Keshia Knight Pulliam, who played Bill Cosby's TV daughter Rudy Huxtable, escorts him into court Monday for sexual assault trial
Keshia Knight Pulliam, who played Bill Cosby's TV daughter Rudy Huxtable on "The Cosby Show," walked arm-in-arm with Cosby on Monday as he entered court for his sexual assault trial.
The two looked unexpectedly -- perhaps inexplicably -- cheerful, at times gleefully laughing as they headed from Cosby's car to the Pennsylvania courthouse where he'll stand trial. Cosby, 79, has claimed innocence following accusations of rape from more than 50 women.
Dressed in a polka-dot top and bright pink scarf, 38-year-old Pulliam burst into laughter alongside Cosby, who played her dad for eight seasons on the air. They did not respond to press questions, instead chatting with each other and giggling at each other's jokes.
Cosby will face prison time if convicted of alleged crimes that date as far back as the 1960s and as recently as about a decade ago. Accuser Andrea Constand will take the witness stand to detail her claims that Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her 13 years ago at his home in suburban Philadelphia.
Publicly joining Cosby at Montgomery County Courthouse is a bold show of support by Pulliam, who gave a more lukewarm response when asked about the disturbing allegations in January 2016.
"What I can say is this: I wasn't there," she said, calling it an "unfortunate situation." She added, "That just wasn't how I ever experienced him."
Months later, on her own podcast, she seemingly doubled down on her doubts about the claims: "Okay, let me just say this real quick, cause, you know, I feel you and everyone's entitled to their opinion," she said. "But, you know, we still live in a country where you're innocent until proven guilty. And I understand everything that's happened, and me being a feminist and believing women. I mean, 'no' means 'no' and I get that."
She then said that it was difficult for her to picture any of the claims being true because "that isn't the man that I know."
RELATED: See photos of Bill Cosby through the years
Pulliam herself has occasionally made headlines over the past year: Her estranged husband, ex-NFL player Ed Hartwell, filed for divorce while she was three months pregnant with their daughter. They'd been married for six months. He has strongly hinted that based on the timing of the pregnancy, he believes Pulliam was unfaithful: "As time kept going past and the days went past, some things just weren't adding up."
None of Cosby's biological family members were present on Monday, his spokesperson Andrew Wyatt confirmed. However, his daughters recently publicly defended their father, saying accusations are "one-sided" and that racism is involved in his ruined reputation.
