Kanye West Proclaims Bill Cosby Is 'Innocent' On Twitter; Sarah Silverman Fires Back

“Yeezus” rapper Kanye West fired off a series of tweets Tuesday and, in one of his many messages, claimed that disgraced comedian Bill Cosby is innocent of multiple rape accusations. West, however, did not back up his tweet with any evidence.

Within minutes of being posted, West's message was liked and shared nearly 10,000 times by his 18.4 million followers. Fans reacted with confused and stunned gifs.

More than 50 women have accused Cosby, now 78, of sexual assault over several decades. Though Cosby had support from entertainers like “View” host Whoopi Goldberg in the beginning, many have changed their opinions on the once-beloved star after he was arrested shortly before the new year.

West is not the first black artist to defend Cosby. R&B singer R. Kelly is not convinced Cosby is guilty. “Well, my opinion on that is, I don’t know what happened,” Kelly said during an interview with GQ magazine last month.

The singer, who was accused of 21 counts of child pornography in June 2002, said he sympathized with Cosby. “All I can say is that it was a long time ago,” Kelly said. “And when I look on TV and I see the 70-, 80-, 90-year-old ladies talking about what happened when they were 17, 18, or 19, there’s something strange about it. That’s my opinion. It’s strange.”

Comedian Sarah Silverman, however, said that dozens of women accusing Cosby of sexual assault is plenty enough to prove his guilt. She fired off a tweet at West, stunned by his defense of Cosby. “Kanye!! You can't be for real. FIFTY WOMEN. With nothing to gain thanks to a statute of limitations ON RAPE. Oy,” she wrote.

Cosby’s next hearing will take place in Montgomery County Court in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania on Friday. He is accused of drugging and sexually assaulted Andrea Constand, a former Temple University employee. He maintains the sex was consensual and that he is innocent of all charges.

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