Earlier this week, actress Phylicia Rashad sent a tweet celebrating the overturning of the conviction and subsequent release of her TV husband Bill Cosby. On Friday, she sent a letter to the Howard University community extensively apologizing for her comments.

“I am sorry. I intend to earn your trust and your forgiveness,” writes Rashad in the letter sent Friday. There had already been loud calls for her firing among students, parents, and alumni.

The initial tweet said that a “terrible wrong is being righted” in reaction to Cosby’s release. There was an immense negative reaction, of course, and Rashad soon deleted the tweet and issued a separate tweet saying she fully supports “survivors of sexual assault coming forward.”

“My post was in no way intended to be insensitive to their truth,” she said in that message, sent Wednesday.

Rashad went one step further in the full apology letter to the students, parents, and community at her alma mater Howard University, where she is now a Dean of the College of Fine Arts. In it, Rashad says she plans to spend the next few weeks engaging in “active listening” and participating in “trainings” to help her better reflect Howard’s “protocol and conduct” in the future, and become a “stronger ally to sexual assault survivors.

Here is a transcript of the letter as shared by Huffpo’s Phillip Lewis.

Dear Students and Parents,

This week, I tweeted a statement that caused so much hurt in so many people — both broadly and inside the Howard community.

I offer my most sincere apology. I have since removed that upsetting tweet.

I am sorry. I intend to earn your trust and your forgiveness.

My remarks were in no way directed towards survivors of sexual assault. I vehemently oppose sexual violence, find no excuse for such behavior, and I know that Howard university has a zero-tolerance policy toward interpersonal violence.

The most important role I have ever played in my life is that of mother to my children, who have taught me to live a life that nourishes, protects and encourages others. Though they are adults now, I still feel the primal instinct to protect them. This is the same feeling that hold for Howard University and each of her students. As a dean in this revered and beloved institution, I am committed to this.

Over the next few weeks, I plan to engage in active listening and participate in trainings to not only reinforce University protocol and conduct, but also to learn how I can become a stronger ally to sexual assault survivors and everyone who has suffered at the hands of an abuser.

Thank you for voicing your concerns, for speaking your truth and for holding leaders accountable for our actions and words.

Excellence in Truth and Service,
Phylicia Rashad
Dean of the College of Fine Arts

Howard University also put out their own statement earlier in the week.

The post Phylicia Rashad Apologizes For Bill Cosby Tweet in Letter to Howard University Families Promising to Become ‘Stronger Ally’ first appeared on Mediaite.

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