Bill Cosby Will Keep His Hollywood Star Despite Criminal Sentencing
On Tuesday morning, Bill Cosby was officially designated a sexually violent predator; sentenced to 3..
On Tuesday morning, Bill Cosby was officially designated a sexually violent predator; sentenced to 3 to 10 years in state prison; and escorted from a Pennsylvania courthouse to jail in handcuffs. Before the sentencing, Cosby had been stripped of myriad honors bestowed on him during his five-decade career. Brown University, Fordham University, Marquette University, Carnegie Mellon University, Notre Dame, and Yale University—to name a few—rescinded honorary degrees from the comedian, in light of sexual assault allegations levied by at least 60 women. Cosby was also removed from the Television Academys Hall of Fame; expelled from the Film Academy; and stripped of two Kennedy Center honors.
Even after Tuesdays sentencing, though, one organization has said that it will not revoke its Cosby honor: the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which oversees the stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
“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,” a representative explained to TMZ on Tuesday morning. “The stars only commemorate the recipients professional accomplishments.”
Cosbys star has been vandalized several times in recent years—most recently by a person who scrawled “serial rapist” over Cosbys name. According to the Associated Press, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce “has never removed a star from the Walk of Fame and turned down a 2015 request to remove Cosbys star.”
On Monday, Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable President Earl Ofari Hutchinson presented a petition to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce in hopes that the organization might, for the first time in Walk of Fame history, remove a star.
“The campaign to have Cosbys star removed from Hollywood Blvd has garnered thousands of signatures in the past three years and hundreds more have signed after his conviction,” Hutchinson told an NBC affiliate. “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. Cosbys horrendous documented sexual abuses hardly qualify as worthy contributions to the community.”
A representative from the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce also told TMZ, “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.”
Get Vanity Fairs HWD NewsletterSign up for essential industry and award news from Hollywood.Full ScreenPhotos:Donald Trumps Vandalized and Abused Hollywood Star: A Brief History
The Beginning
In 2007, Donald Trump was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, joking that it was his favorite piece of real estate. A little less than a decade later, the star would be the source of unending controversy.Photo: By M. Tran/FilmMagic.
Build That Wall
Street artist Plastic Jesus erected a miniature border wall around the star on July 20, 2016.Photo: By David Livingston/Getty Images.
Oh, Snap
Trumps name was crossed out and replaced by graffiti in September 2016, making the star a magnet for social-media-happy teens.Photo: By Nano Calvo/VWPics/Redux.
A Smash
In October 2016, a few weeks after the release of the infamous Access Hollywood tape, in which Trump can be heard bragging about groping women, the star was damaged overnight by a sledgehammer.Photo: By Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images.
In Pieces
In July 2018, the star was smashed into smithereens with a pickax.Photo: By Reed Saxon/AP/REX/Shutterstock.
You Shall Not Pass
After the smashing, the star was placed behind a barricade, as the West Hollywood City Council passed a resolution that called upon the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce to permanently remove Trump's star from Hollywood Boulevard.Photo: By Mario Tama/Getty Images.
Behind Bars
In September 2018, an anonymous Los Angeles street artist placed Trumps star in a tiny prison.Photo: By Plastic Jesus/Barcroft Images/Getty Images.PreviousNext
The Beginning
In 2007, Donald Trump was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, joking that it was his favorite piece of real estate. A little less than a decade later, the star would be the source of unending controversy.By M. Tran/FilmMagic.
Build That Wall
Street artist Plastic Jesus erected a miniature border wall around the star on July 20, 2016.By David Livingston/Getty Images.
Oh, Snap
Trumps name was crossed out and replaced by graffiti in September 2016, making the star a magnet for social-media-happy teens.By Nano Calvo/VWPics/Redux.
A Smash
In October 2016, a few weeks after the release of the infamous Access Hollywood tape, in which Trump can be heard bragging about groping women, the star was damaged overnight by a sledgehammer.By Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images.
“F–k Trump 4 Ever”
Even the wood covering the vandalized star was not safe from graffiti on October 31, 2016, days before the presidential election.By Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images.
11/8
Persistent vandalism led to the star being covered on November 8, 2016: Election Day.By RINGO CHIU/AFP/Getty Images.
Lying Down
After then-President-Elect Trump referred to an expansion of the U.S. nuclear arsenal, protestors held a die-in protest at the star on December 25, 2016.By DAVID MCNEW/AFP/Getty Images.
That One Sticks
The star was covered in protest stickers in January 2017, shortly before Trumps inauguration.From PG/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images.
Royal Flush
A golden toilet sporting the words “Take a Trump” was parked on the star May 6, 2017.By FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images.
Happy Pride!
Gay-pride stickers marked up the star during the Los Angeles Pride Festival on June 11, 2017—as a protest march, inspired by the Womens March, replacing the traditional pride parade.By MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images.
In Pieces
In July 2018, the star was smashed into smithereens with a pickax.By Reed Saxon/AP/REX/Shutterstock.
You Shall Not Pass
After the smashing, the star was placed behind a barricade, as the West Hollywood City Council passed a resolution that called upon the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce to permanently remove Trump's star from Hollywood Boulevard.By Mario Tama/Getty Images.
Behind Bars
In September 2018, an anonymous Los Angeles street artist placed Trumps star in a tiny prison.By Plastic Jesus/Barcroft Images/Getty Images.
Julie MillerJulie Miller is a Senior Hollywood writer for Vanity Fairs website.
