Disney quietly cut ties with Bill Cosby on Tuesday night after an Associated Press report revealed that the comedian obtained Quaaludes with intent to give them to women he planned to have sex with, the AP reports. Walt Disney World officials said Cosby's statue was removed from Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park.
A bronze bust of Cosby, 77, was displayed at Disney's Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame Plaza until Tuesday night, according to the Huffington Post. The statue was in a section of the park that paid tribute to legendary TV icons. Its removal follows a report on Monday that in a 2005 deposition obtained by the AP, Cosby said under oath that he "obtained Quaaludes with the intent of giving them to young women he wanted to have sex with," as previously reported by HNGN.
Local news station WESH 2 News Orlando spoke to Brittany Gavrilova, who says her aunt is one of Cosby's alleged sexual assault victims. Gavrilova started a Change.org petition in January, asking Disney to remove the bronze statue from the park. Disney complied but did not provide any additional comment after its removal.
"Especially now that a document has been released where he has admitted to it, I don't think that someone like that should be placed on a pedestal," Gavrilova told WESH 2 News Orlando. "Especially where people bring their families."
