Bill Cosby’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame will NOT be removed despite sentencing sparking outrage
BILL Cosby's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame will remain despite the “predator” being jailed for drugging and sexually assaulting a woman.
The disgraced comedian was this week sentenced to three to 10 years behind bars after being labelled a "sexually violent predator" by a judge in Pennsylvania.
In light of his imprisonment, Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has considered a plea from activists – including disgusted former fans – to remove his star from the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
But yesterday it rejected the call, saying in a statement: “The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce does not remove stars from the Walk of Fame.
"The stars only commemorate the recipient’s professional accomplishments.
“It is regrettable when the personal lives of inductees do not measure up to public standards and expectations.”
The organisation oversees the attraction, which hosted the unveiling of Cosby’s star in November 1977.
The chamber said that, once installed, stars bearing the names of Hollywood’s biggest celebrities past and present became “part of the historic fabric” of the famous pavement.
There are more than 2,600 tarrazzo and brass stars embedded along it.
Cosby’s star was at the heart of a petition handed to the chamber on Monday by campaigners.
Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable founder Earl Ofari Hutchinson told : “The campaign to have Cosby’s star removed from Hollywood Blvd has garnered thousands of signatures in the past three years and hundreds after his conviction.
“By keeping the Cosby star and ignoring the demand of thousands for removal the Chamber violates its own rules that an honoree must make worthy contributions to the community.
“Cosby’s horrendous documented sexual abuses hardly qualify as worthy contributions to the community.”
The actor’s star was vandalised this month when someone scrawled the words “serial rapist” with a marker pen.
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The graffiti was similar to vandalism that occurred in 2014 and has since been removed.
Another star belonging to a celebrity whose career has been all but ended by sex allegations, Kevin Spacey, also remains on the Walk of Fame.
Cosby was once known as America's Dad for his role in 1980s sitcom The Cosby Show.
He was convicted in April of drugging and assaulting Andrea Constand at his Philadelphia home in 2004.
It was the first celebrity trial of the #MeToo era.
Hollywood Chamber of Commerce’s statement on its refusal to remove Bill Cosby’s Walk of Fame star
The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historical record of entertainment figures past and present.
Once installed, the stars become part of the historic fabric of the Walk of Fame, a “designated historic cultural landmark,” and are intended to be permanent.
The stars only commemorate the recipient’s professional accomplishments.
It is regrettable when the personal lives of inductees do not measure up to public standards and expectations; however, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce does not remove stars from the Walk of Fame.
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