The former child star, now 34 years old, has always had a love-hate relationship with the show that made her a star in the '80s. Now, in an interview appearing in this week's People magazine, she says she has opted out of participating in the May sweeps special.
Bonet, who played free-spirited daughter Denise Huxtable on The Cosby Show and its spinoff, A Different World, says she felt insulted by the way network executives asked her to come back, as well as by the rationale of doing the reunion in the first place.
"I was not feeling the love. It was a take-it-or-leave it, with-or-without-you offer, and I felt devalued and disrespected," Bonet tells People, adding that the idea of the reunion and "the energy behind it felt disingenuous and motivated by corporate profit."
NBC, meanwhile, seems to be in a state of denial over Bonet's disgruntletment. A network spokesperson says the reason Bonet is skipping the reunion is because she couldn't find time in her "busy schedule" to join fellow siblings Theo (Malcolm-Jamal Warner), Vanessa (Tempestt Bledsoe), Sondra (Sabrina Le Beauf) and Rudy (Keshia Knight Pulliam), mother Clair (Phylicia Rashad) and father Cliff (Bill Cosby) for a fond look back at the Huxtable clan.
Busy? As far as we can figure, about the only thing Bonet may be busy with is looking for work.
Bonet initially left The Cosby Show in 1987 to star in A Different World, which centered around Denise in college, only to return to Cosby after getting fired from the spinoff in 1989. After two more seasons, she left Cosby for good in 1991. The series continued for one more year before calling it quits.
She has worked sporadically since. But aside from Cosby and a handful of films--most notably her steamy big-screen debut opposite Mickey Rourke in director Alan Parker's 1987 thriller Angel Heart (featuring love scenes that stirred much controversy) and more recent turns costarring with Will Smith in Tony Scott's 1998 action-thriller Enemy of the State and a brief fling with John Cusack in the critically acclaimed 2000 comedy High Fidelity--Bonet is probably best known as the former Mrs. Lenny Kravitz (they divorced in 1993).
According to reports, the actress (who purportedly changed her name to Lilakoi Moon, but still uses Bonet for her acting credits) attributes her light work schedule to her preference for being at home with her two kids. She most recently appeared opposite James Caan in A&E's sci-fi original movie The Lathe of Heaven which aired in February.
The Cosby Show Reunion special is slated for broadcast May 19 on NBC.