Black activists demand actor's Hollywood Walk of Fame star removed

joan

July 10, 2015 7:15 PM

One of the activists, Najee Ali, told the AP, June 9 that: ''If they don’t remove that star, we can call it the walk of shame.''

Bill Cosby's Hollywood Walk of Fame star could be removed after the actor admitted in a 2005 deposition to buying drugs to give women he intended to sleep with. Now, some black activist want his star taken off!

One of the activists, Najee Ali, told the AP, June 9 that: ''If they don’t remove that star, we can call it the walk of shame. Cosby to black America is an icon, but once an icon figure betrays the trust of the community, we have to withdraw our support and condemn their actions.''

Earl Ofari Hutchinson, president of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable, said he and many other prominent black leaders had reserved judgment on the comedian as the accusations piled up late last year, but are no longer on the fence after this week’s revelation, which came from a deposition in his 2005 case against a one-time employee of Temple University.

''We were there, we remained silent — but no more,'' Hutchinson said. (At the outset of the scandal, Cosby had urged black media to stay neutral until the facts were revealed.)

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce president Leron Gubler said the organization would not set a precedent in removing a star from the iconic display. ''We have never removed a star from the Walk … Once a star has been added to the Walk,'' he said, ''it is considered a part of the historic fabric of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.''

The star at the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and North Highland Avenue — which the sitcom king received in November 1977 — was vandalized with the word “rapist” after news of the drugging accusations broke late last year.

Meanwhile, Disney World Resort has thrown out Cosby's statue this week and other efforts have been made to eliminate Cosby-related landmarks.

joan