*Cue Ella Fitzgerald*

At last, the woman we’ve all been waiting for. After co-starring with Bill Cosby on both “The Cosby Show” and “Cosby” for over 12 years, Phylicia Rashad has finally broken her silence regarding the barrage of sexual assault allegations that The Cos is facing.

“Forget these women. What you’re seeing is the destruction of a legacy. And I think it’s orchestrated. I don’t know why or who’s doing it, but it’s the legacy. And it’s a legacy that is so important to the culture,” said Rashad. Coming from “The Mother” of the African-American community (given to her at the 42nd NAACP Image Awards), whose impact came from her tell-it-like-it-is character Claire Huxtable, this is no surprise.

According to Roger Friedman of Showbizz 411:

Rashad dismisses claims from both Beverly Johnson and Janice Dickinson. “Oh, please,” she said when their names came up. She also is quick to defend Camille Cosby. “This is a tough woman, a smart woman,” she told me. “She’s no pushover.” There is no question, Rashad said, that Camille Cosby has not been complicit or looked the other way as her husband terrorized women for the last 50 years.

“Someone is determined to keep Bill Cosby off TV,” says Rashad. “And it’s worked. All his contracts have been cancelled.” She went on to elaborate, saying “This show represented America to the outside world. This was the American family. And now you’re seeing it being destroyed. Why?”

–Jamaal Fisher (@jamaalfisher)