Phylicia Rashad, Bill Cosby's leading lady in his long-running sitcom The Cosby Show, finally stepped out to defend the comedian amidst the barrage of sexual assault claims that hound him.

The iconic actress, who won the Tony for her performance in the stage play A Raisin In The Sun, played as the loving matriarch Clair Huxtable on The Cosby Show.

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In an exclusive interview with Showbiz411's Roger Friedman, Rashad came to Cosby's rescue, saying that through the years that she and Cosby worked together, she has never seen the behavior alleged by the women who claimed that they were drugged and sexually assaulted by the comedian.

"Forget these women," Rashad dismissed the claims.

"What you're seeing is the destruction of a legacy. And I think it's orchestrated. I don't know why or who's doing it, but it's the legacy. And it's a legacy that is so important to the culture," she said.

She also ditched the allegations forwarded both by Beverly Johnson and Janice Dickinson.

She also came to Camille Cosby's defense, Bill's wife, praising her for being a "tough" and "smart woman."

"She's no pushover," she said, reason why the couple's marriage has lasted for over 50 years now.

Rashad also quipped that somebody else must really wanted to "keep Bill Cosby off TV."

Rashad also felt that Cosby himself must be "too proud to raise a defense," Friedman noted. 

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