Bill Cosby’s 10-year sentence for the sexual assault of Andrea Constand was overturned in 2021, according to CNN, but he still spent three years in federal custody eating prison food — and it was anything but gourmet. Despite Cosby’s $200 million net worth, he was unable to escape the awful nutritional offerings inmates are given during their time in the prison system. For example, shortly after he entered the Pennsylvania-based facility, The New York Times reported on the numerous bland options the star would have access to, including cereal, fruit, and beverages such as coffee and milk. However, lunch and dinner likely consisted of anything from pizza to roast pork and, yes, pudding — much like the Jello goods Cosby promoted decades before his downfall.
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As for Cosby’s first meal during his prison stay? Well, that was none other than baked meatballs with a variety of sides, including rice, mashed potatoes, gravy, and green beans, according to CNN. However, if none of those items caught his eye, Cosby had a rotating menu that offered up the chance of something different. The outlet published the breakfast, lunch, and dinner menu from Week 3 of September 2018, when “The Cosby Show” star began his sentence. For breakfasts, he was offered various breakfast pastries, hot cakes, and eggs, along with the standard mix of coffee, juice, and tea. Lunches consisted of Santa Fe seasoned fish and veal patties, while dinners featured taco-seasoned meat or poultry tetrazzini.
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Unsurprisingly, the unappetizing menu made a significant impact on the once-beloved sitcom star.
Bill Cosby lost weight in jail
Bill Cosby’s life in prison looked a lot differently than the cushy existence his Hollywood career afforded him and much of that had to do with the food he ingested. According to Andrew Wyatt, Cosby’s spokesperson, the TV star lost a substantial amount of weight due to abstaining from much of the offerings and also giving up coffee. “He looks really amazing,” Wyatt told NBC10 Philadelphia in February 2019. “He’s down to 195 pounds. He hasn’t eaten any bread, no dessert, and he hasn’t drank any coffee.” Wyatt revealed that Cosby reaped at least one benefit while in lock up. “And the funny thing is Mrs. Cosby has been trying to get him to stop drinking coffee for 55 years, and it took this to get him to stop drinking coffee.”
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This news came months after Wyatt revealed that Cosby was trying to get his fellow inmates on board with healthier practices. “Mr. Cosby has regular and in-depth discussions about getting better nutrition for the residents and getting them on natural supplements because the residents and officers have major health problems,” Wyatt shared with The New York Amsterdam News. “Every morning a message comes over telling residents to line up for their insulin shots. These are young — 20, 30, and 40-year-old — men.” According to Wyatt, Cosby was “so concerned with the high obesity rate, not just with the residents, but the officers because they’re having to survive off of the prison food, too.”
Unfortunately, a few good deeds can’t detract from Cosby’s tragic life story.
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