Phylicia Rashad's celebration of Bill Cosby's release has left the Howard University community in dismay, with some students calling for her firing

Los Angeles Times

The former Cosby Show star started her new job as dean of the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts at Howard University on Thursday, one day after she celebrated the overturning of Cosby's sexual assault conviction on Twitter. “FINALLY!!!! A terrible wrong is being righted- a miscarriage of justice is corrected!" Rashad tweeted, and later deleted, before walking back her comment in a follow-up tweet. Rashad's tweet has "rattled" the Howard University community. "The exhilaration and pride that had followed the May announcement that the class of 1970 alumna and Tony Award-winning actress would be joining the staff was, for many, replaced with dismay, rage and shame," reports the Los Angeles Times' Ruth Etiesit Samuel. "Just a few weeks before, Katherine Gilyard had joked that she’d switch her major from the School of Communications to the College of Fine Arts just to learn from Rashad. But after reading Rashad’s tweets, she said, her stomach churned." Gilyard says of Rashad: "Now, I wouldn’t walk past Fine Arts if she remains like the current dean of the school. To see how happy she was, rejoicing and thrilled that it’s been overturned … I feel disgusted. That was like a very visceral reaction. My stomach kind of turned, like this is disgusting and not something you expect from someone like that. Yes, they should fire her, but knowing Howard, I don’t think they will.” Samuel adds: "Many people wondered, both publicly on social media and privately, how Rashad could celebrate Cosby’s release after more than 60 women had accused him of assault. More important: How could she be trusted to oversee the needs of college students and campus sexual assault survivors?" Meanwhile, the New York Post reports that outraged Howard University students and alumni are calling for Rashad to be fired. “Hold her a** accountable,” musician Whitney Meritus, class of 2024, wrote on Instagram. “I’d take a non-famous dean who believes (sex assault) victims over a celebrity dean who does sh*t like this."