HOLLYWOOD (CNS) - Comedian Bill Cosby is heading to prison, but his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame isn't going anywhere.
Reaffirming a stance it has repeatedly taken over the years, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce issued a statement today insisting it does not remove stars from the famed walk.
“The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historical record of entertainment figures past and present,” according to the chamber. “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.
“The stars only commemorate the recipient's professional accomplishments. 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.”
Over the weekend, local civil rights activist Earl Ofari Hutchinson said he collected more than 1,000 petition signaturescalling for the removal of Cosby's star in light of his April conviction for drugging and sexually assaulting former Temple University staffer Andrea Constand in his Pennsylvania home in 2004. He's been accused by dozens of women of committing similar crimes, but has maintained his innocence.
Cosby, 81, was sentenced Tuesday to three to 10 years in prison.
Hutchinson called the chamber's refusal to remove the star “despicable and hypocritical.” He said the decision “sends the horrible message that keeping a celebrity star is more important even when confronted with the issue of rape and violent sexual assault.”
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