Bill Cosby, who is currently serving three to 10 years in a maximum-security prison for a sexual assault conviction, tweeted on Thursday to thank Snoop Dogg for coming to his defense.
The rapper had posted a series of enraged Instagram messages over Gayle King’s “CBS This Morning” interview on Tuesday with retired WNBA star Lisa Leslie. King was criticized for simply asking her guest about the sexual assault charges once pursued against Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash last month.
Snoop Dogg, who has posted extensively about the Los Angeles Lakers legend in the wake of his death, denounced King in a video posted to Instagram afterwards. He criticized King and Oprah Winfrey, saying: “Why y’all attacking us? We your people. You ain’t coming after fucking Harvey Weinstein asking him dumbass questions.”
“How dare you try and tarnish my motherfucking homeboy’s reputation.... Respect the family and back off, bitch, before we come get you.”
In subsequent posts, Snoop Dogg directed attacks at other Black women for what he indicated was disproportionality calling attention to alleged sexual assaults by Black men. He suggested that they were treating white men, like Harvey Weinstein, easier for similar accusations.
He shared an image of Oprah Winfrey and Weinstein ― who is currently on trial for multiple sexual assault allegations ― accusing Winfrey of supporting Weinstein while advocating against Michael Jackson. (Winfrey has adamantly supported the explosive “Leaving Neverland” documentary series on HBO, which explored two allegations of child sexual abuse against Michael Jackson.)
It’s not the first time Winfrey has faced these accusations. Others, including 50 Cent, have called her out for only “going after Black men.” Winfrey has spoken out against Weinstein on several occasions.
“Free Bill Cosby,” Snoop Dogg concluded his post.
Cosby, or whoever is operating his Twitter account, commented several hours later, saying that it was “so sad and disappointing that successful Black Women are being used to tarnish the image and legacy of successful Black Men even in death.”
“Thank you, thank you and thank you,” he wrote in tweets addressed to the rapper. He also shared multiple hashtags, including #StopTearingDownBlackMen and #EnoughisEnough.
King had spoken out in defense of her interview on Thursday, arguing that the network had taken the “most salacious part” of a long and wide-ranging discussion about Bryant’s legacy and aired it out of context.
“Yes, we talked about that court case because that court case has also come up. And I wanted to get Lisa’s take on it as a friend who knew him well,” King said.
Cosby, in his tweets, conflated himself with Michael Jackson and Bryant, suggesting that Winfrey, King and others had agendas for “fame, ratings and/or money” in their attempts to tear them down.
Cosby’s name was trending on Thursday, as many Twitter users noted to Snoop Dogg that citing a man convicted of sexual assault in order to defend Bryant was not achieving his intended purpose.