Bill Cosby's publicist compares shamed jailed actor to Jesus after sentencing

Bill Cosby’s publicist compared the shamed TV star to Jesus moments after he was handed a prison sentence for a sex crime.

The 81-year-old was jailed on Tuesday for a sexual assault conviction and will serve between three and ten years behind bars.

Speaking to reporters after Cosby’s sentencing, publicist Andrew Wyatt said the former actor was “doing great”, before likening him to Jesus.

Mr Wyatt said: “Mr Cosby’s doing great and Mr Cosby knows that God is watching over him. He knows that these are lies.

“They persecuted Jesus and look what happened. [I’m] not saying Mr Cosby is Jesus but we know what this country has done to black men for centuries

“So Mr Cosby is doing fine, he’s holding up well and everyone who wants to say anything negative – you’re a joke as well.”

Earlier in the day, Mr Wyatt said that Cosby’s trial was “racist and sexist”.

He claimed that Cosby was “one of the greatest civil rights leaders in the United States for 50 years”, before decrying the trial as the “most sexist and racist” in the country’s history.

The former Cosby Show actor was jailed after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at her home in 2004.

Cosby’s lawyers have vowed to appeal the sentence.

Montgomery County Court Judge Steven O'Neill said it was "time for justice" as he handed Cosby the prison term and also fined him $25,000.

"Mr Cosby, this has all circled back to you," he told him. "The time has come."

Cosby's lawyers asked that he be allowed to remain free on bail. But Judge O'Neill appeared incredulous over the request, and said he would not treat the celebrity any differently from others.