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« A career in entertainment can devour you if you don’ t define yourself outside of it. That’ s what I’ ve always tried to do— not be just one thing. »— Atlanta Black Star, 2023
The Cosby Show legacy and the complex relationship with Bill Cosby
Warner often emphasizes how revolutionary The Cosby Show was:
Flashmag! Issue 163 August 2025
“ NBC initially considered it a show about an upper-middle-class black family. Mr. Cosby insisted that it was about an upper-middle-class family that happened to be black.“ The sitcom opened up new visibility for the black middle class on American television, showing subjects that were universal rather than specific to one racial group,” he recalled.
After Bill Cosby was accused of multiple sexual assaults( conviction in 2018, overturned in 2021), Warner adopts a nuanced stance:“ He’ s one of my mentors.... It’ s painful to hear a woman talk about sexual assault... it’ s just as painful to see my friend and mentor go through this.“ While refusing to defend Cosby on the accusations, he pays tribute to his mentor’ s cultural influence:“ The Bill Cosby I know has been great for me.... What he has done for comedy and television is legendary... What he’ s done for the black community is priceless. That’ s the Bill Cosby I know.“ Yet in 2015, he confided that the series’ reputation was now“ tarnished”:“ Our biggest concern... negative stereotypes... we’ ve always had The Cosby Show to guard against that... the fact that we don’ t have that anymore.... saddens me.“
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