Advertisement

Bill Cosby's new mug shot appears to show him smiling

Actor/stand-up comedian Bill Cosby arrives for sentencing for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse on September 25, 2018 in Norristown, Pennsylvania.  (Photo by Gilbert Carrasquillo/Getty Images)
Actor/stand-up comedian Bill Cosby arrives for sentencing for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse on September 25, 2018 in Norristown, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Gilbert Carrasquillo/Getty Images)

Bill Cosby flashes a smile in his latest prison mug shot.

The disgraced star of The Cosby Show, who’s serving a three-to-10-year prison sentence for sexual assault, has a new photo on file with the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. In it, the 83-year-old grins as he looks down — presumably due to his blindness. The once celebrated entertainer had a mask around his neck, due to the coronavirus pandemic, while his hair is white and grey and longer than usual.

In September 2018, Cosby was convicted of sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, his one-time friend and a former Temple University administrator, at his Philadelphia home in 2004. She testified that he drugged her as well — part of a pattern many more women, approximately 60 in total, have publicly accused him of.

Read more: Bill Cosby reps brands Eddie Murphy 'a Hollywood slave'

Bill Cosby shares a smile in his latest mug shot. (Screenshot: Pennsylvania Department of Corrections)
Bill Cosby shares a smile in his latest mug shot. (Screenshot: Pennsylvania Department of Corrections)

During his trial, at which several other accusers testified, Cosby — once beloved and known as “America’s Dad” —was also deemed a “sexually violent predator.” The classification means he must undergo counselling for the rest of his life and his name will appear on the sex-offender registry.

Cosby has maintained his innocence amid all allegations and is appealing his conviction. In a November 2019 interview, he called his conviction a “set up” and suggested the jurors were paid off. And, despite being old and in failing health, he vowed not to show remorse when he’s up for parole next year — even if it means he’ll do the entire 10-year sentence.

“They’re not going to hear me say that I have remorse,” Cosby told National Newspaper Publishers Association's BlackPressUSA.com. “I was there. I don’t care what group of people come along and talk about this when they weren’t there. They don’t know.”

Watch: Bill Cosby appears to smile in new prison mugshot

Cosby, aka Inmate No. NN7687, is in general population and gets assistance from other prisoners, who act as helpers because he’s legally blind. He’s called his small cell his “penthouse,” and gives inspirational lectures to empower and educate other Black inmates — despite being famously hard on Black men pre-incarceration.

Cosby’s wife of 56 years, Camille, has backed him throughout the many allegations surfacing against him. She recently doubled down on comparing what she called “unproven” sexual assault claims against the comedian to the brutal 1955 murder of Emmett Till. She also suggested the #MeToo movement is racist. (Cosby has called himself as a “political prisoner” and compared himself to Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi and Mandela.)

While Camille speaks to her husband daily, they decided she won’t visit him in prison.

Cosby’s appeal will be heard by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on 1 December.