Bill Cosby was an American icon and staple in the American comedy scene. He was also extremely important to the black community and black American history for myriad reasons.
He was one of the first, if not the first person of color to appear in a prominent role on TV side-by-side with a white co-star in the late 1960’s “I Spy” series. It seems like nothing now, but then it was a monumental breakthrough. Cosby did not stop there and his star continued to rise becoming a beloved American comic. His comedy tours and records sold out frequently and he became a fixture on American TV.
Bill Cosby created the iconic “Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids” cartoon in which he performed many of the voices himself. During a time when there was very little black representation on TV, Bill Cosby helped create that lane. It wasn’t just an extended lane for blacks to be more pimps and thugs either, it was a positive and empowering lane.
The pinnacle of Bill Cosby’s incredible legacy came in the 1980’s with the beloved “The Cosby Show”. “The Cosby Show” was one of the most successful sitcoms in US history, and Cosby became “America’s Dad” with the beloved character, Dr. Cliff Huxtable. The show ran a record 8 seasons and led to a very clever and successful spin-off show, “A Different World”, for which the timing was perfect. Lisa Bonet’s character, Denise Huxtable, appealed to an age group when her character went off to college and it was parlayed into a new fan base and another hit show. With his very popular Jell-O Pudding endorsement and iconic shows under his belt, Cosby was on top of the world as a comedic legend.
The Fall of Cosby
What goes up however, often comes down hard and fast, especially in these times in which the media craves it. Unbeknownst to most, Cosby had rape accusations lurking around the corner, but they never posed a real threat—-until now. In recent history Cosby suddenly became engulfed by the snowballing number of accusers and allegations, and legend or not—now there’s a man down.
In Hollywood the reaction is interesting depending who you ask. Some celebrities are crying foul and coming to his defense. Others are showing disdain and are already launching attacks and tweets. Many other people are not so sure. Most stay in the middle and don’t move in either direction for the sake of objectivity.
The question that should be asked is not if Bill Cosby slept with any of these women. Let’s be real. Hollywood honchos using their positions of influence to get over on women isn’t anything new in Hollywood. Also, there is a very real casting couch situation. It’s awful, but it isn’t exactly rape either. The Hollywood structure is wrong, but perhaps another topic entirely. These women are in charged of their own destinies and surroundings. They were around at parties and in certain Hollywood circles and they knew exactly what dangers were amidst. The serious and only question to be asked is if Bill Cosby in fact drugged and raped these women. That would be a reprehensible crime way beyond the line that no one deserves.
Rape is a very serious accusation that should never be blown off or discredited. Again, it’s a crime no one deserves and it should be taken very seriously. However, we live in a sick day and age full of lairs and opportunists seeking fame or monetary gain. They tell us victims don’t usually lie about rape—but that isn’t exactly true according to factual statistics. They don’t tell you this in the media, but there are several cases of people who lie about rape all the time for varying reasons. Not saying Cosby is innocent and not saying he’s guilty. Just saying, in this age we must be objective.
Is the Attention on Cosby Being Guided?
Whoopi Goldberg once stated that she has questions, and I do too. She didn’t refute the claims as no one should, she said she has questions and there are many. There are suspicious questions surrounding some of the accusers, and questions as to why this is suddenly being given so much coverage. Why now?
Anytime there is such a concerted effort to converge upon a particular celebrity, there usually is something going on that the public doesn’t know about. These allegations are on average over 30 years old. Why the sudden push? Does it have anything to do with Hollywood politics? Does this devoted media attention have anything to do with the fact that Bill Cosby has repeatedly and recently been volleying to purchase NBC and he had gotten closer than he had ever been? Is it racially motivated as many people assert, or encouraged and orchestrated by the unseen gatekeepers in “Hollyweird”? The suspicion grows.
There are a lot of very strange things going on with these accusations that are eye-opening. Firstly, for now, they are just allegations. Nothing has been proven in a court of law. The corporate owned media out of control however, have not been behaving that way. Along with the corporate media, there are other corporations, networks and companies that have taken very peculiar and extreme actions in a concerted effort. For instance, all of his talk show appearances have been immediately cancelled. All of them. With one of his most recent live US comedy shows, no one individually fought to get a refund at first, it was the theater that jumped ahead of everyone and put it out there in the media that if you wanted to get a refund they were offering a way to do it swiftly with no hassle. Then, only about a third of the sales actually chose that option. Netflix immediately removed everything that has to do with Cosby including cancelling something that was coming out near his 77th birthday. NBC has immediately scrapped all of their dealings with him. The United States Navy publicly yanked his honor of Chief Petty Officer away from him. It was an honor already given to him years ago. They were not in danger of tarnishing their Military branch image (already laden with sex abuse allegations) and they didn’t have to do anything. Regardless, they voluntarily stepped up to publicly snatch the honor away from Cosby and add to the spectacle of public shaming. He hasn’t even been legally charged with anything. So why all of these final actions by decided corporate entities? And isn’t this illegal? Who is behind this?
Here’s another interesting thing; Cosby isn’t the first, the only or the last Hollywood honcho with sex allegations. The strange thing here is that someone on top has seemingly pulled the lever on Cosby. There are several politicians, celebrities and athletes including Bill Clinton with rape accusations floating around, but they are also just allegations. In Hollywood, from Woody Allen, to Roman Polanski on down, there are several celebrities who are even more blatantly guilty of indiscretions who have received less consequences than Cosby. Polanski even just got nominated for a Cesar Award. There’s something wrong and very concentrated here with Cosby and it wreaks of suspicion. Whether it’s true or not, this is being guided.
Perhaps the biggest irony about this American tragedy is that Cosby’s downfall came from a black comedian who indirectly benefited from Cosby’s legendary foundation and groundwork. The spotlight didn’t come from Chris Rock. It didn’t come from Kevin Hart. It didn’t come from Steve Harvey. It came from a stooge who’s not very funny in my opinion, who could use a career boost. For unknown reasons and rivaled only by perhaps Charles Barkely, “coon of the year” nominee Hannibal Buress relentlessly went on and on about Cosby’s rape allegations with a strange devotion. No one has stopped to think about this, but it was weird. Why was Cosby all of sudden his focus and his shtick? It wasn’t a situation already viral like the Michael Jackson accusations, Hannibal Burress was blowing the flames on the issue himself for an entire month. One of his rants was again, not funny all, it was disturbingly serious. It was not typical fodder for a comedian. Nor was it even appropriate. He was saying over and over that “Bill Cosby is a rapist. He’s a f-ing rapist.” Is that a joke? Regardless, he was strangely committed to it and his act on YouTube went viral.
Then Burress indirectly passed the baton to the next entity. Exactly at the time his act went viral and everyone was talking, Barbara Bowman piggy-backed the viral video with an op-ed about Cosby that also went viral and had everyone talking. Then when everyone was still talking, more Cosby accusers started to come forth one by one.
Is Cosby Guilty or Innocent?
Now let’s look at some of the accusations. Like Whoopi Goldberg has stated, I’m not refuting anything— but there are serious things to consider and questions that need to be answered before forming opinions.
Janice Dickinson, the most famous of the accusers is the one that has by far the least credibility. She’s a fame whore. She’s told fantastic fake stories in the past just to make headlines, including the claim that Sylvester Stallone was the father of her baby which of course was not true.
Dickinson was given airtime and helped by several entities like Sharon Osborne on “The Talk”. Sharon Osborne made a completely illogical point that made no sense and had nothing to do with anything. Osborne said that she knows Dickinson and she’d never go for a guy like Cosby because he’s not good-looking enough. Um…so? What does that have to do with anything? All the more weird for him to have the persuasive power to lure her to his hotel room, I’d imagine. Talk show host Wendy Williams is another extremely dangerous entity who routinely leads public opinion in the wrong direction. In one of her shows she prefaced a statement by saying “Beverly Johnson, who doesn’t lie..”. So she knows people who have never told a lie like George Washington and the apple tree? She also insisted that Beverly Johnson doesn’t need the attention or the money. In reality, Johnson has not been relevant since the 1980s and I haven’t heard anything about this woman in decades. How does Wendy Williams know anything about what Johnson would or wouldn’t do, or what she does or doesn’t need? Answer: she doesn’t. Johnson has also been of accused of lying by several people in her past, included 2 of her exes. That’s very important, but Williams instead chose to tell her audience that Johnson doesn’t lie when there are people out there that beg to differ. People like herself with a huge audience should not be discussing controversial legal matters. In general, people who don’t have intelligent or factual things to add need to stop commenting on air.
Lets discuss things that actually matter. Dickinson’s story changed and morphed throughout the years. Victims don’t keep changing the details to what happened for book deals or what have you. Her Cosby story morphed into rape only recently. Dickinson said she was lured into Cosby’s hotel room in 1982. She was 27 years old at the time, partying, drinking, drugging and screwing half of Hollywood. She was no babe in the woods and pushing 30, she was not “lured” anywhere. Then she made excuses as to why her story kept changing, but with her history of fame addiction and dishonesty, and the inability to ever prove her allegations 30 years later, there is no case here. Also, respected talent agent who has known her for over 20 years, Don Gibble, has publicly stated that he does not believe she is telling the truth. With suspicious inconsistencies, she can’t get the benefit of the doubt. She needs to be ruled out completely.
The next accuser seen in the news the most would be Barbara Bowman. She seems the most credible. The only problems with Bowman for one is that both she and her manager were living for a while supported by Cosby during the time the alleged “rapes” were supposed to have taken place. She claims to have been raped and drugged multiple times which is extremely bizarre. That would mean after the alleged 1st time, she was allowing the rapes to continuously happen. People keep explaining how and why that could happen but I don’t join either bandwagon. It doesn’t mean her claims aren’t true, but it’s something to think about. She claimed to be raped and drugged several times and stayed living in his apartment. The other thing is that she and the other’s are accepting money to go on these shows and tell their stories. It’s been denied by one outlet publicly, but it’s a lie; many of the women are being compensated. The alleged accusers are also assembling to file a lawsuit together for a very large payout. Money motivation changes everything to me. If she was in it for nothing I’d be more inclined to believe it. However, just like the Michael Jackson cases, when money is involved things are a little muddy and suspect. The media is dishing out everything about Cosby while simultaneously hiding details about these virtually anonymous women, making it impossible for the court of public opinion to establish motive or to even know what any of these women (many whom have criminal histories) are capable of. For that reason, I’m much more cautious.
Another accuser that has trouble earning the benefit of the doubt is former model Beverly Johnson. None of her story on her own is enough to bring about charges or a lawsuit decades later. In her story aside from the claim he drugged her, Cosby didn’t actually do anything else to her by her own admission. He invited her over with other people including his wife who all eventually left. She claimed Cosby gave her a cappuccino drink and drugged her. When she realized she was drugged she began cursing at him and he then brought her out and put her in a cab. And she too like many of the others, mysteriously did nothing. This tough, no nonsense lady cursed out the legendary Bill Cosby, but then did absolutely nothing and said nothing to anyone ever.
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Her story is also bit rehearsed and prepared. For instance, she added a reason why she knew she was drugged. She explained that she did drugs in her past so she knew the feeling, and that’s why she knew that Cosby had drugged her, and why she was groggy but able to recount everything step-by-step with such detail. A more honest and real depiction would have just been to simply say how she felt and describe her demeanor after consuming the drink. Instead she explained her drug history to add credibility. Regardless, the hospital would have been able to confirm drugs in her system. Aside from which, most people who felt strange would be concerned about what they ingested into their body. She felt weird and that she was drugged, but just went home to sleep? She was a mother and a grown woman. Strangely like all of the other accusers, she mysteriously did not go to the police or the hospital either. Like many of the others, she went straight to the tabloids and received payment and/or attention for her “story” years later. Her former manager Don Gibble, also believes she like Dickinson, is lying about the entire incident. True or not, there was no rape and there is no proof of being drugged by her own doing. Why she keeps being invited to tell her “story” on TV, I’ll never know.
Perhaps the most serious accuser is Judy Huth who claimed that she wasn’t raped or drugged, but “sexually assaulted” by Cosby when she was 15. Here are the many questions that are very problematic for Huth. If Huth was 15 partying in the Playboy mansion, several other people are in the hot seat for serious questioning, including Hue Heffner, and her own parents. At 15 hanging around in Hollywood circles, where was she living and who did she belong to?
Perhaps the most damaging thing to her credibility were her multiple attempts to get money before blowing the whistle. They don’t publicize this too much in the media, but she has been after the money pretty consistently. Had she gone straight to the police from day one, and kept her efforts concentrated in the realm of law enforcement, she would have much more credibility. However, I have trouble believing any alleged victim who side-steps seeking justice and tries repeatedly to win money first. She wouldn’t even have come forward at all if Cosby paid her hush money, and her asking number and attempts to collect kept growing. Also, Huth is not even claiming they had sex or that she was drugged. She claims Cosby took her hand and made her “handle him”. She’s saying that he encouraged her to do a sex act and is trying to sue for “severe and extreme emotional distress”. This is not a rape, even if her story is true. After several decades, there’s not much of a case here either even though the media is desperately trying to make it look like there is. This one may have to go to the trash as well.
The Questions Surrounding the Situation
Here are some of the main problems:
1) Rape entails trauma, and therefore many victims do not take the suggested actions afterward. However, this is not true for all cases. People are different and different victims react in varying ways. Some of the women claimed they were drugged and taken advantage of. Wouldn’t at least one of these victims want to confirm that and know what was in their body? Wouldn’t at least one of them want to know if they contracted an STD or were pregnant? Wouldn’t at least one of these victimized woman want to confirm penetration? Again, NONE of them went to the hospital or the police afterward. You can expect some of the women to have been young, confused, afraid and not sure what to do, but out of nearly 30 women, not one went to the authorities or the hospital? Not all of them were that young and some of them were mothers of young daughters so they knew exactly what to do. So again, not one of them did what you should do after being raped or drugged, and now there is absolutely no evidence or record? Very interesting.
2) Some of the women claimed they were forced to do sex acts. If they were not consenting parties, how did they get forced to give oral sex or hand jobs? Sure it can definitely happen to women who are maybe fearful for their safety so they comply. However, this is an added detail that requires additional explanation to law enforcement for a solid understanding of the circumstance. The charge is that much more serious. Did these women specifically say “no” and fight, and did Cosby physically restrain and force them? How do each of them explain performing the act and categorizing it as rape? These are not insensitive questions. This is very sound reasoning that requires explanation and investigation, because rape isn’t an action done voluntarily because you feel subconsciously pressured into it and feel bad about it afterward. Are these women saying they were over-powered and forced? When you examine each story individually that isn’t exactly what was reported.
3) Why are the women who claim no sexual assault took place being given press alongside those saying there was an assault? The media is basically saying “come one, come all” with a Cosby story. If every woman who felt “pressured” by a man was able to destroy him, a third of the male population on the planet would go down. Some are only reporting that Cosby came on to them “aggressively” at one point decades ago. Why are so many women with stories that vary in gravity so hugely, all being streamlined to join the lawsuit and go right to prime-time media outlets as if they were the same? Many of the accusers don’t have real cases when examined individually. So why are we incessantly told how many accusers there are as the number continues to grow, but we are not being told how weak and bereft of evidence most of the stories are?
4) If a person has been egregiously victimized and is aware that a person may be a dangerous predator on the loose, isn’t there a societal obligation to some degree, to make sure that individual doesn’t victimize anyone else? Many of these accusers mysteriously did nothing and have varying reasons for their collective inactivity and silence. Some of the “victims” claimed they chose to do nothing for decades because they felt Cosby was too big to bring down. Beverly Johnson said that she stayed quiet all these years because Camille Cosby, Cosby’s wife, “gave her a warm hug” one day and she didn’t come forward because she felt bad because of her. I’ll repeat that, she felt warm feelings for Camille Cosby so as a fellow woman she didn’t tell her that her husband drugged her. Janice Dickerson allegedly withheld her rape story all these years because she didn’t want to be sued and didn’t want to complicate things legally with her books. Are these reasons to let a serial rapist off the hook to perhaps rape other women? These victims were raped or almost raped and there was a sensible option to not report it? These alleged victims, many of them white women, wouldn’t be able to get a cop to believe that a famous black man raped them in the 1960s and 70s? These women who did nothing, but are stepping forward 30 or 40 years later to join a lawsuit against an 80 year-old open target are somehow courageous heroes now? Pardon me if I don’t agree.
Justice in the Cosby Fiasco
I’m in no way belittling the seriousness of rape and I’m not insisting it couldn’t have happened. I am saying they are all extremely old allegations, all under suspicious circumstances, none of which have made the courts, and I really don’t know. None of us do. Until I learn more I will reserve all judgment.
I know people who were victims of rape. I’ve also known someone who was once falsely accused of rape with the case thrown out of court. Even though we’re sold one narrative, both scenarios happen all the time.
In the celebrity world, false accusations of rape have happened to lots of people. Like yelling “Fire”, when someone cries rape people will believe it simply if the shoe seems like it could fit, and that’s wrong. Not in this day and age, and not in this climate. One should not believe anything they hear in a tabloid that hasn’t yet gone through the proper channels of scrutiny before condemnation. This is not insensitivity. Rape allegations brought privately to the police should be taken extremely seriously. Allegations brought not to the police, but to lawyers and through the compensated entertainment channels are supposed to be scrutinized for credibility—and judgement should be reserved.
Whether Cosby is guilty or not, most of the people ranting, raving, tweeting, blogging, vlogging and commenting all over the place are out of control and emotional. They really don’t know because they were not there and they don’t know the accusers. We have to let law enforcement and the courts do their job and stop throwing everything prematurely to the court of public opinion. It’s an agent of chaos, and it’s sick.
If Cosby is guilty of rape, I truly hope he gets what he deserves. In many ways he’s already getting it. However, when someone files a lawsuit 30 or 40 years later and it can’t really be proven, and there’s money involved, you cannot rush to judgment. You have to step back and let the investigation proceed. As a society we have to stop behaving like easily corralled tabloid addicted lunatics, and we have to stop sentencing people with allegations and alleged incidents. Even if it makes us appalled, it isn’t necessarily proven fact and judgement must be withheld. The media is evil and it keeps pouring things out to the public prematurely. They know the dead-headed public wants its crack.
Netflix and all the companies that already took action were also wrong and the quickness of their actions were very suspicious. As Phylicia Rashad recently insinuated in Cosby’s defense, something definitely does seem covert and orchestrated. No matter what any of us choose to believe, what’s happening is not right.
The way things are going, any one of us can be converged upon and we shouldn’t stand for this regarding anyone. I do not want Cosby or anyone off the hook for anything if there are transgressions. However, there is a serious societal danger when we make it too easy for anyone with an allegation to destroy accomplished people. The flood gates open. What’s worse is that if anyone speaks sensibly toward objectivity or God forbid in defense of Cosby, they may be subject to attacks by Feminist groups or angry people sold on the allegations, because of course we’re simply supposed to believe any women who come forth no matter what. It’s societal madness. None of this is Constitutional and none of this should be happening.
Society is often irrational and out of control and we must respect the social order of things. The power of the media has gotten more dangerous than it has ever been in history. Currently, its breaking all the rules and doing whatever it wants to. And now it is leading public thought regardless of truth. No matter what, absolutely no one with an allegation should be lionized as a hero and escorted all over the media to defame the accused. No matter what, the place to herd alleged crime is to the authorities and the courts, not to TMZ, Vanity Fair or Inside Edition. And no matter what, regardless what sheeple are foaming at the mouth believing, a man is innocent until he’s PROVEN guilty.
Check out these links below!!!!
Former Wilhelmina Model Claims She Was Paid to meet and seduce Cosby in ’82. Strangely the media isn’t chasing her for her “allegation.”
Spiked’s Brendan O’niell writes how Cosby is “innocent.” How the dangers of an easily led society threatens us all and destroys our rights.
For more controversial blogs visit:
http://www.drustorynews.com/
You are so on the money! This is exactly what I was thinking and they are destroying a legacy. Nowadays, everything is thrown on TV irresponsibly without professional investigation or fact checking and without any evidence. We’re just supposed to believe what these washed up hags who’s careers are either finished or who’s careers have never began say—as they cash their checks. This isn’t right and I had trouble believing it form the start. People keep making excuses for the women and claiming not all of them need the money or the attention when how do you know that! If that’s the case why don’t they refuse payment? They’re cashing the checks and keeping at it. This is all so very wrong.
And None of the people yapping on TV constantly offering opinions like Wendy Williams or Sharon Osborne are legal professionals or prosecutors. The things people would do for money, fame, attention, or all of the above has no limit. People have no idea whatsoever. None of these stories make sense or have evidence. They just keep focusing on how many are coming forward without really looking into who it is and what theyre actually claiming, or if there is any proof—and there’s none from any of them. WRONG.
Thank you for sharing this and I’ll be reposting for sure.
Hey Duane H,
Thanks for the support. You are absolutely right that this is not correct or the way things should be done. It’s a public character assassination with stories that have more holes than a mesh tang top.
What’s great to see is the outpouring of love and support from the women of his “Cosby” family. The media tried to coerce them into the frenzy hoping some of them had a crazy story or opinion of their own and they ALL shut it down, reminded they are ALLEGATIONS and got his back. It was great—so they got them out of there quick lol! Enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Uvnt-kn_QI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lyu8J-CkPsU
Thanks for coming by!
There is something to be said about our free liberties. That’s what this country is “supposed” to be about. Every time we give in to the propaganda, we are giving away our rights.
People really should not take this so lightly. We are so easy to just believe whatever comes across on the “boob tube.” It’s really disgraceful.
As you say, rape is not something to be taken lightly. Victims and accusers both have rights and that is what the courtroom is for.
Thank you giving yet another informative blog. This is what we need. Shout it from the mountaintop: “Innocent until proven guilty.” Let’s not forget what our forefathers fought so hard for.
Peace.
I meant to say the alleged rape victims and the alleged rapist both have rights.
As a person who studied law at one point, it is crazy to see how weak society is and the complete disregard for the justice system, and understanding why we NEED it. People don’t know how to know what “they don’t know” and respect it. It’s also crazy to see the power of the media and how stories that didn’t earn the benefit of the doubt are now a steam rolling freight train.
As you assert, we have a justice system. Allegations that can destroy someone’s life, let alone a legacy, should stay out of the court of public opinion. This is a disgrace.
Thanks for coming by.
You are incorrect on some of your points. Barbara Bowman did NOT LIVE in Cosby’s apartment. She was NOT SUPPORTED by Cosby, and she has never had a manager. She has NOT accepted money to appear on any news show. News shows do NOT pay for interviews. She has never accepted nor asked for money from Cosby. She DID tell others about Cosby’s sexual assault when it happened, but no one believed her including an attorney who laughed her out of his office. Law enforcement WAS made aware of the sexual assault, but, hey, it’s Cosby! They didn’t believe it, either. You are doing these women an injustice by making these untrue statements. Please do your research. All of this information has been reported by legitimate news outlets.
DGG–No, the information here IS correct. That’s what you and countless others don’t understand because everyone is pumped on media information and know very little facts. She WAS living in an apartment Cosby was paying for because he was grooming her. Don’t know where you heard otherwise because she says it herself. And in the beginning she herself said from her own mouth that she at first wondered if she could even consider her situation rape because she wasn’t sure. Wasn’t sure of what? She also accused Cosby of being a methodical master manipulator who took advantage of her. So which is it? Did he manipulate you, or drug and rape you? Not insisting she lied, but She said lots of contradicting things at differnt times. It was weak with no evidence. That’s why her claims never got traction. And yes she is a part of the growing lawsuit for money. There’s nothing to be confused about. This is not injustice to the women going on talk shows to say a man raped them. Not saying Cosby’s guilty or innocent. WE DON’T KNOW so stop pretending you do. There’s reasonable doubt. The author is right that this belongs in court if it’s worthy,not talk shows.
Hello DGG, thank you stopping by.
I have to correct you on many of the things that you aimed to correct me about. As Duane H pointed, Cosby was in fact subsidizing her living situation and yes she did have an agent that I referred to as a manager. You were wrong about all those points, which is why people need to control themselves.
Here’s another thing you don’t understand. No Bowman never went to the police. No one believed her story, meaning her agent and the people around her because it wasn’t credible to them, and LAWYERS in fact ACCUSED HER OF MAKING UP THE STORY, even by her own admission. Furthermore, why was she going before lawyers? She never went to the police with the story. Her first stop was lawyers for a cash settlement. Stop saying it wasn’t about money when she tried to file a lawsuit—for MONEY, and after a failed career.
Another huge part of her claims is that she was being drugged and “blacked out” several times waking up confused and unclothed multiple times on several different occasions, but she remained there under the tutelage of Cosby anyway. She once insinuated that she thought sex with Cosby was part of the deal that came with being a star. Weird.
She grew up with visions of fame, fortune and the limelight. She relocated city to city to be a STAR. Cosby moved on and she never became the star she wanted to be. I’m sure there is pain, anger and regrets amiss. You don’t know this woman. Stop supporting unsupported accusations.
I’m not above being corrected if need be, but not with a regurgitation of typical tabloid nonsense. You sited “legitimate news outlets” as your source. If you care to specify I’m all ears (eyes). I’m intrigued. Until then, no, there is nothing here that isn’t true. Debate the facts, don’t recreate them.
Here’s her own words from the Washington Post that if read wisely pulls up all of my points—including the fact that she is now a darling being honored and flown in to speak at various women’s groups.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/11/13/bill-cosby-raped-me-why-did-it-take-30-years-for-people-to-believe-my-story/
Never too late to reply in my opinion. Nothing stated was incorrect. Bowman was in fact subsidized by Cosby. And yes many of these women were being paid, offered opportunities as spokespeople, book deals etc. etc. In short—sitting back listening to the media and trusting what they tell you is not doing research. What I was doing is.
Well here’s my problem and why I agree with this. I tried to find out things based on some of the comments and I couldn’t. I tried to find out if Barbara Bowman or anyone was paid. I couldn’t find out anyting on alot of these women. And that’s the scary thing. We don’t know who these women are, or what they did or didn’t do. I can’t verify what their motives would be or anything about them, yet we’re supposed believe everything they say about Mr. Cosby? I agree this is not fair and not justice when operating out of court. Everyone is jumping in saying they were raped and we’re lynching him for every allegation.Not cool
I think he did it and he’s getting what he deserves. There’s no way you can deny all of these women coming forward. It’s a shame his legacy is being destoyed but he did it
@Shell Bella. So if tomorrow someone was to decide that you were guilty of rape and you didn’t do it but someone or some entity decided they wanted you to be seen as the guilty party (without proof but because of a gut feeling or possibly an agenda) even though you were innocent and then decided to splash the story all over the newspapers and the TV, I guess it’s okay for everyone to find you guilty just because. Really? Okay. That’s just wrong and diabolical.
Is this the kind of America you want to live in? I sure don’t. But it’s becoming the norm more and more and people are allowing it because they prefer to live in a world of reality TV, which is so far from reality.
It’s been 2 years since this post. I hope you see now that volume of people recruited to join civil suit and media blitz does not equate to a person’s guilt.
@Elizabeth Santamaria
That’s the thing though, the system failed these women and didn’t take them seriously and that’s why he was able to get away scott free all these years. This happens to women all the time. This finally pumped his brakes and now the law is taking it seriously. It’s not the best way but it worked. With 30 women and counting he has to be guilty and is finally getting what he deserves
For an article about the ‘media frenzy’ you sure do spend an awful lot of time writing about sexual assault, Cosby’s accusers and demoralizing each woman’s account, at least the few you chose to pick on. You may have even had the intention to break-down their story’s in an attempt to deconstruct the idiot journalists and their irresponsible editors, who are feeding into the Cosby-hysteria. What you actual did was re-victimize and demoralize a group of women, and give your legal-minded perspective a voice. That’s fine, but here are a few of my difficulties with digesting your opinion.
First,you completely ‘forgot’ to do ANY research on Trauma and how it impacts victims, their memory and the the reality (Scientifically proven) that TRAUMA CHANGES YOUR BRAIN. Many of your claims & arguments as to why these Ladies are so unbelievable are based in your uneducated opinion and are certainly NOT factual. Which is ironic, as you so strongly argue other journalists are doing just that as they report the claims of these victims.
You also put a great deal of credence in our legal system with an assumption that the current system is unbiased, and will ‘surly judge fairly’ the guilt or innocence of a sexual offender. I’m proud of you for getting your law degree, but Law does NOT equate to our Legal System. Especially for victims of sex crimes.
In my opinion, the most ridiculous comment in your article is when you state ‘you know victim(s) of sexual assault’; Really? This is worth mentioning? It is written as if it gives you a degree of legitimacy. It’s about as relevant as a white person saying they understand the impact of racism because they ‘know a black person’. Come On, you can do better than that!
Lastly, I’ll point out that your discomfort with the emotionally heated responses about this issue is very understandable, what’s not understandable is your inability to understand why so many are yes, emotional here: just for starters; 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men in America are sexual crime victims. You are great at writing in the language of objectivity, but your over all message is laden with emotionallity. You’re responding to the disbelief and disgusting concept that an Amazing, talented, black man who gave us ALL an incredible example, who paved the way for so many and gave us hope, could be So Depraved. That an ACTING Dad could do such a thing is SO hard to believe? HE’S A PROFESSIONAL ACTOR. And lets not forget to put ALL of this into the context of the 60’s and 70’s: a famous hot black actor vs a bunch of groupie females- who are you going to believe? (apparently even 30 yrs later YOU can’t believe the groupies over the ‘up-standing dad’). This is part of the trauma that every sex crime victim & in particular victims of incest, have to process and live with, a trusted man that EVERYONE loves & adores, it couldn’t be true! And yes, Victims actually struggle with this line of reasoning and BRAIN FUNCTION every day of the rest of their lives.
I’d like to challenge you, that your outrage doesn’t actually come from a place of Legal-mindedness, but rather, the visceral response we all have when we realize a trusted father figure (religious, biological or TV personality) has violated our trust and confidence in such a deplorable way. Well it happens Every Day! You’re elaborate descriptions and editorial are wrought with emotion. I hope you take the time to research Trauma and maybe introduce yourself to the world so many of us live in as victims, survivors and thrivers.
I’m not going to touch the incredibly inept legal system with it’s MANY layers of fallibility that you seem oblivious to, which begs to ask the question: what rock have you been under for so long, aren’t you a black man? Aren’t there innumerable examples of racism & sexism in recent years for you to have some kind of perception that our legal system is one giant FAIL for so many? And then there’s the very obvious: The statute of limitations exempts Cosby from any charges at this point.
My main concern here Dru, is that you unwittingly align yourself with all the things wrong with our system and actually feed the myths surrounding sexual assault. I certainly hope I have an opportunity to read an article from you in the future, that takes a broader approach with a little more insight from all the players and factors involved.
You too have a responsibility as a journalist; to know every angel of a subject before publishing an ‘in-depth’ piece about it. Peace.
Hey T,
Sorry I took so long as I’m knee deep in many ventures.
Anyway, to respond— I read your comment carefully and I don’t just want to respond for the sake of defense. I absorbed and digested your commentary.
First and foremost I want to explain to you that I already do understand everything you wrote, a lot more than you think. I understand that the reasonable doubt scenarios I put forward doesn’t mean that these women are lying and that many women who are violated don’t think straight, and therefore the aforementioned seed of doubt isn’t fact, it’s speculation. To you, everything about how these women went about things is totally and completely consistent with rape victims. I respect that as your opinion.
Now here’s what you should understand.
For starters, not all these cases are rape. For example, Lou Ferigno’s wife’s story is that Cosby came on to her and started to kiss her aggressively. She pushed him off and ran out of his house. That’s the story. Everyone with a “story” is coming forth and adding to the public damnation and they all are not stories worthy of defamation and endless media attention. They’re being turned into it. Secondly, you’re only explaining how the allegations are “possible”, not that they are true. I know that you can’t because you don’t know any of these people, it involves money which typically effects cases with factors to consider (Gloria Allred is fighting for 100 million for all the “victims”) and there isn’t any evidence.
The statement of mine that you got stuck on–me referring to the fact that I know rape victims as well as people who were accused of rape is that exact thing I’ll use to make my next point. It bothered you most likely because the statement is akin to a psychological trigger for some because of familiarity. For example, the white guy who says he has black friends—before he makes his racist statement. However, that’s the wrong psychological attachment to my statement because of emotion. You’re making the wrong association out of context. The very simple point being made not thinking too deeply is that again, both scenarios of guilt or innocence can be true. It had absolutely nothing to do with me validating myself to anyone. So again, I know people who have been raped and it happened. Some did something about it, and some didn’t, like you infer. I also know people who have been accused of rape by women that came out and swore it happened and they lied. Luckily in those instances, it was the police who eventually got to the bottom of it and got the truth out. This after of course, some of the guys were arrested.
As far as journalist integrity is concerned, it just goes to show how far into insanity we’ve plummeted. I’m not supposed to just believe what people say and report their accounts supportively. Every media outlet IS doing that— and THAT is bad journalism. It’s also dangerous. There was once a time where it’d be understood that keeping out of the tabloids was best for both entities. Now it’s a freak show circus and we’re back to allowing the public to give a thumbs up or thumbs down—“off with his head” in the arena. Also, this is a blog and I don’t write for popular acceptance, “likes” or approval. This is my researched, fact supported opinion. This is a blog giving examples of reasonable doubt to untrained made up minds.
Also–this is IMPORTANT—your thinking of the accounts of everyday people. This is the furthest thing from “normal” circumstances. This is prime time Hollywood. Many of the players involved are fame seekers and opportunists by the very nature of what they do. People don’t get it, but the same rules do not apply. There are many factors to consider, including money being paid to some of these women under the table that the media is denying. The statute of limitations is long over. No one went to the police. Why do suddenly ambitious women keep coming forward, most with weak stories that aren’t rape, and why all right now?
Lastly, please understand I’m treating this with legal reasoning—as I should. You can’t keep overriding Cosby’s rights, reasonable doubt and the law because the allegations seem possible to you and you believe them. Especially when in court I already know a good many of them would be eviscerated to pieces. I’ll go even further and be as bold as to say many of them have already made statements that align with dishonesty. For instance, a professional of some sort provided a comment and explained how Beverley Johnson’s story has been repeatedly inconsistent and scientifically impossible. She keeps telling the same story with slightly different details each time; like as to when she started to feel weird and when she recovered. When asked if she was raped, most times she said no emphatically. Other times it evolved into saying she “didn’t know” as time went on in this saga. How does she not know when she knew clearly that Cosby kicked her out and put her in a cab and she went home? What does she mean she doesn’t know? Sounds like Gloria Allred coaching. She also claimed that she felt weird after the first (or second depending on the day the story is told) sip of cappuccino which no drug in existence would do. What known drug puts you in a groggy haze after the first sip (none)? When you claim to have been drugged, you are beholden to scientific consistency. When you say you were dazed after the first sip and you instantly realized you were drugged, the story is no longer factual or plausible. People are not effected by anything instantly. I can go on case by case. Now when the excuse is used that victims don’t think straight recalling the details, or take proper action—you’re basically throwing all legal decorum in the trash can and saying anyone with a rape allegation can say whatever they want even if it doesn’t add up, and they still get the benefit of the doubt? Not in my world.
Now—Let me explain to you how Hollywood works behind the scenes. This is a true story. A friend of Vlad from Vlad TV aired this. He has a friend who’s kid hung out with Michael Jackson with the other kids and stayed over. The kids were just having fun, playing games and running around. The kid took pictures with Jackson wearing his glove and so on. One pic was shirtless. Long story short, “they” eventually offered the boy’s father $50,000 to say that MJ molested his son and to use one of the pictures in his underwear wearing MJ’s glove as evidence. The man declined. They were basically looking for kids who could factually prove they hung out with MJ, and if their families had a “price”. Vlad’s friend didn’t have the evil in his heart or the desperation for cash to do that. He told Vlad that he would’ve killed Jackson himself if he molested his son. The man knew that Jackson never did anything and that’s why this guy always knew the allegations on MJ was orchestrated bullshit. He could’ve been part of it if he wanted to. He started to see others coming forward, but he knew what was going on. When MJ finally went to court instead of paying a settlement, sure enough the Arvizo family was caught in lies—and he was acquitted. What’s interesting–these allegations started popping up right after MJ made some interesting business moves including buying the Beatles catalog. Jackson would’ve been a multibillionaire by 2017 if he was still alive. He was also about to buy CBS. Vlad is a successful entertainment entrepreneur who doesn’t have a dog in anyone’s race. The story he shared while talking to Charlamange was just conversational food for thought.
Now let’s talk Cosby. Cosby was around on TV since the 60s. He only started showing interest with his partners in buying NBC and perhaps starting his own network well after his Cosby Show money in the early 90s—and talks got serious by around the year 2000. After 3-4 DECADES, Cosby’s first wave of legal trouble came in 2004. Hmmm. And coincidentally not last year, not 5 years ago, THIS YEAR was supposed to have been a come back year for Cosby with a strong new NBC sitcom and all. Stepping into more power and prestige like owning an entire network is something that the invisible “powers that be” either allow or destroy.
Now bringing this back to objectivity I’ll say again; we don’t know what happened and a man is innocent until proven guilty. My opinion is probably not popular and I don’t care. I follow my better judgement. Sometimes what’s right isn’t popular, and sometimes things aren’t what they seem no matter how it looks. Many cases taught me that. And just maybe, you may not know what you don’t know.
I understand both sides of the fence (perhaps more than I’d like to), but I don’t feel this article means to victim bash, even assuming they’re telling truth. It’s a reminder for everyone to slow down and respect the fact that they are allegations. There is nothing wrong with presenting another side of the story and how it “could” not be true as all the media is currently doing the opposite and telling us without saying it bold, that all the allegations ARE true as they pull away from Cosby and his legacy prematurely.
People are setting the stage to say because of the country’s poor history handliung rape—that it’s wrong to even doubt or scrutinize accusations outside of court—which is wrong. Why are (most of them) they only going through the media and paid outlets??? It is something to think about
Beverly Johnson and Dickerson called out for lying. Here you go:
http://dailycaller.com/2015/01/11/exclusive-cosby-accusers-manager-claims-beverly-johnson-and-janice-dickinson-lied/
Wow, a lot information coming both ways but I guess we’ll see. Good read though
Excellent and very well written. Even though the truth is coming out about many of these women and how they lied (Johnson and Dickerson mainly), people are already committed to the allegations because of their own personal stories of rape. This should never be done and people need to learn no matter what they feel to stop giving power to the court of media propeganda.
I’m not sure either way but only God knows in the end.
This is true. This is also why we shouldn’t cast premature judgement and position ourselves in His place. Thank you for coming by!
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