Denise Huxtable

Comedian Bill Cosby became interested in developing The Cosby Show partially because he was unimpressed with popular family sitcoms airing at the time, some of which often depicted children talking back to and disrespecting their parents without suffering serious consequences.[5] Cosby intended for The Cosby Show's children to remain intelligent while emphasizing that "their parents were always smarter and—most importantly—in charge."[5] Originally, Denise was intended to be the eldest of the Huxtable family's four children.[10] However, Cosby also wanted the show to feature a character who was an example of parents Cliff and Clair having already successfully raised a college-educated child, hence the writers introduced eldest sibling Sondra, a Princeton University graduate, in the second episode, while Denise was relegated to the role of the Huxtable's second eldest child instead.[5] Cosby himself is the father of five children, four daughters and one son, much like his character Cliff.[20] All five Huxtable children are based on Cosby's own;[8] Denise in particular was based on the creator's daughter Erinn, who was approximately Denise's same age when the series began in 1984.[21]

According to Cosby: His Life and Times author Mark Whitaker, Cosby conceived Denise as a "hip, fashion-conscious, and a bit flaky" character.[22] Early storylines included Denise fighting with younger sister Vanessa over the latter borrowing her sweater without permission, getting her braces removed, announcing her decision to attend college away from home, promising younger brother Theo that she is capable of sewing him a replica of an expensive designer shirt he had purchased, and tricking her parents into believing she had spent a night at a male friend's house to prove a point about their parenting style.[23][24] An episode entitled "Jitterbug Break" was written to explore Cosby's interest in the ways in which different generations dance.[22] When Denise's parents deny her permission to attend a concert, some of her friends are invited into their living room which has been converted into a dance floor by rearranging some of the furniture, allowing them room to break dance.[25] They are eventually joined by a pair of Cliff and Clair's swing dancing friends, and a dance battle ensues between the younger and older dancers.[25] In one of the show's more serious episodes, Denise struggles with the revelation that a teenage friend of hers is pregnant.[26] Several episodes revolving around Denise explore her boyfriends and dating life.[27]

Denise is portrayed by American actress Lisa Bonet, whose professional acting experience prior to The Cosby Show had been limited to television commercials for Barbie and McDonald's,[23] and a guest appearance on the medical drama St. Elsewhere.[28] Casting the role of Denise, who was still intended to be the Huxtable's eldest child at the time, was a relatively quick process.[22] Bonet first auditioned for the show's directors, followed by its producers, then finally Cosby himself and the network executives.[23] Cosby immediately became interested in then-15 year-old Bonet because she was wearing makeup on only one side of her face, already demonstrating some of the quirky characteristics Cosby had envisioned for the character simply by being herself.[22] Impressed by the young actress' strong sense of self,[23] producer Marcy Carsey recalled that Bonet attended her audition wearing braces, a "real kid" hairstyle,[23] and an "off-center" sense of fashion that was very similar to what the show's creators had envisioned for Denise.[28] They soon labelled Bonet a young woman who refuses to be anything but herself after the actress read for the role quite naturally, as though "she were just doing life."[23][28] According to People, Denise "didn't fit into any mold, a role that seemed made for Lisa Bonet."[29]

The actors were eventually narrowed down to three top choices for each child character, including Bonet for Denise, although she felt discouraged after overhearing one of the other two actresses vying for the same role say "She'll never get it ... Because she has braces."[23] After Bonet learned that she had in fact been chosen for the role from director Jay Sandrich, she met with Cosby one more time, who admitted to liking her braces.[23] According to Cosby: His Life and Times author Mark Whitaker, Cosby enjoyed "the naturalness of [Bonet's] delivery", which he found refreshing in comparison to the "stagey quality" most child actors who auditioned for the role tended to rely upon, in addition to her "exotic beauty", which he likened to that of singer Lena Horne.[22] Once Bonet was cast, the writers began to incorporate some aspects of her personality into her character,[28] although her own fashion sense and behavior is viewed as more "outlandish" than Denise's.[28] At Cosby's request, costume designer Sarah Lemire was granted a weekly budget of $3000 to outfit the show's characters and frequently took significant risks with Bonet's wardrobe.[30] However, the costume designer did have some restrictions; Lemire would have liked to have been "more outrageous with [Bonet's] hair and hats" but limited herself because she had little control over the actress hair.[31] Praising Bonet's own taste in clothing, Lemire likened costuming her to "dressing myself if I was 20 years younger."[31] Bonet often selected her character's outfits herself with little input from the wardrobe department.[22]

Denise was Bonet's first major television role.[21] Being of mixed ethnicity, her character's upbringing "as a teen-ager in a well-adjusted, upper-middle-class black family" is remarkably different from how Bonet herself grew up, which took some time for the actress to adjust to; she never knew her father and was raised by her mother in a lower-middle-class, mostly white neighborhood.[32] However, Bonet credits her role on The Cosby Show with "helping resolve her own identity crisis".[32] Bonet described the show's environment in 1987 as "the perfect family, where you go to work, you get tired of them and you go home",[33] and at the time likened working alongside Cosby to "learning from a master", from whom she often sought both professional and personal advice.[34] Actress Phylicia Rashad, who portrays Bonet's on-screen mother Clair, described Bonet as "one of the best young actresses today ... She is phenomenal for someone of her years."[28]

Bonet had a tense relationship with both Cosby and the show's producers throughout most of her time on the series.[22][24][35][36][37] Although the co-stars are believed to have gotten along well during her first three seasons on the show,[29] their dispute first became public in 1987.[38] According to Kara Kovalchik of Mental Floss, Bonet's alleged unprofessionalism consistently aggravated Cosby, reportedly being constantly argumentative on set,[10] late for tapings and sometimes neglecting to attend tapings altogether.[5] Bonet first expressed interest in pursuing a career as a dramatic film actress midway through the show's first season,[22] originally intending to leave the series after only two years.[9] Aged 19 at the time, she decided to make her film debut as Epiphany Proudfoot in the controversial horror film Angel Heart (1987),[5][28][39] a role that required Bonet to film a sex scene with actor Mickey Rourke.[22] By this time, Denise had already become the show's most popular character,[5] while Bonet's fame increased when the film was initially assigned an X rating for its graphic content.[23][32] Although her role shocked several of Bonet's fans and Cosby himself,[22] Cosby claims that he did not mind the actress' decision to appear in the film, explaining to her "if this is something you want to do, fine. You have my blessings", and maintaining that he and Bonet have a good relationship in which he would have voiced his disapproval if he had felt otherwise.[28] Bonet confirmed that she sought Cosby's advice when she was first offered the role because "he's a generous enough man to see beyond The Cosby Show and to see my career as what it is and what it could be".[28] Despite granting her his approval, Cosby refused to see the film.[28] The show's producers and NBC executives declined to comment on Bonet's decision, citing "what Bonet did off the Cosby set was her business."[32]

Bonet's difficult professional relationship with her on-screen father, comedian Bill Cosby, resulted in the creation of her own spin-off series, A Different World.

Tensions increased between Bonet and Cosby when the actress posed nude for Interview and Rolling Stone magazines to promote Angel Heart.[28][40][37] Bonet insisted "I was not concerned with how Denise was going to feel ... Nor was I looking to destroy her reputation. Instead, I felt obligated to my career and my (freedom of) artistic choice."[32] After hearing that the photograph was generating a lot of negative feedback and press, Cosby purchased a copy of Interview himself and claims that, upon seeing Bonet's photographs for the first time, he felt "There's nothing wrong with it ... Lisa has matured due to the immediacy of her responsibilities ... I think that she is doing magnificently well for someone [at her age] doing and making decisions on her own, and she is deeply loved in my heart".[28] The media continued to circulate Bonet's photographs heavily,[5] which is believed to have instigated a highly publicized dispute between the actress and Cosby towards the end of the 1980s.[35] Cosby expressed concern over how the photographs would affect The Cosby Show's younger audience and Bonet's younger cast mates.[5] Although producers felt that the scandal would disturb "the squeaky-clean Huxtable image",[41] Cosby eventually decided to provide Bonet with her own television series, a spin-off of The Cosby Show entitled A Different World.[5][40] The network agreed that Bonet was ready to star in her own series, a revelation by which she was surprised.[9]

A Different World originally revolved around an entirely different premise and main character, starring actress Meg Ryan as Maggie Lauten – a white student adjusting to a historically black college.[22] When Ryan left the project to focus on her film career,[42] she was replaced with actress Marisa Tomei; Tomei's Maggie was re-written into a supporting role, becoming one of Denise's roommates, while the premise was revised into a series following Bonet's character as she adjusts to college and living away from home.[42][22] The first and only Cosby Show cast member to receive their own spin-off,[9] the media speculated that A Different World had been developed into a star vehicle for Bonet because she frequently protested the way in which Cosby directed the family-oriented Cosby Show;[35][37] Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club agreed that the spin-off was revised as a means of removing Bonet from The Cosby Show "in a way that would bruise fewer egos."[43] Additionally, Cosby's decision to cast Bonet in A Different World allowed "viewers to explore the new environment through the eyes of a familiar character".[44] Strategic Reinvention in Popular Culture: The Encore Impulse author Richard Pfefferman agreed that Denise "was at the perfect stage of development to star in a series of her own."[45]

Filming A Different World required Bonet to relocate from New York, where The Cosby Show was taped, back to her hometown San Francisco, California.[9] A Different World's pilot revolves around Denise as she struggles to pay her dormitory fees while meeting her new roommates, Jaleesa Vinson (Dawnn Lewis) and Maggie, respectively.[46] In addition to a diverse group of friends,[47] Denise would also meet and be influenced by new friends and teachers "with different perspectives on life", allowing the character to "grow in profound and interesting ways."[45] The majority of the first season revolves around Denise, the show's lead character at the time,[48] struggling to maintain her grades.[47]

While appearing on A Different World, Bonet married musician Lenny Kravitz in 1988 and became pregnant with their child soon afterward.[5] Fearing how Cosby would react to the news based on previous experiences with on-set pregnancies, Bonet first consulted with producer Debbie Allen, who suggested that they approach Cosby about the pregnancy together.[49] Allen suggested that Bonet's pregnancy be written into the series,[50][51] explaining that it "would be a great thing. To see a girl who's upper class kid, having a baby, not married because she didn't want to be married…and the girls could root for her."[49] Although Cosby listened to Allen's ideas,[49] he and some of the show's other producers did not want to explore teen pregnancy via A Different World's main character,[50] fearing that depicting a popular, well-behaved character like Denise pregnant at such a young age would offer the wrong message to audiences.[52] Cosby in particular was strongly opposed to the idea of a Huxtable child experiencing an unplanned pregnancy and becoming an unwed mother,[44][51][53] concluding, "Lisa Bonet is pregnant not Denise" and rejecting Allen's proposal.[49] Allen was reportedly upset with Cosby over his decision but understood that "he just wanted her back", and Denise's pregnancy would alter Cosby's creative vision for both series.[49]

Bonet was fired from A Different World at the beginning of its second season, and Cosby re-hired her to appear on The Cosby Show's fifth season while A Different World underwent several changes in her absence.[5][54] Robert E. Johnson of Jet reported that Bonet's cast mates happily welcomed her back to the series, with Cosby assuring her "there's nothing but love here for you".[16] While struggling at first to determine the best way to approach the return of both Bonet and Denise, Cosby ultimately decided to incorporate some real-life experiences from his relationship with his own daughter Erinn who, similar to Denise, had dropped out of school in order "to find herself",[55] into the character's re-introduction, which evolved into a storyline about children sometimes disappointing their parents but remaining loved by them regardless.[16] Erinn attended Spelman College, the historically black institution upon which Hillman is based.[56]

The episode in which Denise returns home premiered on October 6, 1988.[14] Since Cosby did not intend to add an infant character to the series, the show concealed Bonet's pregnancy using loose-fitting clothing, large coats, sofas and grocery bags.[5][14] To allow Bonet time to have her baby,[57] her character was temporarily written out of the series for one year by having Denise announce that she has decided to drop out of Hillman permanently in favor of relocating to Africa and pursuing a job opportunity as a wildlife photographer's assistant (after briefly attempting to become a fashion designer or record producer).[10][16][22] Denise was downgraded from a main to recurring character for the remainder of the season.[24]

Despite NBC producers alluding to the possibility of Bonet returning to A Different World permanently after giving birth,[58][14] Bonet would only make one final appearance on the spin-off, a cameo during its third season,[59][12] by which time the series had begun to focus on other characters. Allen created an entirely new character, Freddie Brooks, and recruited actress Cree Summer to occupy Bonet's vacancy as the show's "earthy, bohemian" character.[47][60] In the wake of Bonet's departure, Tomei was also fired and her character written out of the series despite Allen's original intentions to retain "the dynamic of having a white girl in a black college."[12] Although A Different World would remain a spin-off of The Cosby Show, Denise's absence severed connections between the two shows apart from the fact that Hillman is her father's alma mater during its earliest seasons.[61]

Following Bonet's exit, some media outlets dubbed actress Erika Alexander, who was introduced as the Huxtable family's distant cousin Pam Tucker, as her "replacement".

Having spent the majority of season five away on maternity leave,[62] Bonet resumed her role on The Cosby Show full-time upon giving birth to daughter Zoë Kravitz; Denise returns home after secretly marrying Lt. Martin Kendall (Joseph C. Phillips), a Naval officer she had met while working in Africa, becoming stepmother to his three-year-old daughter Olivia (Raven-Symoné).[22][63] Philips originally guest starred in an early episode of The Cosby Show as one of Sondra's love interests before he was recast as Denise's husband for the remainder of the series.[64][65] The sixth season premiere "Denise: The Saga Continues", in which Denise returns home to Brooklyn unannounced and introduces her parents to her new family,[57] established the sitcom's season premieres as episodes in which a Huxtable child would inform their parents about very surprising news.[24] Bonet would continue to appear on the show regularly over the next several episodes until Cosby fired her altogether at the end of season seven,[22] officially citing "creative differences".[66][67] The season's 24th episode "Cliff and Jake", which aired on April 11, 1991,[1] marks Bonet's final appearance on the show.[2] Cosby claims that he fired Bonet because The Cosby Show's material was no longer challenging for her, blaming himself for her character lacking development: "it's not funny to have someone 21 acting like she's still about 12."[68] However, he commended Bonet's acting talent.[68] Cosby then decided to divide Bonet's screen time among new young actors "on the show who are working hard, studying so heard and really deserve a shot during what will be our final year."[68] Introduced during the show's later seasons, Pam Tucker (Erika Alexander), a cousin of the Huxtable family, is considered to be a "replacement" for Denise; StyleBlazer believes that Pam was created because the sitcom "needed another character to play a free-spirited problem child."[69][70]

Bonet developed a reputation for being difficult to work with on The Cosby Show.[34] Although nearly every main and recurring character who played a significant role on the series returned for The Cosby Show's finale "And So We Commence", which revolves around Denise's younger brother Theo graduating from New York University, Bonet was not invited back to make a final appearance on the show after having been fired the previous year.[71][72] Her character is, however, mentioned and used sparingly throughout the episode.[71] Unseen, Denise calls her family on the telephone from Singapore to announce that she is pregnant with her and Martin's first child,[19] and everyone receives an opportunity to congratulate her except Cliff.[73] Bonet appeared on The Cosby Show on and off from 1984 to 1987, and from 1989 to 1991,[74] for a grand total of 98 episodes between the ages of 17 and 24.[75][36] She is credited as a main cast member from seasons one to three and six to seven, and a recurring cast member during seasons four and five.[1]

According to PopCrunch, Bonet's feud with Cosby "has become just as legendary as the show" itself.[76] Bonet has famously continued to avoid attending Cosby Show-related reunions and specials in the years since the show has ended.[76] When Bonet declined to attend The Cosby Show: A Look Back,[77] a retrospective television special hosted by NBC in 2002, she explained, "The whole experience and energy behind it felt disingenuous and motivated by corporate profit. I felt devalued and disrespected."[78] When the Cosby Show cast was honored with the Impact Award at the 2011 TV Land Awards,[79] Bonet was noticeably absent, citing "scheduling conflicts" as the official reason for her nonattendance.[76] Actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who portrays Bonet's on-screen brother Theo, said "Lisa has always danced to the beat of her own drummer, which has worked for and against her";[76] Warner recalled being "surprised" when Bonet once attended a smaller-scale reunion that featured him and on-screen sisters Tempestt Bledsoe (Vanessa) and Keshia Knight Pulliam (Rudy) for Nickelodeon's Favorite Huxtable Contest.[80] However, he admitted he admires Bonet for following her passion.[81] Bonet and Tomei, both of whom were fired during the first season of A Different World, have remained close friends.[42]

In 2018, Bonet, who has had little to no comment about the sexual assault allegations made by several women against Cosby, revealed that she had always felt a "type of sinister, shadow energy cannot be concealed" during her time working with Cosby.[82] She maintains that her memories of her experience on the show have not been influenced by the allegations, insisting, "No, it's exactly as I remember it".[83]

Denise quickly established herself as an audience favorite during the show's earliest seasons,[87] which Mental Floss contributor Kara Kovalchik attributes to her "typical teenage carefree attitude and her cutting-edge fashion sense".[10] Denise ultimately became the show's most popular character,[5][78][41] and her unique fashion sense became a trademark of the series.[7] Essence wrote that the character's clothes "captured the hearts of wholesome teeny-boppers all over America",[107] while Abby White of the Nashville Scene agreed that the character "won our hearts with her sense of style from day one".[108] White also joked that being one of Denise's three less popular sisters "must have really sucked".[108] Popular and beloved by fans until her departure,[109] Bonet became a "media darling",[10] by whom she was crowned "America's Sweetheart".[110][111][112] Idolized by teenage boys,[10][40] she received the most fan mail out of the show's cast.[5] Adored by millions of fans,[28] Bonet's popularity grew almost overnight, soon establishing her as the show's breakout star and a household name.[22][113] Fans swarmed the actress in public, often approaching her for fashion advice.[22] Karen Heller of The Philadelphia Inquirer dubbed Bonet their "sartorial role model."[31] Girls were drawn towards her bohemian sense of fashion, while boys found her to be very attractive and "a major heartthrob",[22][40] admitting to having crushes on the actress throughout her tenure.[114] According to Hollywood.com, Bonet "struck a chord" among The Cosby Show fans with "her ethereal beauty and quiet strength".[87] Vibe's Greg Tate believes Bonet's performance "won the heart of just about every young black woman who didn't fit the mold of debutante, fly girl or hoochie mama".[103] Hillary Crosley Coker of Jezebel described Bonet as "the coolest of The Cosby Show cast",[35] while Refinery29's Kara Kia believes that Bonet and Denise were equally "admired for [their] rebellious, elusive approach to celebrity."[115] In "An Ode To Lisa Bonet As Denise Huxtable", Uproxx contributor Greg Whitt praised the actress: "I loved how you were never willing to mute your personality in a house full of squares. Your hair was short and untamed. Your outfits never matched but always worked ... You were sexy before I knew what sexy was. Vanessa was too annoying, and Rudy was too young, but, Denise ahem Lisa, you were the one."[116]

Julee Wilson of HuffPost described the character as "head-strong yet lovable".[117] Rebekah Williams, writing for Her Campus, called Denise's personality "charming".[118] In a retrospective review of the series, Funny or Die dubbed Denise "your Tumblr crush", writing, "She was wild. Sexy. Artistic. A free spirit. But mostly, she was just fierce. Girls wanted to be her. Boys wanted to be with her. Boys also probably wanted to be her."[119] Who What Wear identified Denise as the main reason they continue to watch reruns of The Cosby Show, citing her clothes as the primary factor in their "dedicated viewership" while dubbing her "a total 80's urban dreamgirl."[92] Writing for The Atlantic, Joe Reid ranked Denise the best Huxtable child, praising both Bonet's performance and the character's "flakiness".[120] Reid concluded, "Denise managed to be equal parts cool and disaster, without ever selling out either part."[120] Writing for the same publication, Kevin O'Keefe ranked Denise lower at number five because he often struggled to "understand her motivations", finding it implausible that a free-spirited woman like Denise would be interested in "a straight-edge [man] like Martin".[120] However, O'Keefe admitted that he enjoyed her role in the episode "A Shirt Story".[120] The episode is often positively reviewed as one of the character's best; Zeba Blay, senior culture writer for HuffPost, called the moment Theo screams "Denise!" upon trying on the shirt Denise sewed for her brother as her favorite scene.[121] Bonet was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series at the 38th Primetime Emmy Awards in 1986.[122][123]

Bonet's controversial role in Angel Heart was met with strong backlash from devoted Cosby Show fans, some of whom felt that she had betrayed Denise's "wholesome" image.[28] Some media headlines, such as USA Today's "X has Cosby kid's film on spot", gave readers the impression that "all 77 million weekly watchers are outraged by the behavior of their little Denise", according to Trustman Senger of The Washington Post.[23] The fact that Bonet, a Cosby Show cast member, had been cast in a sex scene with co-star Mickey Rorke garnered far more media coverage than whether or not the film deserved the X rating it had originally been assigned.[32] Maintaining that he had never seen an episode of The Cosby Show prior to casting Bonet,[32] Angel Heart director Alan Parker admitted he was unprepared for the public's reaction, elaborating, "I was naive not to realize ... what she represented within that show was maybe a role model for young black American kids."[23] When the film was released, an overwhelming number of The Cosby Show fans asked Bonet to reveal what Cosby thought of her performance.[23] Cosby eventually said that he was not particularly fond of Bonet's role in the film, which he dismissed as "a movie made by white America that cast a black girl, gave her voodoo things to do and have sex."[35] Envisioning Black Feminist Voodoo Aesthetics: African Spirituality in American Cinema author Kameelah L. Martin believes that Cosby's avoidance of the film only augmented the controversy surrounding Bonet's role.[113] Victor Valle of the Los Angeles Times wondered if the sex scene would harm Bonet's "wholesome TV image" on both The Cosby Show and the then-upcoming A Different World.[32] Maintaining that she had been unaware of Denise's wholesome reputation prior to appearing in Angel Heart,[33] Bonet insisted "My obligation wasn't to Denise. I felt obligated to myself and my career."[124]

As one of the decade's most popular actresses,[12][115] A Different World initially attempted to capitalize on Bonet's fame by featuring Denise prominently.[21][125] Although the spin-off garnered strong viewership due to airing immediately after its parent program, critics were largely unimpressed with its first season and Denise's role, often blaming her characterization and Bonet's performance for the show's lackluster reviews.[17][126][127] Mark Harris, contributing to Entertainment Weekly, wrote that "Bonet proved hollow as the center of a sitcom".[127] People television critic Jeff Jarvis accused NBC of "steal[ing] Lisa Bonet away, diluting Cosby only so she could star in a watery, bland series of her own."[128] Jarvis continued, "I only hope NBC has the sense to forgive Bonet and welcome her home, where she's always been terrific, on Cosby."[128] The Chicago Tribune's Clifford Terry felt that Bonet was not "a compelling enough actress to carry a show by herself".[46] Nadra Nittle of Racked accused Denise's "dull" personality of causing the show's inaugural season to "fall flat".[104] Emily VanDerWerff, writing for The A.V. Club, agreed that the actress "wasn't yet ready to carry a show", blaming her "sleepy demeanor and subdued line readings" for prompting audiences to gravitate towards more interesting supporting characters.[43] Emily Nussbaum, television critic for The New York Times, reviewed Denise as "so diffident she seemed barely there."[129] However, Tawana Charles of The Odyssey Online appreciated A Different World for not depicting Denise as "an honor[s] student."[53] Despite initially being inspired to attend college by watching her "favorite character ... take off on her own via 'A Different World', Jeneé Osterheldt, writing for The Kansas City Star, similarly enjoyed Denise's arc for proving that "I didn't need to be flawless like her."[130]

Writer and executive producer Susan Fales defended Bonet's acting: "the character was far more at fault [than Bonet]. Denise was not very interesting, and we were asked to make her into Mary Tyler Moore or Tinkerbell, always bringing everyone together. We couldn't."[127] Critics and audiences found that the character was constantly being upstaged by Whitley Gilbert (Jasmine Guy).[37] After Bonet's departure, Whitley replaced Denise as A Different World's main character, and the series underwent major revisions to focus on her and other supporting characters.[12] Although the producers expected viewers to miss Denise,[14] critics generally conceded that Whitley, in whom audiences had always shown more interest,[14] offered better television than Denise.[12] Linda Hobbs of Vibe wrote that A Different World's "success only grew after Bonet left".[131]

However, some fans lamented Denise's departure.[59] AfterEllen.com contributor Dana Piccoli found it difficult to continue enjoying A Different World without Bonet, expounding, "I hung on for a couple of seasons but my heart wasn't in it with Bonet gone."[132] Recognizing Denise's characterization on A Different World among 752 Things We Love to Hate (and Hate to Love) about TV, author Tara Ariano wrote that young female fans were generally unbothered by Bonet's tendency to "deliver her lines either in a monotone or screechy whine" while "looking at Denise with the eyes of love."[102] Erin Faith Wilson of AfterEllen.com called A Different World one of her favorite shows "because of my love for Denise Huxtable", elaborating, "her clothes were amazing, she was incredibly intelligent and she didn't put up with shit from anyone ... At the time, she seemed to scream feminism and I couldn't get enough."[133] Bustle's Rikki Byrd wrote, "Although it was sad to see her go, the little bit of time she was on offered up enough style inspiration to last a decade."[101] Although most viewers dismissed the show as an unsuccessful spin-off of The Cosby Show in the immediate wake of Bonet's departure,[45] A Different World proved successful and would go on to air for five more seasons without Bonet.[134] In a retrospective review of Denise's role on A Different World, Jezebel's Clover Hope wrote "there's nothing that fascinating about Denise", who she described as "an atrocious student."[47] However, Hope admitted that the character is popular due to her wardrobe and audiences being able to relate to "her frazzled state of mind", concluding, "Really, we weren't all that different from Denise."[47] Some of My Best Friends Are Black: The Strange Story of Integration in America author Tanner Colby reported that applications to historically black colleges and universities in America increased by 14% one year after Denise started attending Hillman, while mostly white colleges experienced their first noticeable decrease in African American enrollment since the civil rights era.[135]