ORLANDO, Fla. – A Disney spokesperson confirms a bronze bust of comedian Bill Cosby at Disney's Hollywood Studios will be removed. It comes after new revelations in Cosby's sexual assault investigation.
The fallout comes a day after a 2005 deposition surfaced where Cosby admitted to buying drugs with the intent of using it to have sex with women. As many as 25 women have accused him of drugging and sexually assaulting them in cases that go back 40 years.
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Linda Traitz, who started a Change.org petition seven months ago to have the statue removed from Disney, said she calls herself a lifelong fan of the theme park and said she's calling on Disney to do the right thing and have the statue removed.
"He has no place in Disney, said Brittany Traitz Gavrilova, Traitz's niece. "It's not a place for a predator. To see the bust of Bill Cosby as a hero on a pedestal in Disney after the family history, and we know of what had happened to my aunt all those years ago, it's hurtful."
The bronze bust is from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame Plaza at Hollywood Studios, which has been at the park since 1994.
"It makes me believe in the Disney magic that much more -- that they see that some heroes are not always heroes, they can be villains, too," Gavrilova said.