Steve Harvey has opened up about learning of his friend Bill Cosby’s sex assault allegations and praised the comedian for urging him to stay away so he wouldn’t be dragged down as well.
The Family Feud host said he picked up the phone to reach out to Cosby when the alleged sex assault scandal first broke.
‘When I heard all the trouble he was in, I called and asked him how he was doing,’ Harvey told The Hollywood Reporter.
Steve Harvey has opened up about learning of his friend Bill Cosby’s sex assault allegations and praised the comedian for urging him to stay away so he wouldn’t be dragged down as well
‘You know what he says to me? “Hey man, I appreciate you calling, but just stay away from me right now. You don’t need none of this on you. Whatever happens to me, happens to me, but don’t you get none of this on you”.
‘That’s an amazing thing for a guy to say.’
He admitted that the pair hadn’t spoken in several months but their friendship remained strong because of how Cosby initially showed him the ropes of the industry.
‘When I’m your friend, I’m your friend,’ Harvey said.
‘Bill Cosby helped my sons at Morehouse (College), and he taught me how to do this business. He didn’t even know me and taught me how to do this business.’
Cosby, now aged 80, has faced more than 50 sex assault allegations dating way back to the 1960s.
The Family Feud host said he picked up the phone to reach out to Cosby (above in 2012) when the alleged sex assault scandal first broke to ask how he was doing
He is currently awaiting a retrial after a mistrial was declared in June on charges that he drugged and assaulted a woman.
Harvey did not elaborate further about the allegations against Cosby.
But he did speak about how he almost ruined his own reputation by meeting with a newly elected President Donald Trump in New York in January.
Harvey said his quick meeting at Trump Tower inflicted backlash that was unlike anything he had ever seen.
“It was so vicious that it really threw me. I was being called names that I’ve never been called: Uncle Tom. A coon. A sellout. Because I went to see this man?!” he said.
He added he should have listened to his wife who had urged him to skip the meeting in favor of his 60th birthday party.
Cosby (above outside court in August) is currently awaiting a retrial after a mistrial was declared in June on charges that he drugged and assaulted a woman