreme Court overturned his 2018 sexual assault conviction.
The 83-year-old entertainer was released after serving nearly three years of a three-to-10-year sentence after being found guilty of drugging and sexually assaulting Temple University sports administrator Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. Cosby was also accused of drugging or sexually assaulting 60 women dating back to the 1970s.
In the ruling, the state Supreme Court said that Cosby's prosecution should never have happened since the comedian struck a deal with former Montgomery County prosecutor Bruce Castor, who agreed not to criminally prosecute Bill Cosby if the actor gave a deposition in a civil case filed against him by Constand. During that deposition, Cosby made incriminating statements which Castor's successor, Kevin R. Steele, used to charge Cosby in 2015.
The state Supreme Court said Cosby cannot be retried on the same charges.
On the day of his release, Cosby tweeted, "I have never changed my stance nor my story. I have always maintained my innocence. Thank you to all my fans, supporters and friends who stood by me through this ordeal. Special thanks to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for upholding the rule of law. #BillCosby," along with a photo of himself standing with his fist in the air.
Upon hearing the news that Cosby has been released from prison today, several rappers hopped on social media to express their thoughts on the comedian's newfound freedom.
50 Cent shared on his Instagram page a vintage print ad of Cosby holding a Jello pudding pop. In the caption of the now-deleted IG post, Fif wrote, "My son Bill beat that case, These hoe’s be tripping. LOL check out FOR LIFE on IMDb Tv now!"
On Twitter, Freddie Gibbs was surprised to hear of Cosby's release. "D'Fuck," he tweeted with a link to a news story regarding Cosby's overturned conviction. He then added, "R. Kelly definitely calling Bill Cosby lawyers right now."
Boosie BadAzz, a longtime supporter of the "Free Bill Cosby" movement, offered excitement over the court's decision.
"YALL DONT JOIN BILL COSBY TEAM NOW YALL WAS CLOWNING ME AT FIRST #fakeassworld #billfree THEM HOES LYIN #facts," he tweeted.
Then, on Instagram today, Boosie said, "Got the news, Bill Cosby free. Welcome home, Bill boy, from Boosie BadAzz. Fuck you mean, man? God don't sleep. Yeah. Corona here, y'all still ain't wanna let the man out of jail. God don't sleep, man. Free Bill Cosby, man. Bet that, man. Yeah. Free Bill, man. Told y'all."
Shortly after Bill Cosby's release, his attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, told reporters, "He served three years of an unjust sentence. He did it with dignity, principal and he was a mentor to other inmates. He was really, as I say, doing the time. The time was not doing him."
Check out more rappers and producers in the game reacting to the news of Bill Cosby's conviction being overturned below.