Lisa Bonet is one of the few Cosby Show cast members that hasn’t thrown their support behind her embattled co-star Bill Cosby. Where Phylicia Rashad and Malcolm Jamal Warner have defended the actor-comedian, Bonet has remained mum about the 60 women who have accused Cosby of sexual assault and harassment. But in a new interview with Net-A-Porter, Bonet says she always felt a “sinister, shadow” energy from her former TV dad.
The lengthy article touches on many topics, including Bonet’s post-Cosby Show career. When asked if the allegations about Cosby, which include Andrea Constand’s claim that he drugged and raped her in 2005, had soured the experience of being part of an iconic TV family, Bonet says, “No, it’s exactly as I remember it.” The reporter then asks if the actress, who went on to star in the spin-off A Different World, ever sensed that “anything was happening,” to which Bonet replies, “There was no knowledge on my part about his specific actions, but… There was just energy. And that type of sinister, shadow energy cannot be concealed.”
Asked if she “sensed a darkness,” Bonet quickly responds: “Always. And if I had anything more to reveal then it would have happened a long time ago. That’s my nature. The truth will set you free.” Though she also still holds the series in high regard, Bonet doesn’t show the same concern about preserving the beloved sitcom’s legacy as her former co-stars Rashad, Warner, and Keshia Knight Pulliam, who all stand behind Cosby. But then, Bonet always had a more contentious relationship with Cosby, who fired her from the popular show over creative differences—namely, the fact that she did a sex scene with Mickey Rourke in Angel Heart. With Cosby now looking at a sexual assault retrial in Pennsylvania, Bonet says, “I don’t need to say, ‘I told you so.’ I just leave all that to karma and justice and what will be.”