Bill Cosby's daughter Evin joins mother in defence against sex claims

One of Bill Cosby's daughters on Tuesday defended the comedian (above) against allegations from more than a dozen women that The Cosby Show star had sexually abused them decades ago. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
One of Bill Cosby's daughters on Tuesday defended the comedian (above) against allegations from more than a dozen women that The Cosby Show star had sexually abused them decades ago. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

LOS ANGELES (REUTERS) - One of Bill Cosby's daughters on Tuesday defended the comedian against allegations from more than a dozen women that The Cosby Show star had sexually abused them decades ago.

Evin Cosby, 38, said in a statement that Cosby "is the father you thought you knew," echoing the statement of her mother, Camille Cosby, who publicly defended her husband for the first time on Monday.

The statements from Camille and Evin Cosby have drawn on the comedian's affable TV persona as the wholesome father Dr Cliff Huxtable on the top-rated series The Cosby Show.

"The Cosby Show was my today's TV reality show," Evin Cosby said in the statement, which was released to celebrity news TV programme Access Hollywood.

The statement released by Evin Cosby, one of Cosby's five children, is her most public defence so far of her father.

She previously had actively defended her father on Facebook and criticised institutions, like Atlanta's Spelman College, that have severed affiliations with the trailblazing African-American comedian.

Cosby's three other living children, all daughters, have not spoken out publicly on the allegations. His son, Ennis, was killed in 1997.

Cosby, 77, has not been charged, and his attorney, Marty Singer, has called the allegations "discredited" and"defamatory."

Cosby settled a 2005 lawsuit alleging sexual misconduct.

He faces one civil suit from the current wave of allegations. Most of the claims, which date back as far as the 1960s, have surpassed the statute of limitations.

Another accuser, Tamara Green, has sued Cosby for defamation.

The comedian, who has largely remained silent, has had two television projects shelved and several standup performances canceled since the numerous allegations started last month.

Cosby's most high-profile accusers include models Janice Dickinson and Beverly Johnson. Dickinson alleges that Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her in 1982 while Johnson alleges Cosby drugged her in the mid-1980s.

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