Why Was Bill Cosby’s Former Co-star Nicolle Rochelle Arrested At Actor’s Retrial?

Bill Cosby’s “The Cosby Show” co-star Nicolle Rochelle was arrested during the former’s sexual assault retrial. Police say the actress violated a rule and she also made a scene by showing up topless at the courthouse.

On Monday, Cosby attended the first day of his retrial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Around the time when Cosby arrived at the building, Rochelle reportedly showed up outside of the courthouse to stage a protest against the embattled Hollywood star. However, Rochelle was quickly arrested by authorities, according to Entertainment Tonight.

In a statement issued by the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, the 39-year-old actress was arrested for invading a restricted area of the courthouse. Also noted in the statement was Rochelle’s inappropriate appearance. “[She] entered a restricted area on the grounds of the Montgomery County Courthouse at 8:35 a.m., when the defendant, William H. Cosby Jr., was arriving for court. She was wearing no clothing from the waist up.”

Sources said Rochelle’s protest involved appearing before Cosby semi-naked with the words “Women’s Lives Matter” written in red on her body along with the names of all the women who had accused the comedian with sexual assault and sexual harassment.

In an interview with journalist Bobby Allyn following her arrest, Rochelle admitted that it was really her intention to show up before Cosby with an aggressive behavior. She said her goal was to “make Cosby uncomfortable because that is exactly what he has been doing for decades to women … I wanted to show him that I was not disempowered.”

In an interview over speakerphone from her Norristown hotel, topless protester Nicolle Rochelle said her goal was to "make Cosby uncomfortable, because that is exactly what he has been doing for decades to women ... I wanted to show him that I was not disempowered."
— Bobby Allyn (@BobbyAllyn) April 9, 2018

Rochelle, who lives in Paris now but is originally from New Jersey, said she wanted to "show him that the body can be aggressive and empowered. I can use my body as a political statement and not just a sexual object." #CosbyTrial
— Bobby Allyn (@BobbyAllyn) April 9, 2018

Rochelle said she expects to be fined over the disorderly conduct summary offense, and local authorities told her to stay away from the courthouse for the duration of the #CosbyTrial, which she says she is going to abide by.
— Bobby Allyn (@BobbyAllyn) April 9, 2018

Rochelle, who portrayed a friend of Keshia Knight Pulliam’s Rudy Huxtable on the “The Cosby Show,” disclosed that she will most likely be fined over her disorderly conduct. She also shared that she was ordered to stay away from the courthouse for the rest of Cosby’s retrial and she will gladly do so following her protest.

Rochelle also maintained that her protest was in no way intended to physically harm the 80-year-old actor. “It was definitely a peaceful type of protest. I wanted to approach him, but I didn’t want to touch him at all,” she told the New York Daily News after calling the actor a serial predator.

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