Hollywood Chamber Says It Won't Remove Cosby, Trump Stars on Walk of Fame

As activists call for the Hollywood Walk of Fame stars of Bill Cosby and Donald Trump to be removed, the group behind the storied landmark is saying it won’t entertain the demands.

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce acknowledged Wednesday night that it has received some requests for it to pull the star honoring Cosby amid on-going sexual assault allegations as well as that of Trump after he made comments about Mexicans that many people have called offensive.

But the organization said it would not be removing any stars from Hollywood sidewalks.

"The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has received inquiries asking on whether we are planning to remove the stars of Donald Trump and Bill Cosby. The answer is no. The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a registered historic landmark. Once a star has been added to the Walk, it is considered a part of the historic fabric of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Because of this, we have never removed a star from the Walk," said Leron Gubler, Hollywood Chamber of Commerce president and chief executive, in an emailed statement.

“The late Johnny Grant, who chaired the Hollywood Walk of Fame Selection Committee for many years, made the following statement when asked this question: ‘Stars are awarded for professional achievement to the world of entertainment and contributions to the community. A celebrity’s politics, philosophy, irrational behavior, outrageous remarks or anything like that have never been cause to remove a Walk of Fame star,’” the statement continued.

Cosby has faced a steady stream of sexual assault allegations, and admitted in a decade-old deposition that he had previously obtained quaaludes to give to women with whom he wanted to have sex. The admission came to light when the previously sealed deposition was obtained by the Associated Press Tuesday.

African American Los Angeles civil rights leaders said in written statements Wednesday that they planned to ask the Chamber to remove Cosby’s star during a Thursday press conference.

“Cosby deliberately placed himself in a position of high moral standards and told the African American community who they are to be, while he was cheating on his wife and drugging and raping women nationwide. This is the epitome of hypocrisy revealed. Cosby has been lying to his wife, family, loved ones, friends, colleagues, fans, the community of African American students, and the entire African American community,” Najee Ali, director of Project Islamic Hope said in comments published on the website eurweb.com.

Presidential candidate Trump has come under fire for comments he made during a speech announcing his run.

Trump said in relation to immigrants, "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with (them). They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."

Univision responded by cutting business ties with Trump, and NBC and Macy's later followed suit.

On Tuesday, Disney removed a statue of Cosby from its Orlando theme park.

Correction: An earlier verstion of this article incorrectly stated which statue Disney removed from its Orlando park.

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