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Phylicia Rashad, New Dean At Howard University, Apologizes For Applauding Cosby Release

Phylicia Rashad attends the premiere of Tyler Perry's

(Photo by Jamie McCarthy. Getty Images)

Melanie Wilcox Contributor
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After applauding Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction being overturned, former actress and Howard University dean, Phylicia Rashad, sent an apology letter to students, according to CNN.

“My remarks were in no way directed towards survivors of sexual assault,” Rashad, an alumna of Howard University, wrote, according to CNN. “I vehemently oppose sexual violence, find no excuse for such behavior, and I know that Howard University has a zero-tolerance policy toward interpersonal violence.”

In May, Rashad was appointed dean of Howard University’s new College of Fine Arts. Rashad tweeted a photo of Cosby Wednesday and wrote, “FINALLY!!!! A terrible wrong is being righted- a miscarriage of justice is corrected!” (RELATED: Pennsylvania Supreme Court Overturns Bill Cosby’s Sexual Assault Conviction)

Bill Cosby was released after a Pennsylvania court overturned his conviction on three counts of aggravated indecent assault for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his home in Philadelphia in 2004, according to CNN.

The new dean has since deleted “that upsetting tweet.”

Rashad said she plans “to engage in active listening and participate in training to not only reinforce the university’s protocol and conduct, but also to learn how [she] can become a stronger ally to sexual assault survivors and everyone who has suffered at the hands of an abuser.”

“I fully support survivors of sexual assault coming forward,” Rashad later tweeted.

“My post was in no way intended to be insensitive to their truth,” she wrote. “Personally, I know from friends and family that such abuse has lifelong residual effects. My heartfelt wish is for healing.”