Much to fans’ confusion (and anger), Bill Cosby is sending his gratitude to Snoop Dogg via Instagram and Twitter after the rapper declared to “Free bill Cosby” on Feb. 6. That’s because Bill, 82, isn’t sitting at home — he’s a convicted sex offender who was sentenced to three-10 years in prison in Sept. 2018. Their exchange of social media love began after Snoop called out CBS This Morning anchor Gayle King and Oprah for allegedly focusing on black men’s sexual assault accusations, versus white men facing the same allegations, like Harvey Weinstein.
“Snoop – when they brought me to my gated community and placed me inside of my penthouse, they didn’t win nor did they silence me,” Bill began his Instagram message on Feb. 6, which accompanied a photo of the controversial comedian pointing to Snoop. He continued, “It’s so sad and disappointing that successful Black Women are being used to tarnish the image and legacy of successful Black Men, even in death. Are these people that in need of fame, ratings and/or money? On behalf of myself, Camille [Cosby] and my family, thank you, thank you and thank you. My heartfelt prayers are with Kobe and his family, as well as with Michael Jackson and his family. May their legacies live on forever.” Snoop appreciated the shout-out, because he reposted the message on Instagram and wrote, “Love u uncle bill. 🤜🏾🔥💯.”
Bill’s reference to Kobe Bryant comes after Gayle brought up the late NBA star’s 2003 rape charge, which was dismissed in 2004, in an interview with WNBA alum and Kobe’s friend, Lisa Leslie. CBS shared this portion of the conversation online on Feb. 4, just days after Kobe lost his life along with his daughter Gianna, 13, in a helicopter crash. Given the timing and tragedy of their deaths, Snoop was outraged. “Gayle King…out of pocket for that sh–. Way out of pocket. What do you gain from that? I swear to God we the worst. We the f—ing worst,” Snoop vented in a video, continuing, “We expect more from you, Gail. Don’t you hang out with Oprah? Why y’all attacking us? We your people. You ain’t come after Harvey Weinstein asking them dumb– questions.”
While many fans sided with Snoop — 50 Cent included — other fans were confused as to why Bill was on social media, and double confused as to why Snoop was defending him. “Idk who needs to hear this but adding ‘free Bill Cosby’ to your defense of Kobe is doing the opposite of what you think it’s doing. Out here looking f–ing stupid,” one such fan tweeted, while another wrote, “When Bill Cosby dictates a tweet from prison to defend you, you’re probably on the wrong side…” Many Twitter users chimed in to remind others that Bill, despite insisting his innocence, has been accused of some horrific crimes; a jury found Bill guilty of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, an employee at Temple University, in 2004.
i apologize for his language in advance, to people who get distracted by words and miss the point. @SnoopDogg expressing how he feels about Gale & oprah funky Dog Face LOL #starzgettheapp #abcforlife #lecheminduroi #bransoncognac pic.twitter.com/2t2NDDHdsu
— 50cent (@50cent) February 6, 2020
Gayle isn’t too happy, herself. “Unbeknownst to me, my network put up a clip from a very wide-ranging interview, totally taken out of context and when you see it that way, it’s very jarring,” the television personality said in an Instagram video on Feb. 6. Gayle also commended Kobe as “kind and warm,” and told her Instagram followers, “The last thing I would want to do is disparage him at this particular time. I hope people understand that.”