Malcolm-Jamal Warner: Cosby case "literally taking money out of my pocket"

Photo: Erica Parise/Warner Bros. Television

By Jennifer Brett

March 3, 2016

Bill Cosby's legal woes are costing Malcolm-Jamal Warner money. Because "Cosby Show" reruns were yanked amid allegations and then charges of sexual assault, "It's literally taking money out of my pocket," Warner said during a visit to "The Real" airing Monday. "It personally affects me."

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Photo: Erica Parise/Warner Bros. Television

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Warner stressed that he was not in a position to defend his former TV dad but noted what he called the "unbalanced" ramifications of Cosby's troubles, compared to other high-profile cases.

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"You just look at how the media is playing this whole thing out. And I can’t help but think about Woody Allen, Roman Polanski, Stephen Collins," he said.

A 1985 image from "The Cosby Show." Photo: Jacques M. Chenet/CORBIS

Allen's adopted daughter Dylan Farrow accused him of molesting her when she was a child in an open letter published by the New York Times. He has never been prosecuted and has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing.

Polanski pleaded guilty to sex with a minor in 1978 but fled the country. He accepted a 2002 Oscar in absentia since he remains a wanted man in the United States. "The 13-year-old victim's testimony cast the then-43-year-old Polanski as a sexual predator who used deceit, drugs and adult psychology to lure his victim into sex," the Los Angeles Times reported.

“Seventh Heaven” actor Collins revealed to People magazine in 2014 that he had “inappropriate sexual contact with three female minors” that occurred from 1973 to 1994. Due to statutes of limitations he did not face prosecution.

"There’s no one that, you know, has been calling for Woody’s movies to be pulled off the air. Roman Polanski is still celebrated," Warner said. "Stephen Collins’ show still comes on. So it’s just interesting how it’s very unbalanced. They were trying to take Mr. Cosby’s star off the Hollywood Walk of Fame. And I am in no position to defend him because I can’t. But nor will I throw him under the bus."

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