Hilltop Hoods have taken to their official Facebook page to express their regret over name-checking Bill Cosby in their recent single ‘Cosby Sweater’, taken from the Adelaide group’s latest album, Walking Under Stars, and to clear up some of the misconceptions surrounding the track.

“We’ve been getting a lot of emails asking if ‘Cosby Sweater’ was inspired by the Urban Dictionary definition of the phrase, I can tell you right now that it has NOTHING to do with it,” the group write in a statement.

Tone Deaf is a family website, so we won’t explain just what the “Urban Dictionary definition of the phrase” is — you can view it at your own peril here — but we will say that it has to do with vomit, a partner, and a whole lot of gross.

[include_post id=”423173″]

“‘Cosby Sweater’ was inspired by the picture above, the iconic photo of Notorious B.I.G in the Coogi Sweater [see below]. The song’s about a piece of clothing. A ridiculously colourful piece of clothing,” the group continue in their statement.

“To be honest, we regret name checking Bill Cosby. Like some of you we’ve only recently become aware of the allegations against him,” they add, referring to the numerous rape allegations made against the legendary comedian, which have only recently come into the public consciousness.

“If he’s guilty of those allegations he can go jump in a fkn lake. A deep icy lake. We pulled the flip shirts that had a caricature of him on the inside a couple of weeks ago,” Hilltop Hoods add. “Hopefully that gives some clarity on what the song’s about. Please, no more emails about the Urban Dictionary definition.”

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.
to Rolling Stone magazine
to Rolling Stone magazine