Campaigners Persuades Hollywood Chamber of Commerce to remove Bill Cosby's star from the Walk of Fame
Cosby, 77, has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than 45 women dating back to the 1960s. He denies the accusations and has never been criminally charged.
Now campaigners have called for the star he received in 1977 to be removed but failed to persuade the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce to remove comedian Bill Cosby's star from the Walk of Fame in the wake of his admission to drugging women before sex.
Cosby was given the star in November 1977, according to the Walk of Fame's website. It is positioned near the busy intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and North Highland Avenue.
In a letter addressed to the Chamber of Commerce, Earl Ofari Hutchinson of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable and Najee Ali of Project Islamic Hope asked for the removal of his star 'in light of the now public admission'.
They wrote: 'Drugging and rape are serious crimes and having a star on the walk honoring Cosby after his admissions of these acts is a gross slap at the industry and the public.'
This week a 2005 lawsuit involving allegations of abuse against Andrea Constand, a basketball coach at Temple University in Philadelphia, was made public.
That case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum, and the documents, which include testimony under oath from Cosby were kept secret for a decade.
In one of the documents, Cosby replied to whether he gave sedatives to one woman before having sex with her saying: 'Yes.' He also admitted giving quaaludes to others.
Despite that admission, the Chamber of Commerce said his star would remain.
Leron Gubler, Hollywood Chamber of Commerce president and chief executive, told NBC Los Angeles: 'Once a star has been added to the walk, it is considered a part of the historic fabric of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Because of this, we have never removed a star from the walk'.
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