Joe Scarborough leaned into his defense of comedian Bill Cosby on Tuesday morning, saying that the media should not report about any rape accusations against the entertainer until he is charged.
The host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” echoed the complaints of the comedian’s wife, Camille Cosby, that there has been “no vetting” of women coming forward with allegations of rape against her husband.
After co-host Mika Brzezinski said several of the women “do not seem credible,” Scarborough jumped in with the reminder that Cosby has never been charged with a crime. (The comedian did settle a lawsuit in November 2006 against accuser Andrea Constand.)
The host complained about press reporting the accusations of women coming forward “40 years later.”
“But do we not report it?” Brzezinski interjected.
“I don’t think we should,” he responded.
Co-panelist and journalist Katty Kay reminded Scarborough of recent cases of child abuse and rape in the Catholic Church, as well as British entertainer Jimmy Savile, where decades-old allegations were proven credible.
Scarborough backed off briefly before returning to his point.
“Any woman can come forward right now and say ‘Billy Cosby did this to me 40 years ago’ and be on the cover of US Weekly,” he said. “With no vetting.”
“They will print your story, and maybe it happened,” Scarborough said. “If it did, it’s tragic. But if it didn’t happen, you get your 15 minutes of fame,” he added.
Watch the clip, courtesy of MSNBC:
