Rape Allegations Haunt Bill Cosby In The Digital Age [Archive] - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Family Ties Forever!

11-17-2014, 03:16 AM

This came as a shock just as the allegations of sexual assualt against Stephen Collins did.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/14/showbiz/tv/bill-cosby-rape-allegations/index.html

Rape Allegations Haunt Bill Cosby In The Digital Age
By Todd Leopold and Ben Brumfield, CNN
updated 11:45 AM EST, Sat November 15, 2014

(CNN) -- Nasty allegations have been haunting one of America's most iconic comedians, a man with a reputation for moral wholesomeness. For nine years, Bill Cosby has been accused of sexual assault by women who say they were the victims.
Cosby has repeatedly said that the allegations are untrue. And he has never been prosecuted.
But since 2005, a handful of women have made the claim. This year, those accusations resurfaced, and on Monday, a seemingly harmless post to Cosby's confirmed Twitter account turned them into a social media storm.

In its wake, one of his accusers, Barbara Bowman, turned to the public once more with an article in the Washington Post. She also spoke to CNN's Don Lemon.
Bowman claims she was drugged then raped, though she said she never saw drugs. "I woke up out of a very confused state not in my clothes." She said she knew her body had been touched without her permission. This occurred several times in the course of their contact, she said.

Bowman claims she was drugged then raped, though she said she never saw drugs.
"I woke up out of a very confused state not in my clothes." She said she knew her body had been touched without her permission. This occurred several times in the course of their contact, she said.

Despite what she said was happening to her, she kept coming back. And Cosby and her agent financed her apartment in addition to supporting her acting ambitions, she said.
She was afraid to talk to her agent about her concerns, and she felt Cosby's influence over her was too powerful.
"I was terrified of him," she said.
"As a teenager, I tried to convince myself I had imagined it. I even tried to rationalize it: Bill Cosby was going to make me a star and this was part of the deal," she wrote in her Washington Post article.
In a Friday morning interview on CNN's "New Day," Bowman said she went to a lawyer in 1989 to discuss legal action against Cosby but "he laughed me right out of the office."

After that, Bowman said, she "just gave up" and moved on with her life. When another woman took legal action against Cosby years later, Bowman decided to lend her support, she said.
"I believe her because it happened to me," she said Friday.
CNN reached out to Cosby's representative for comment on this article but has not yet heard back.
When asked about the allegations Saturday during an interview on NPR, Cosby did not respond -- instead shaking his head "no," according to the interviewer, Scott Simon.
"There are people who love you who might like to hear from you about this. I want to give you the chance," Simon said, to silence from Cosby. "All right."

The Tweet
On Monday, the comedian -- or whomever was in charge of his social media -- put out a challenge with a jovial picture of Cosby in a cap: "Go ahead. Meme me! #cosbymeme."
The Internet immediately reacted, but probably not in the way Cosby expected.
.
In late October, comedian Hannibal Buress bluntly attacked what he perceived as Cosby's "smuggest old man public persona" by saying, "Yeah, but you rape women, Bill Cosby, so turn the crazy down a couple notches. 'I don't curse onstage.' Well, yeah, you're (a) rapist, so I'll take you saying lots of ************s on 'Bill Cosby: Himself' if you weren't a rapist."

A couple weeks later, Cosby was booked on Queen Latifah's talk show, but the allegations reportedly gave the staff "cold feet," according to TMZ. Cosby's booking was "postponed at his request," the website reported in an addendum. (Cosby did do interviews with Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon without incident.)
For years, Cosby has denied the rape allegations. In February, after Newsweek ran an interview with one of the purported victims, Tamara Green, Cosby's representative said, "This is a 10-year-old, discredited accusation that proved to be nothing at the time, and is still nothing."

Nine years ago, when Green was interviewed by Matt Lauer on the "Today" show, his lawyer issued a statement: "Miss Green's allegations are absolutely false. Mr. Cosby does not know the name Tamara Green or (maiden name) Tamara Lucier and the incident she describes did not happen. The fact that she may have repeated this story to others is not corroboration."
In the case of Andrea Constand, who sued Cosby in 2005 over an incident the year before, Cosby says the sex was consensual.

Lawsuit airs allegations
At the time of Constand's lawsuit, Cosby had been in the news for a sexual affair once before. In 1997, a woman named Autumn Jackson claimed to be Cosby's love child. Cosby admitted to a relationship with Jackson's mother but denied paternity. Jackson was later convicted of extortion.
However, it wasn't until Constand's lawsuit in 2005 that the comedian was accused of rape.

Constand, a staffer for Temple University's women's basketball team, said in her suit that Cosby -- a Temple alum -- had become a mentor to her in the months since they met in 2002. In early 2004, he invited her to his house in suburban Philadelphia. Constand told Cosby she was feeling stressed and Cosby gave her three blue pills, which he described as "herbal medication," according to her suit, which was posted on The Smoking Gun.

Then, her "knees began to shake, her limbs felt immobile, she felt dizzy and weak, and she began to feel only barely conscious," the suit continued. Cosby then gave her another drug, she said, and led her to the sofa, where she says she was sexually molested.
"When Plaintiff awoke, her clothes and undergarments were in disarray," the suit said.
Constand later returned to her native Canada, where she reported the incident to police. Authorities in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, followed up with an investigation, but that February declined to press criminal charges due to a lack of evidence.

Cosby's lawyer, Walter M. Phillips Jr., told CNN the allegations were "utterly preposterous" and "plainly bizarre." Cosby appeared surprised by the allegations.
"Looking back on it, I realize that words and actions can be misinterpreted by another person, and unless you're a supreme being, you can't predict what another individual will do," he told the National Enquirer in March 2005.
Constand filed a civil suit in March 2005. Constand's lawyers said they found 13 Jane Doe witnesses with similar stories. However, Constand's suit was settled in November 2006, and the witnesses were never called. Terms have not been disclosed.
The influence of Bill Cosby

Tarnished reputation
As Mark Whitaker's recent Cosby biography makes clear, the man has his demons. He had affairs while on the road and there have been bumps in his long marriage to his wife, Camille.
But Whitaker, a former CNN managing editor, told CNN that he didn't feel comfortable airing the rape allegations.
"Basically, I knew that I was going to have to be very careful in what I said about his private life. I felt that way as a journalist and also for legal reasons," he said in an interview about the biography.
"In the case of these other allegations, basically because there were no definitive court findings, no independent witnesses, it didn't meet my standard for what I was going to put in the book."

"I also was very aware that if I just did a she said-he said, and I printed allegations and denials without my own independent reporting, first of all it's not really in the spirit in the book, but also every person who then reviewed or reported on the book would be free to repeat those unconfirmed allegations just because they were in my book. And I just didn't feel comfortable being responsible for that."
Still, the rape allegations are always just a mouse click away.
Not long after Constand's accusations hit the media, Tamara Green went public with her claims on "Today." A few months later, another Jane Doe, Beth Ferrier, also spoke out. Bowman came forward in 2006. Green and Bowman both gave interviews to Newsweek in early 2014.

How all the controversy has affected Cosby personally is unknown. He's still scheduled to star in an NBC sitcom next year, and his skills as a comedian appear undiminished. Last year's concert movie, "Far From Finished," earned mostly positive reviews, and his recent comedy tour has also received praise.
But his once-sterling reputation has taken a hit. The Washington Post, Salon and The New York Times have all mentioned the rape allegations in stories, criticizing Cosby to varying degrees.

Deimante

11-17-2014, 05:43 AM

Thank you for sharing!

TMC

11-18-2014, 03:08 AM

Mr. Television

11-19-2014, 04:19 PM

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2014/11/18/bill-cosby-legacy-forever-damaged-rape-allegations/19176659/

What will Bill Cosby's legacy be?

In the future, what will echo most when we hear Bill Cosby's name?

Will he forever be known as that beloved figure who starred in a groundbreaking family sitcom, was a voice of moral authority on black culture and education and made audiences laugh for decades with his stand-up comedy?

Or is Cosby risking a serious tarnishing of that image right now as allegations of rape continue to swirl around him?

On Sunday, the second woman in a 10-day span, publicist Joan Tarshis, came forward to tell a story of being sexually assaulted by Cosby. She posted a detailed account on Hollywood Elsewhere of being drugged and abused by Cosby, 77, who has been married to wife Camille since 1964.

It's a scenario that has now been told by more than a dozen women, all recounting incidents that happened years ago. On Tuesday, Vice dug up a passage in model Janice Dickinson's 2002 memoir in which she recounted predatory dates with the comedian while in her twenties. By Tuesday night, Dickinson had come forward with more details, alleging rape.

On Saturday, Cosby refused to answer NPR reporter Scott Simon when asked regarding "serious allegations raised."

On Sunday, Cosby's lawyer, John P. Schmitt, issued a statement saying the comedy legend would not "dignify" the "decade-old" claims. "He would like to thank all his fans for the outpouring of support and assure them that, at age 77, he is doing his best work."

Cosby canceled his upcoming Wednesday appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman. But he will be performing before a nearly sold-out show on Friday at the King Center for the Performing Arts in Melbourne, Fl. And he has dates in Las Vegas on Nov. 28, Yakima, Wa., on Nov. 29 and Dec. 6 in Tarrytown, N.Y.

Cosby seems determined to ignore the noise and continue working.

But is that the best approach?

"When you don't speak out, when there are so many women speaking up, the allegations gain strength or they're perceived as having more strength," says Bonnie Fuller, editor-in-chief of HollywoodLife.com. "It's going to hurt his reputation unless he can speak out for himself and categorically dismiss the allegations, provide some kind of statement or proof. I think that even if nothing goes further, no lawsuits, no criminal charges, it still clouds his reputation."

But Howard Bragman, vice-chair of Reputation.com, was surprised Cosby agreed to the NPR interview. "It's like, why would you do an interview in the midst of this? You know they're going to ask you," he says. His advice to Cosby: "When you're under siege, you gotta lay low.You go back in the foxhole."

Whoopi Goldberg is skeptical of the accusations. She and the hosts of The View kicked around the topic this week. "I'm sorry, having been on both sides of this where people allege that you do something, it doesn't matter now. The cat's out of the bag. People have it in their heads," said Goldberg, adding, "Settlements don't necessarily mean you're guilty. ... I'm going to reserve my judgment. I have a lot of questions."

Added Rosie Perez, "Whether the allegations are true or not, it's the venom people have on social media. If it is true, I hope these women have their day in court and he gets the punishment necessary, but if it's not true, a lot of people are rushing to judgment. I think we should allow the process of the law."

On Twitter last week, Cosby innocently asked his followers to "Go ahead! Meme me." It backfired, with memes featuring mentions of rape. And this week, the Village Voice unearthed an old Cosby 1969 comedy bit in which he joked about drugging women with Spanish Fly, thought to be an aphrodisiac at the time.

"Most people don't want to hear about all of this," says David Johnson, CEO of Strategic Vision, an Atlanta-based branding agency. "They don't want to think about rape and Bill Cosby in the same sentence." And while he notes that the holiday season is approaching, which may provide a distraction and take some of the heat off, he says, "This one doesn't seem to be going away."

Experts say this chapter will permanently cloud Cosby's legacy. "The silence is so loud," says Dave Kerpen, CEO of social media firm Likeable Local. The only solid option left? "If he wanted to beat this, what he needs to do as quickly as possible is to get out in front of it and say that he is a troubled man and that he's made lots of mistakes. And show the human side of him. And then he's got a chance, in my opinion. People are willing to forgive when people are vulnerable."

This week, fans have continued to grapple with the beloved star's status. Many fired questions at NPR's Simon for daring to ask the star about the alleged rape charges. On the show, Cosby only offered a silent shake of the head, twice.

Meanwhile, Cosby's legal team is standing firm. Cosby himself hasn't spoken. But late Tuesday, Netflix dropped plans to air a special, Bill Cosby 77, on Nov. 28. On Wednesday, NBC announced it was scrapping plans to develop a new sitcom with Cosby.

Mace Dolex

11-19-2014, 05:44 PM

Mr. Television

11-19-2014, 08:00 PM

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/nov/18/bill-cosby-sexual-assault-allegations-listening-women

Horrific stories about Bill Cosby were out there for years. Why are we only now listening to these women?
Lindy West

Along with pretty much everyone I know, I grew up watching the Cosby Show with a deep urgency and devotion, as if the show itself kept the lights on and my heart pumping. It was one of those pieces of pop culture that dug its roots into your DNA: the Huxtable family became your family; their house was your safe space; Bill Cosby was your other (or only) dad; Lisa Bonet was (still is) your unattainably cool older sister. If I ever found myself on the receiving end of Phylicia Rashād’s disapproving face, I’d probably crumble into dust and wait for a stiff breeze to rescue me from my shame.

This is the world in which Bill Cosby’s alleged victims were expected to report their sexual assaults. This is the figure – wholesomeness personified, with seemingly limitless funds – they were supposed to challenge in court. “America’s dad raped me.” “The guy from the Jell-O pudding ads drugged my drink.” “The last thing I remember was Captain Corny Sweater unbuckling his belt.” If you have trouble understanding why so many rape victims don’t report their attacks, say any of those sentences out loud. When you consider that even 10 years ago our public understanding of the interplay between power, coercion and consent was less nuanced than it is now, it’s no wonder it took decades for the allegations to stick.

Our love for Cosby’s fictionalised public personas – Cliff Huxtable, Fat Albert, affable front-stoop storyteller, scatting gelatin spokesman, guy to whom kids say the darndest things – kept the real Cosby safe for decades. But his bubble, it seems, is finally popping. In the past decade, 15 women have come forward with rape allegations stretching back to the 60s, most of them startlingly similar. Many of the women were aspiring young models and actors in their late teens or early 20s; Cosby would position himself as a mentor or father figure who could help them navigate the complexities of showbusiness. After earning their trust, the allegations go, he plied them with a “herbal medication”, a special “coffee” or some “cold medicine”, which would render them incapacitated or unconscious. He would then “help” them to bed, after which they’d wake up in varying states of undress and confusion – sometimes in the middle of the act, sometimes bewildered and alone. Some of the women remembered their assaults; some didn’t. All of their stories are absolutely horrific.
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And we, the public, knew about them for years. Cosby wasn’t discreet about it. The Village Voice dug up an old routine of his in which he extolled the virtues of drugging women’s drinks. So why was Cosby still lined up for HBO specials, still touring theaters, still being cast in NBC sitcoms? What’s wrong with us? Why couldn’t we believe these women?

Even from a pragmatic standpoint, consider which scenario is more likely: that a famous, powerful man – raised in a world where women are characterised as passive, decorative “rewards” for male success – used his position to groom vulnerable young women in the same way that countless men have done before him; or that 15 complete strangers randomly crossed paths and decided to concoct a conspiracy to frame a universally loved actor for rape, knowing that it would result in years of intrusive investigations, stultifying bureaucracy and brutal character assassinations? I know where I’d put my money.

Until recently, Cosby’s nostalgic pull and paternal charm (not to mention the comedy world’s reliance on soulless ass-kissing) managed to relegate at least one woman’s accusations, which were settled out of court, to the realm of rumour. The fact that his accusers have recently resurfaced and managed to gain traction can be attributed to a handful of relatively new cultural phenomena: the democratising power of the internet, which gives marginalised groups space to tell their stories; the rise of “clickbait” and the public hunger for celebrity takedowns (Gawker’s headline “Who Wants to Remember Bill Cosby’s Multiple Sex-Assault Accusations” opened a lot of eyes); the slow mainstreaming of the term “rape culture”; and a viewing public that is no longer content, or resigned, to overlook such egregious lapses in humanity.

But, more significantly (and bleakly), the allegations seem to have gained ground because men were talking about them, and male voices are inherently legitimising. Tom Scocca wrote the aforementioned Gawker post, and comedian Hannibal Buress was widely praised when he called Cosby a serial rapist on stage. But, as outspoken victim Barbara Bowman wrote in the Washington Post, “Only when a male comedian called Cosby a rapist did the accusation take hold.” What will it take for us to stop privileging men’s voices over women’s, and men’s reputations over women’s accounts of their own experiences? What will it take for us to start believing women?

On Sunday, the latest victim to come forward, Joan Tarshis, wrote: “Through the haze, I thought I was being clever when I told him I had an infection and he would catch it and his wife would know he had sex with someone. But he just found another orifice to use.” In response, Cosby’s lawyer released a statement. “Over the last several weeks, decade-old, discredited allegations against Mr Cosby have resurfaced. The fact they are being repeated does not make them true. Mr Cosby does not intend to dignify these allegations with any comment.”

That’s fine, Mr Cosby – you don’t have to talk. Maybe it’s time for women to talk instead.

Mr. Television

11-19-2014, 08:06 PM

TMC

11-19-2014, 08:09 PM

DJM77

11-19-2014, 08:24 PM

Mr. Television

11-19-2014, 08:27 PM

I don't know about the rest of you, but I honestly feel semi-traumatized over all this news about Bill Cosby. :(

I don't know why it should matter to anyone that TV Land pulled The Cosby Show since they air about 45 minutes of commercials per hour anyway. :rolleyes:
I'm a little torn over it too. I've been a Cosby fan since his Fat Albert days. He needs to speak about it because it's not going away. If it was just one person, I'd give him the benefit of the doubt but it's hard when it's so many people.

Vahan

11-19-2014, 08:31 PM

I think it's all blown out of proportion. Because keep in mind that it all started with a joke told by Hannibal Buress. Buress says he doesn't have anything against Bill Cosby.

A simple joke blown completely out of proportion. That's what I think.

Mr. Television

11-19-2014, 08:34 PM

Vahan

11-19-2014, 08:36 PM

I never even heard of Hannibal Buress. until this started.

Neither have I. He said that he was surprised to see it escalate like this.

70s show watcher

11-19-2014, 08:55 PM

Wawwie

11-19-2014, 09:33 PM

Retro4Life

11-19-2014, 09:36 PM

I'm a little torn over it too. I've been a Cosby fan since his Fat Albert days. He needs to speak about it because it's not going away. If it was just one person, I'd give him the benefit of the doubt but it's hard when it's so many people.

I loved Fat Albert, and I loved his early comedy albums. At one point, Cosby was kind of the "Mr. Sure Shot" of comedy; he could do no wrong. To this day, I can't think of many other comics that are respected or revered as much as him. He's thought of not just as a comedian, but something for whom people could look up to.

As I said, wasn't a big fan of the Cosby Show. Something about him just seemed so darned pompous at that time. But this story is disheartening to me to, and very, very disturbing. IMO if he doesn't say anything about this, the impression left in everyone's mind is that he's guilty. And he may well be, but whatever the case, he's not helping his cause any with his silence.

waichingliu81

11-20-2014, 10:46 AM

As I said, wasn't a big fan of the Cosby Show. Something about him just seemed so darned pompous at that time. But this story is disheartening to me to, and very, very disturbing. IMO if he doesn't say anything about this, the impression left in everyone's mind is that he's guilty. And he may well be, but whatever the case, he's not helping his cause any with his silence.

the cosby show was all right. but it was overrated to me. i agree that he has to speak out, because otherwise, by staying silent, people will believe that he did it.

LittleRickyII

11-20-2014, 10:50 AM

I don't know about the rest of you, but I honestly feel semi-traumatized over all this news about Bill Cosby. :(

I'm feeling that way, too. I was never a big fan of The Cosby Show -- didn't find it that funny -- but I was still a fan of Bill Cosby. I always found his standup funny and would tune in, and I grew up listening to his records. When I was a kid, I never missed Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. And I remember him on Sesame Street. And I enjoyed reruns of I Spy when I was growing up. He's one of those entertainers who has been in my consciousness for my entire life. I woke up in the middle of the night last night thinking about this and hoping it was a nightmare, but realizing it isn't. It's just so unsettling. It's like finding out a fact you were taught about the world since a young age, that you have always depended on being true, turns out to be a lie.

Mr. Television

11-20-2014, 12:28 PM

I'm feeling that way, too. I was never a big fan of The Cosby Show -- didn't find it that funny -- but I was still a fan of Bill Cosby. I always found his standup funny and would tune in, and I grew up listening to his records. When I was a kid, I never missed Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. And I remember him on Sesame Street. And I enjoyed reruns of I Spy when I was growing up. He's one of those entertainers who has been in my consciousness for my entire life. I woke up in the middle of the night last night thinking about this and hoping it was a nightmare, but realizing it isn't. It's just so unsettling. It's like finding out a fact you were taught about the world since a young age, that you have always depended on being true, turns out to be a lie.
It's like if you can't trust Bill Cosby who can you trust. :(

Mr. Television

11-20-2014, 12:30 PM

I loved Fat Albert, and I loved his early comedy albums. At one point, Cosby was kind of the "Mr. Sure Shot" of comedy; he could do no wrong. To this day, I can't think of many other comics that are respected or revered as much as him. He's thought of not just as a comedian, but something for whom people could look up to.

As I said, wasn't a big fan of the Cosby Show. Something about him just seemed so darned pompous at that time. But this story is disheartening to me to, and very, very disturbing. IMO if he doesn't say anything about this, the impression left in everyone's mind is that he's guilty. And he may well be, but whatever the case, he's not helping his cause any with his silence.
I liked TCS but it did get too preachy after awhile. I think FT was the best show on that Thursday lineup. But I always appreciated how TCS saved the sitcom in the 80's and led the way for many of my favorite sitcoms during that decade.

LittleRickyII

11-20-2014, 02:01 PM

It's like if you can't trust Bill Cosby who can you trust. :(

Exactly! But it's even worse. It's not like he just now did something that makes him untrustworthy because he's been doing these horrific things for as long as we've ever known of him.

Bonniegirl

11-20-2014, 03:16 PM

It's like if you can't trust Bill Cosby who can you trust. :(

I know!!! :eek: Bill Cosby and Mr. Brady were like our fathers!!! ;)

MacLeaper

11-20-2014, 03:27 PM

TV Land (and any other channel airing The Cosby Show for that matter) really had no choice! I mean, it really isn't so different than channels pulling reruns of 7th Heaven after the stuff surrounding Stephen Collins allegedly molesting children came out. I'm guessing that Centric hasn't officially pulled reruns yet since they want to take an "innocent until proven guilty" stance.

It's very sad to hear this news about Bill Cosby. If the allegations are true, he has done some horrible crimes. (Though I know that even if they aren't true, he has done some horrible crimes, as we all have because we are all guilty of sin and wrongdoing.) And that is an important thing to keep in mind- I try to remember to show grace to others because God has shown grace to me through Jesus' death and Resurrection.
And while it's disheartening to hear these charges against Bill Cosby (and Stephen Collins, for that matter)- and I can understand why reruns of their popular shows would be pulled from stations to some degree- I don't totally get that. Their actions don't diminish my view of Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable or Rev. Eric Camden- they are just fictional characters on TV shows. I don't have any problem watching The Cosby Show or 7th. Heaven- they are both great shows! If I didn't watch shows or movies because of personal choices the actors and actresses made that I don't agree with, there would be literally nothing I could watch in either medium.
So, I don't have an issue with that personally. (And that's also why it'd be nice to see the rest of Baretta get released to DVD, but I know Robert Blake also had serious allegations brought against him. Again- while I decry those evil deeds, I don't find that it personally prevents me from enjoying their shows.) But I certainly understand why others would be uncomfortable.

Wawwie

11-20-2014, 04:10 PM

I know!!! :eek: Bill Cosby and Mr. Brady were like our fathers!!! ;)
Why is Robert Reed being dragged into this? What laws did Robert Reed ever break? :confused:

TMC

11-20-2014, 05:03 PM

http://flavorwire.com/489388/why-so-many-women-are-accusing-bill-cosby-now-and-why-they-didnt-do-it-earlier

By Sarah Seltzer on Nov 19, 2014 11:30am

The story of the rape allegations against Bill Cosby continues to expand and swell on a tide of considerable public support (finally!) for the alleged victims’ stories, and the sheer number of accusers. In the past two days, several more woman have stepped forward and publicly added their names to the list of accusers, which is now at 15. This new list includes, most notably, model Janice Dickinson, who also spoke of her residual trauma after the attack. …

TMC

11-20-2014, 05:06 PM

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tv-land-pulls-cosby-show-750530

TV Land Pulls 'Cosby Show' Repeats

Controversy over the star's current sex abuse scandal prompts an immediate pull-back from the vintage-skewing net

Decades-old rape allegations against Bill Cosby have not just sidelined his current projects. The controversy is now spilling over into repeats of his iconic NBC comedy. The Hollywood Reporter has learned that TV Land has pulled all planned repeats of The Cosby Show, effective immediately.

Finishing its eight-year run in 1992, it's been more than two decades since The Cosby Show last aired. But the Emmy darling and longtime ratings champ has enjoyed an exceptionally healthy life in syndication. TV rights are currently owned by TV Land parent Viacom — and though the nostalgic network's airings have been infrequent, several marathons were planned between Thanksgiving and Christmas. A TV Land rep declined to comment.

TV Land isn't the only home for Cosby. Fellow Viacom property (and BET sibling) Centric also airs repeats of The Cosby Show. It's not immediately clear if they're follow suit.

On the streaming side, both Amazon and Hulu have rights to The Cosby Show. As of Wednesday afternoon, it's still available on both. Representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and neither did Centric.

Weeks of bubbling criticism over sex abuse claims against Cosby seemed to come to a head on Tuesday night when Netflix postponed plans to air a comedy special about the 77-year-old. Then, on Wednesday morning, NBC followed suit by expectedly scrapping a comedy it was developing with the actor and comedian.

http://flavorwire.com/489681/the-cosby-show-is-too-important-to-erase-from-tv-history

This should go without saying, but: This is in no way a defense of Bill Cosby, his actions, or his frustrating (but telling) silence on the matter. I am 100 percent in favor of NBC yanking his sitcom (and hope no networks will work with him in the future), and I dread the possibility that Netflix will, once the story dies down a bit, quietly post Bill Cosby 77, unceremoniously adding it to the comedy section without an announcement.

But TV Land’s decision to pull down The Cosby Show, which was once the most popular sitcom on TV, is more complicated. It remains a groundbreaking and essential part of television history, particularly when it comes to the portrayal (and the very existence!) of black families in the media, which hinged on Cosby’s famous demand that the show make absolutely sure to paint blacks in a positive light, even if that meant taking the emphasis away from the family’s race. The Cosby Show may have been about a family that happened to be black, rather than about a black family, but that doesn’t negate the huge strides the show made. Most importantly, it doesn’t negate the fact that for many people, myself included, this was one of the first times I was seeing myself — my family, my skin, my hair — represented on television in a way that actually made me feel good.

So you can see why it has been so strange and difficult for me to watch this Cliff Huxtable version of Bill Cosby, the one who was America’s Dad, morph into the despicable Bill Cosby that we’ve been slowly learning about for years — first in vague whispers about his intimidating tactics and hunger for power (this is the guy who once tried to buy NBC), and now in shouts from over a dozen women. And you can see why it’s possible to firmly believe that Bill Cosby should be punished while also believing that we shouldn’t try to erase all traces of The Cosby Show‘s existence. It’s too great and important of a program to let disappear.

Aside from the show’s legacy, TV Land’s decision brings up a whole slew of questions that are impossible to answer: What are the rules when it comes to public erasure of a prominent figure and his work? What makes Cosby different from Roman Polanski or Woody Allen — two filmmakers who continue to work and get their films distributed, and whose movies still regularly air on television (I can’t imagine them ever getting yanked) — or any other terrible person who has also contributed something of value to society? Is it the sheer number and volume of victims, or something else at work here? And what does this mean for everyone else who worked, for so many years, on The Cosby Show and will now fail to get their share of the residuals? Will all of Cosby’s past work eventually see the same fate?

The thing that strikes me the most about TV Land’s choice is that it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with righteousness or respect for the victims; it appears to be a panicked business decision, a preemptive strike to ensure the network doesn’t receive any of the backlash that Netflix and NBC were getting prior to pulling their respective Cosby projects. Of course, TV Land isn’t the only place to watch The Cosby Show, but this will definitely put pressure on the other networks and streaming sites that host it. There is no established protocol to follow in a situation like this one, and no right or wrong answer about how we should view Cosby’s past work. But killing such an important and iconic program — in terms of not just black representation on television but also TV history as a whole — is akin to the erasure of an identity.

Dr. Thong

11-20-2014, 05:20 PM

Let's face it, none of us here knows whether or not Cosby did or didn't do any of these vile things to these women.

Part of me wonders why not one of them went forward to the proper authorities, but I imagine it has to be something no woman (or in this case, young girl) would want to do out of fear and the fact that Cosby was a powerful show-business figure.

At any rate, it does cast aspersions on Cosby and whether he was right or ultimately wrong, we all look at him a bit differently know.

TMC

11-20-2014, 05:25 PM

Can Cliff Huxtable be saved from Bill Cosby (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/wp/2014/11/20/can-we-save-cliff-huxtable-from-bill-cosby/)?, why we were so desperate to ignore (http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2014/11/bill-cosby-rape-accusations-a-history/ethics-scoreboard) Cosby’s rape allegations (http://www.vox.com/2014/11/20/7246681/rape-victims-bill-cosby), TV Guide found Cosby unpleasant (http://franklinavenue.blogspot.com/2014/11/throwback-thursday-difficult-bill-cosby.html) in a 1984 interview promoting his new show, and Conan O'Brien becomes (http://www.mediaite.com/tv/conan-is-first-major-late-night-host-to-make-bill-cosby-rape-joke/) the first nightly late-night host to make a Cosby scandal joke.
Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/tv-tattle#fjYtbqhP2mMMwOhp.99

isiahthomas

11-20-2014, 06:08 PM

If Bill really did rape these women when he drugged them, I'm very disappointed in him. But what really makes me wonder about this is why are these women just now coming out with these allegations? How come they didn't do this years ago when it first happened? I think these women are just trying to get money from him. Because if that's not the case, then why wait so long to talk about this? This is exactly why I don't trust women when it comes to money because women are very sneaky and try to use men for money. It's really sad that I can't get a woman unless I pay her for intimacy because I've done that several times. Black women are the worst because they won't even gimme a chance to date them to prove I'm a good man because they've been hurt so many times by black men. Their attitude is so terrible.

Bill back in the day could've gotten any woman he wanted. So for him to drug these women and rape them is just something I can't picture him doing because he doesn't seem like that type of guy. I really would like to hear what his wife Camille thinks about this and I would like for Bill to make some comments about this because the longer he stays quiet, people are gonna think he really did this.

LittleRickyII

11-20-2014, 07:05 PM

If Bill really did rape these women when he drugged them, I'm very disappointed in him. But what really makes me wonder about this is why are these women just now coming out with these allegations?

Rape is one of the most underreported crimes because women are too traumatized by the event to deal with it. However, a number of these women did come forward and sued Bill Cosby in 2004. But rather than face them in court, Cosby chose to settle with them outside of court. This alone raises a red flag. While settling a case out of court is not necessarily an admission of guilt, I would think an innocent person would want to fight the charge in court to have his name cleared. Out of court settlements always leave the impression that the accused person believes he can't win.

Another accuser, Janice Dickinson, also tried to raise the issue in 2002 when she wrote her autobiography. Of course, this was 20 years after the alleged attack, but I'm just making the point that she didn't suddenly this week make this claim for the first time. Like I said, women are often too traumatized to deal with pressing charges and she may have been one of those cases, but by 2002 was strong enough to talk about it. But when she wrote her autobiography in 2002, she claims she wanted to include a chapter about this incident but, she says, Cosby's lawyers threatened publisher Harper Collins who then forbade her to include it in her book. Cosby's lawyer now says they never contacted Harper Collins in 2002. The media, therefore, asked Harper Collins this week if what Janice Dickinson claims about Cosby's lawyers threatening them is true. They responded "no comment." Again, that makes me wonder. If Cosby's lawyers did not contact Harper Collins in 2002, why wouldn't they just say so? What's up with "no comment"?

Another thing: Janice Dickenson spoke about this on Howard Stern's show in 2006. She didn't give details, but made it clear Cosby had done something to her.

Mr. Television

11-20-2014, 08:54 PM

http://www.people.com/article/bill-cosby-producers-speak-out-sexual-assault

Bill Cosby's Longtime Producers: Sexual Assault Allegations Are 'Beyond Our Comprehension'

The producing duo behind two of Bill Cosby's most successful sitcoms are speaking about the comedian, who continues to be dogged by accusations that he drugged and assaulted women early in his career.

"The Bill we know was a brilliant and wonderful collaborator on a show that changed the landscape of television," Tom Werner and Marcy Carsey said in a statement Thursday. "These recent news reports are beyond our knowledge or comprehension."

The Carsey-Werner Co. was one of the most prolific production companies in TV history – and owes a lot of its success to Cosby, whom the two approached in the late '80s about doing a family sitcom.

At the time, Cosby was working as a standup and doing voiceover work for the cartoon Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. Though the original idea was to have Cosby serve as the patriarch of a blue-collar family, he suggested making the Huxtables more affluent, so his character, Cliff, became a doctor while his wife, Clair (Phylicia Rashad), was a lawyer. That change to the sitcom went on to break stereotypes about African Americans.

Other than Raven-Symoné – who took to social media Wednesday to deny that Cosby ever "took advantage" of her – none of the comedian's former sitcom colleagues have come forward to support him.

The closest one celebrity has come to speaking on his behalf is Roseanne Barr – whose successful comedy Roseanne was also produced by Carsey-Werner. She used her Twitter feed to reflect on their relationship and what she thought of him.

"I've spoken to Dr. Cosby on the phone many times," she Tweeted. "Sometimes I appreciated his advice, other times, I didn't. He knew the score and understood the game."

She Tweeted that "many serial Rapists R dissociative [people] who move in/out of awareness of their behavior. In no way is this an excuse 4 predatory behavior, though."

Mr. Television

11-20-2014, 08:58 PM

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/11/20/newsflash-bill-cosby-is-not-cliff-huxtable.html

Newsflash: Bill Cosby Is Not Cliff Huxtable

TV Land has canceled The Cosby Show reruns. Is this a mature expression of understandable judgment, or a bid to erase history while conflating fiction and reality?

Bill Cosby is losing everything, very quickly. The allegations of rape and sexual assault he faces are grave, the detail contained within the accounts awful and damning: a sixteenth woman has come forward to allege he attacked her.

The 77-year-old comedian’s response has been to say nothing, and then to insist he not even be quoted saying nothing. NBC has dropped its plans for a new Cosby sitcom, Netflix has scrapped a special devoted to the comedian that was set to air—when else, for America’s onetime Dad—over Thanksgiving.

And then there is TV Land, which has dropped The Cosby Show from its schedule, meaning no more reruns of that all-conquering eighties staple. The Cosby Show, like The Golden Girls, remains a TV-repeat evergreen—a bowl-of-warm-soup to gladden the late-night or lazy weekend soul.

The show’s excision from TV Land’s schedules is perhaps the most brutal public repudiation of Cosby’s alleged assaults than anything else, because The Cosby Show was the vehicle which affirmed, and over the years to new generations reaffirmed, his warmly held stardom.

Is TV Land’s decision the right one? Is it the reflection of a mature society, implicitly passing its judgment on Cosby’s alleged actions, or is it immature, signaling that society cannot separate Cosby the real man from Cosby-as-Cliff-Huxtable? The psychology behind TV Land’s decision is fascinating, because it reveals our own skewed psychology, too.

The story that Cosby abused so many women isn’t just news because alleged sexual assault on such a horrific scale merits it, but because of who did it. And this is not just a famous actor, which would make the story compelling enough, but because the actor was known for a role that came to enshrine him as America’s paterfamilias, in a show that itself revolutionized the portrayal of black people, and families, on television.

TV Land’s decision is a sweeping and brutal piece of cultural erasure, and it is an entirely familiar one. After high-school shootings, in an attempt to remember those who have died and been injured, there are calls to not name or remember their killers—their lasting punishment is to not be remembered, or made notorious (if that is what they desired) by their act—a trend broken in the most recent shooting in Marysville, Washington.

There, classmates of the shooter Jaylen Fryberg, took to Facebook and social media to remember him warmly after he shot dead two fellow pupils before killing himself.

Shouldn’t society convict him for brutally abusing women, not for failing to be the man he was absurdly constructed into being in the public mind?

The typical, attempted public erasure of school shooters from the scenes of their crime is akin to what is happening to Cosby across TV schedules right now, because both imply our society has no place for those who do truly terrible things. They must, in every sense, be cast out—their shame is to be made invisible. Reading some of the commentary, and comments under the Cosby stories online, the recurring theme is: how could the guy who played Cliff Huxtable do this? How could America’s number one family man be a monster? And so, as with all monsters, Cosby is cast off into the shadows.

Not only has he been tried and convicted without having his say, or without a court passing sentence, but culturally society is showing itself to be pathetically ill-equipped to observe him in anything but the most stark of contrasts.

Bill Cosby, it seems, can only be seen in two registers: sainted family man of a much-loved sitcom, or fallen, tarnished villain. There is no middle ground. There is no understanding that on The Cosby Show, Bill Cosby was playing a role, and playing it so well that America happily conflated character and actor. The conflation was so total that now America apparently feels cheated, or tricked somehow, that this person is not the character he played.

But Cosby never was, and it is not his failing that America took him to their hearts as so (indeed, ironically, that confidence trick was solely down to his acting brilliance). Cosby’s alleged crimes are horrific, but America’s infantile deification of celebrity, its crazy melding of the fictional and the real, underpins Cosby’s present position in the public stocks, as much as his alleged crimes.

Shouldn’t society convict him for brutally abusing women, not for failing to be the man he was absurdly constructed into being in the public mind? If people really feel that cheated or let down by Bill Cosby being an alleged sex attacker, they may need to watch television, and read fiction, differently.

TV Land should continue to play The Cosby Show, and let audiences decide whether they want to watch Bill Cosby playing Cliff Huxtable. It may help us all grow up: we can watch the fiction late at night, and see the grim reality of this episode played out during the day. Finally, America will have to accept Bill Cosby as a many-sided man, rather than a much-loved pop-culture caricature.

By pretending his fictional alter ego doesn’t exist, by pretending we didn’t enjoy buying into that fiction—as TV Land is doing in striking off The Cosby Show re-runs—is unnecessarily nannying, and shaming to us, as much as him. It says: How could we have been so fooled? How can we bear to look on those cuddly Huxtable sweaters now? The guy was a creep. Well, the truth is Bill Cosby is a lot of things, just like he always was—including, possibly, a sex attacker.

By continuing to show his sitcom, TV Land would be doing a huge public service in reminding an apparently unaware public that the actors on our screens are different to the characters they play. TV Land is not helping Cosby’s alleged victims, or making him pay for his crimes, or even helping us understand those crimes and him, by taking the show off the air.

Blissfully—and not a little moronically—beholden to TV iconography, we chose to set Bill Cosby in an eternal cuddly sweater. That suited us until the revelation of these alleged, awful crimes. By cutting The Cosby Show re-runs off, TV Land can’t rewrite that history of myopic glorification, or erase the harsh contours of the real Bill Cosby.

Retro4Life

11-20-2014, 09:07 PM

Retro4Life

11-20-2014, 09:13 PM

isiahthomas

11-21-2014, 02:44 PM

Well if Bill did settle outta court with these women, then that's not good because he should've gone to court to claim his innocence. I'm really disappointed in him that he would do that and I'm also disappointed that he hasn't said anything to the media lately about these accusations. He shouldn't be keeping silent about this if he wants people to believe he's innocent. I would like to hear what his co-stars on The Cosby Show and Sidney Poitier have to say about this. That's messed up if they don't support him because I would think that they're his friends. Like I said, I also wanna hear what his wife Camille has to say. Bill is just like most men when it comes to women which is to say he's weak for intimacy. Maybe he didn't get enough intimacy from Camille when he was young and that's probably why he drugged these women that are accusing him of rape so he could get sex. But if that's his way of trying to get sex, he's going the wrong way about it because that's not how you're supposed to do that. If he wants sex, he should get some from prostitutes hahahahahahahahahahaha.

He has plenty of money and there's lots of hot women that are prostitutes or escort services that wouldn't mind giving him intimacy when he was young. Now that he's gotten old, it would be hard for him to get sex from prostitutes hahahahahahahahahaha. I know ya'll may think I shouldn't be laughing at Bill because these accusations are serious but I gotta find some humor in this because I think it's funny the way he's trying to get sex. He might have a sex addiction and doesn't want anybody to know about it because there's lots of men who are closet sex addicts but they don't drug and rape women to get sex.

Mr. Television

11-21-2014, 07:48 PM

http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/11/21/cosby-show-repeats/

Two channels will keep Bill Cosby sitcoms on the air

While TV Land has stopped airing repeats of Cosby’s iconic NBC sitcom The Cosby Show, two niche basic cable channels that target black viewers have decided to continue running sitcoms starring the actor-comedian.

BET-owned Centric (formerly BET Jazz) confirmed to EW that repeats of Cosby Show will continue. Centric is available in 51 million homes. Asked for the channel’s reasoning behind the decision, a spokesperson replied that they’re not making any comments about the series at this time.

The other channel is called Aspire and it was launched by Magic Johnson in 2012. Aspire airs Cosby’s short-lived 1969 sitcom, The Bill Cosby Show, which ran for two seasons. Aspire told EW, “We continue to closely monitor the situation. Currently the show is still running.” Aspire is available in about 21 million homes.

Nine women have recently accused Cosby of drugging and raping them during the 1970s and ’80s, allegations the 77-year-old comic has strongly denied through his attorney. In recent weeks, Cosby has canceled at least two TV appearances, NBC has halted development on a new sitcom starring the actor and Netflix has postponed streaming a new Cosby stand-up special.

Mr. Television

11-21-2014, 08:10 PM

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/eugene-robinson-on-bill-cosby-its-hard-to-keep-the-faith/2014/11/20/f307de24-70f6-11e4-893f-86bd390a3340_story.html

On Bill Cosby, hard to keep the faith

By Eugene Robinson Opinion writer November 20 at 7:32 PM

A few weeks ago, I spent a delightful afternoon and evening with Bill Cosby. I was the emcee of a gala for historically black Claflin University, which is in my home town of Orangeburg, S.C.; Cosby was the headliner. Both of us were donating our time to a worthy cause.

It was just the second time I had met him, so I certainly don’t claim to know him well. It was apparent that he’s having serious problems with his eyesight; a young man was at his side to help him navigate. Otherwise, Cosby was just what you’d expect if you ever watched an episode of his eponymous television show — warm, funny, avuncular, mischievous, wise. He was Cliff Huxtable in winter.

Cosby does his stand-up routine sitting down these days, but he had the audience roaring. I was floored by his talent — the way he spun out multiple threads of narrative until he seemed hopelessly lost in digression, then somehow pulled everything together at the end. He’s still got it.

So was I having a jolly old time with a serial rapist?

It is possible that all the women who accuse Cosby of sexual predation are lying, in the sense that anything not prohibited by the laws of physics is possible. But it doesn’t seem very likely.

I confess that I’m having trouble squaring the allegations with the man I was with that day. I suspect many people may be experiencing the same kind of cognitive dissonance. Cosby has spent his long, groundbreaking career in the entertainment industry being such a good guy. How could he possibly be such a bad guy, too?

I still remember the electrifying night when “I Spy” debuted in 1965. It was the first network television series to feature an African American in a leading role, with Cosby co-starring alongside Robert Culp. They played a couple of secret agents who pretended to be an itinerant tennis pro (Culp) and his trainer (Cosby).

The writers made Cosby’s character the brainy one. “I Spy” never once, to my recollection, dealt head-on with the issue of race. It didn’t have to. Seeing an intelligent, well-spoken black character, with no hint of subservience or buffoonery, was statement enough.

Cosby’s image as a paragon reached its apotheosis nearly two decades later in “The Cosby Show,” which began its eight-year run in 1984. One of the greatest sitcoms in television history, “Cosby” took viewers into the lives of a middle-class African-American family. The cultural references were specific and revelatory — familiar music, historically black colleges, the “code-switching” that upwardly mobile African Americans learned to perform. Oh, and the sweaters.

“The Cosby Show” was a soapbox. Cosby used it to preach universal truths about love and family but also to deliver targeted messages about the value of education for African Americans.

In recent years, his insistence on the theme of black self-empowerment has bordered on the shrill. At times, it seemed to me, he went overboard in “blaming the victim.” But his heart was in the right place.

How am I supposed to reconcile this history with allegations of sexual misconduct and rape that span more than three decades? Five women, including supermodel Janice Dickinson, have come forward in recent days to charge that Cosby lured them on the pretext of mentoring their careers, plied them with alcohol and perhaps some unknown drug and forced them to have sex when they were unable to resist.

A 2005 civil suit by a Philadelphia woman alleging that Cosby sexually assaulted her — and offered her money to keep quiet about the attack — was settled out of court.

It is important to note that Cosby has never been charged with any crime. It is also important to note that statutes of limitations have run out on most, if not all, of the alleged attacks. It may be unfair, but a rape that goes formally unreported for too long is no longer legally considered a rape.

Is it fair to Cosby, then, that his alleged victims come forward now, knowing they will never have to prove anything in court? Cosby’s defenders should be aware that some of the women have spoken publicly before; the difference is that now they’re being listened to.

Cosby’s new sitcom project has been canceled. “The Cosby Show” has been yanked from the rotation on TVLand. I’d like to believe the man I met is incapable of such monstrous acts. But his stony silence makes it hard to keep the faith.

Mr. Television

11-21-2014, 08:16 PM

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/columnists/ct-rosenthal-bill-cosby-1121-biz-20141120-column.html

What is Bill Cosby without his image?

By Phil Rosenthal

It is the defining moment of the "The Cosby Show" pilot episode, which 30 years ago introduced obstetrician Cliff Huxtable to the world. Son Theo — like typical family-sitcom viewers at the time — expects his father will accept his shortcomings and love him unconditionally.

Bill Cosby's Dr. Huxtable instead calls this "the dumbest thing" he's ever heard, tells Theo he expects better and punctuates this message with the unforgettable line: "I brought you in this world, and I'll take you out."

It was abrupt, unsentimental and left no room for appeal.

It was also just like the public opinion that in recent days has unmade Cosby, 77. As strong as his reputation might have been, the affection he engendered, the value and strength of his personal brand, it was no match for accusations that suddenly turned him from a beloved American father figure to a scary "uncle" you wouldn't leave alone with your kids.

Allegations Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted women are getting a sustained, wide and energized airing after years of being ignored or kept secret. His image, largely stainless for half a century despite periodic broadsides, has lost whatever Teflon properties it may have had.

Denials through representatives and not dignifying the accusations with audible responses have slowed his free fall no more than the legal standing of innocence until proved guilty.

That he has not faced a judge or jury in regard to the public charges, let alone been convicted of anything, would matter if his only concern were personal freedom and liability.

It was his image — what he projected and what the audience projected on him — that made him such an effective tout over the years for everything from Kodak to Coca-Cola, White Owl cigars to Jell-O, Texas Instruments to E. F. Hutton.

Such was the power of the Cosby image that it often was stronger and longer lasting than the brands that sought to benefit from their association with him.

It was the image and imagery he presented that made his humor funny.

It was what people saw in him.

They see something else now, fairly or not, right or wrong, and it casts a shadow from which it's hard to escape. If he hadn't traded on his image as a gold-standard familial ideal, he wouldn't be so badly penalized for losing that gloss. It casts everything around him in a different light.

The goodwill is gone.

The doctor is out.

Streaming service Netflix has shelved a Cosby stand-up comedy special this week.

NBC, which drafted on the success of "The Cosby Show" to become the nation's No. 1 network back when broadcast television was the center of the media universe, dropped plans to develop a new family sitcom.

Cable's TV Land has yanked "The Cosby Show" reruns off its schedule.

"It's time for America's Dad to talk," the front-page headline of Thursday's New York Daily News simultaneously blared and beckoned.

He has essentially run the table and been sanctioned across the spectrum of media platforms — in just a week.

But what can Cosby possibly say or do to salvage his reputation, restore his brand, return to his standing as a fun-loving father figure, the mugging, pudding-pitching comedian and cultural commentator welcomed into homes and hearts for 50 years?

How does an innocent man sound different protesting he didn't do something than a guilty one? If guilty, what kind of forgiveness can be expected or earned and how quickly could it possibly come?

Tylenol, in 1982, could pull its products off shelves and return them with safeguards that continued to reassure consumers of product safety after it had been established an extortionist was responsible for the deaths from cyanide-laced capsules found in Chicago-area stores.

But once a reputation is poisoned, once a person is seen differently, how can he be made to seem pure again?

Public opinion brought Bill Cosby into our world, and it has most decidedly taken him out.

Mr. Television

11-21-2014, 08:27 PM

http://www.vox.com/2014/11/21/7257417/bill-cosby-show

Can you hate Bill Cosby but still love his TV show? It depends.

The shockingly consistent rape allegations leveled against Bill Cosby by 15 different women seem to have made the comedian radioactive.

Even if you somehow believe that this is a wild conspiracy designed to bring down a rich and powerful man (which strains credulity, to put it mildly), then footage of Cosby asking the Associated Press to "scuttle" a portion of an interview where he refuses to respond to a question about the allegations doesn't suggest the best of the man. It's highly unlikely that he will face criminal charges or even another civil suit, but his reputation has taken an enormous hit. This is almost certainly the end of his career.

Cosby is 77, though. His career was on a downward slope anyway, helped along by several controversial statements he's made over the past decade about what he perceived as failures in the black community. But that career has created a long legacy, which people have a great deal of justified affection for. His stand-up and television work have been hugely influential. So what happens to all of that?

Probably not a whole lot. Read on.
Is The Cosby Show over?

By far the piece of Cosby's legacy that most Americans are familiar with is the eight years he spent playing Cliff Huxtable on The Cosby Show, one of the biggest sitcoms of all time and a huge influence on the genre from its debut in 1984 until the present. There's a reason it took NBC a relatively long time to drop its planned comedy with Cosby — there was every reason to hope he might strike gold again. But the allegations have caused NBC to drop that show, and also caused TV Land to pull the program from its schedule.

Here's the thing, though: these moves won't have much effect on the program, because The Cosby Show had already moved into the equivalent of the TV afterlife. Indeed, the program didn't occupy prime real estate for TV Land anymore. This decision was a way to seem like the network is doing something, while remaining relatively low risk.

But the other network that could be affected by pulling Cosby Show reruns is TV Land's corporate sibling Centric, a BET spinoff channel that used to be BET Jazz. Centric exists primarily to show reruns of sitcoms, and it airs The Cosby Show every day at 2 pm Eastern. Notably, Centric is going ahead with a planned Cosby Show marathon this Saturday, at least if its website is to be believed.

Centric could just pull Cosby and throw some other sitcom into its timeslot, but that's a higher risk than it is for TV Land. Centric is an out-of-the-way channel, and it counts on big shows that people will instantly recognize drawing in channel surfers. And "big show that people instantly recognize" definitely describes The Cosby Show.

The Cosby Show is also still available to stream on Hulu Plus. It was actually the centerpiece of a major deal struck between Hulu and Carsey-Werner Productions (the company that made the show) in 2011. That deal proved so successful that Hulu licensed even more Carsey-Werner titles (including Cosby's much-less-loved, self-titled sitcom from the '90s) earlier this year.
Does continuing to air his show mean these companies are giving Cosby money?

Not really. Yeah, Cosby likely gets continued residuals (small profit percentages paid to various creative personnel who worked on a TV show) from syndicated reruns of the show, but the vast majority of the money he makes on any syndication or streaming deals comes upfront. So, for instance, the money Hulu paid to Carsey-Werner to license the program in 2011 was most likely paid to him then. (It is, of course, impossible to know exactly how these deals are structured, but in most cases, it seems safe to assume payment came upfront.)

The simple fact that The Cosby Show has ended up on obscure cable channels and online streaming suggests that its long life is already at an end. When it first entered the syndication market in the late '80s, it sold for the highest price anyone had ever seen a sitcom go for. It was then something of a disappointment in that market, and it faded from reruns for a few years, before getting a renewed boost when it was picked up by Nick at Nite and, later, TV Land. (Viacom owns both of these networks, as well as Centric, and often shuffles shows among the various networks in its portfolio.)

But, really, The Cosby Show has had a typical lifespan for a hit show. It was hugely popular when it was on the air, found slightly less popularity in syndication, then entered a long twilight of cable reruns, home video releases, and streaming deals.

The number of shows that found huge, long-lasting success in syndication, running for years at top dollar, is very, very small, and The Cosby Show is not really in that list of shows. As such, most of the money Cosby made from it was in the '80s and early '90s. TV Land pulling it from the schedule is highly unlikely to significantly impact Cosby. The same goes for Cosby's other successful shows, like the 1960s hit I Spy, which is now safely ensconced in some other level of TV Purgatory altogether, showing on low-budget nostalgia channel Retro TV.
Well, what about his stand-up?

Here's where Cosby will probably see the most effect. A stand-up tour necessarily requires some sort of media press, and the live setting is also exactly the sort of place where, say, an angry heckler would be able to question Cosby directly. It's tempting to say his stand-up career is probably over.

But let's be honest: it's not. His calendar of upcoming performances remains full — with an event even scheduled for tonight. Plenty of people still love Cosby, and they would be willing to overlook just about any allegations in order to see him perform. He remains an impeccable stand-up, a perfect master of how to tell a joke. (Look at that awful routine about spiking women's drinks that resurfaced earlier this week in a slightly different light, and you see just how great he is at telling stories and guiding the audience through a routine.) He may have to work smaller venues eventually, but there will almost certainly be some sort of Cosby comeback tour in the next few years. There's money to be made, and that's just how the Hollywood redemption cycle works.

Consider this: Movies directed by Woody Allen and Roman Polanski continue to pop up — and get nominated for major awards — year after year. Mel Gibson's films still show on cable endlessly. And Seinfeld remains popular, even though Michael Richards went on that racist rant. So long as there's money to be made, Cosby's work will be available somewhere.
So am I still allowed to enjoy Cosby's work, even if I believe his accusers?

There's not really a right answer. It just depends on who you are and what you value.

As my friend and former colleague Pilot Viruet points out at Flavorwire, it's impossible to erase The Cosby Show from TV history. It's simply too vital to everything that's come since, too important to the medium as a whole. And, what's more, the show was about far more than just Cosby's performance.

It was a feminist landmark in its depiction of the cool, collected Clair Huxtable, and Phylicia Rashad's amazing performance shouldn't be diminished just because of the man she shares screentime with. Similarly, its groundbreaking portrayal of a warm, loving, affluent black family can't easily be scrubbed from history, nor can its affectionate portrayal of childhood at all its stages.

Separating art from the artist — or condemning art made by terrible people — is never a zero sum game. You can find Cosby's alleged actions so appalling that you can't watch his show at all. You can also find his alleged actions appalling, yet find they don't impact your ability to watch anything he's ever done — or even appreciate his stand-up.

If you fit into that latter category, don't worry that you're tossing piles of cash his way if you fire up a favorite Cosby Show episode on Hulu. But if you find Cosby to be a monster and want to monetarily punish him somehow, you don't really have a lot of recourse, unless you were planning to see him perform live soon and now won't. Cosby's considerable fortune — the one that made it possible for him to settle allegations against him out of court, the one that made it necessary to try him in the court of public opinion — was made long, long ago, and there's little to be done about it now.

TMC

11-21-2014, 09:59 PM

TMC

11-21-2014, 10:22 PM

I guess everybody as to pile on to the "Bill Cosby isn't a great human being" argument:
http://deadspin.com/the-nd-player-bill-cosby-berated-felt-like-a-failure-fo-1661591222

TMC

11-22-2014, 01:21 AM

TMC

11-22-2014, 01:57 AM

According to CDAN (http://www.crazydaysandnights.net/2014/11/exclusive-kate-walsh-fired-from-cosby-show-when-she-refused-sexual-advances-of-bill-cosby.html), Kate Walsh (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005532/board/?ref_=nm_bd_sm) of Grey's Anatomy has stated (http://www.lipstickalley.com/showthread.php?t=796926) that she was fired from The Cosby Show when, as a young actress just starting out, she refused Cosby's advances. She was cast as a friend of Denise Huxtable. Cosby was heavily involved in the show's casting decisions and requested she dye her hair blond and cut it short. Afterwards, he began pressuring her for sex. When she refused she was fired.

http://www.lipstickalley.com/showthread.php?t=798603

Michelle Hurd is a terrific actress who’s appeared as a series regular on “Law & Order SVU,” “90210,” “Gossip Girl,” among other shows. She posted this on Facebook last night. I hesitated to re-post it without her permission, but the story has traveled now. It’s brave of her, like all the other women, to tell the story at all.

Here’s the post:

LOOK, I wasn’t going to say anything, but I can’t believe some of the things i’ve been reading, SO here is MY personal experience:
I did stand-in work on The Cosby show back in the day and YES, Bill Cosby was VERY inappropriate with me. It started innocently, lunch in his dressing room, daily, then onto weird acting exercises were he would move his hands up and down my body, (can’t believe I fell for that) I was instructed to NEVER tell anyone what we did together, (he said other actors would become jealous) and then fortunately, I dodged the ultimate bullet with him when he asked me to come to his house, take a shower so we could blow dry my hair and see what it looked like straightened. At that point my own red flags went off and I told him,
“No, I’ll just come to work tomorrow with my hair straightened”.
I then started to take notice and found another actress, a stand-in as well, and we started talking….. A LOT …. turns out he was doing the same thing to her, almost by the numbers, BUT, she did go to his house and because I will not name her, and it is her story to tell, all I’ll say is she awoke, after being drugged, vomited, and then Cosby told her there’s a cab waiting for you outside.

I have ABSOLUTELY no reason to lie or make up this up!
Anyone that knows me, knows that!

Now you have a first hand account of my experience with Mr. Cosby.

Off you go…

http://www.showbiz411.com/2014/11/21/cosby-complaint-law-order-actress-writes-i-was-instructed-to-never-tell-anyone-what-we-did-together

isiahthomas

11-22-2014, 12:15 PM

Michelle Hurd is a black woman right? I think I've seen her before on Law and Order. She's brownskin right? I remember she didn't last that long on Law and Order and she was Munch's partner. If Bill did those things to her, that's sad. I guess he can't help himself when he gets around women and he gets flirty and touchy with them hahahahahahahahahahahaha. That's so pitiful. If he wants sex from a woman, why doesn't he try to take a woman on a date like most men do and try to get to know the woman? Or if he just wants sex, then get a prostitute or escort service woman hahahahahahaha. This is really ridiculous that he's done these things to women without their permission and he's acting like he didn't do these things by keeping quiet. I'm really disappointed in him that he's a pervert when all this time he's tried to act like he's a good man and he lives righteous on tv. Then he has the nerve several years ago to diss ignorant blacks for living the wrong way and look at what he's done.

I don't know who Kate Walsh is that played on Grey's Anatomy but her name sounds familiar. Can you post a picture of her TMC? If he tried to make sexual advances towards her and she refused and he fired her, that's really sad. He needs to talk to a psychiatrist about his thirst for sex because obviously his wife Camille hasn't satisfied him enough in bed hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

JamesG

11-22-2014, 06:04 PM

Bill Cosby Defends his Silence: "I Don't Have to Answer to Innuendos"
11/22/14
by Ryan Gajewski

Prior to performing at his sold-out comedy show Friday in Florida, Bill Cosby explained to a reporter why he hasn't been commenting on the numerous sexual assault allegations against him.

"I know people are tired of me not saying anything, but a guy doesn't have to answer to innuendos," Cosby told Florida Today backstage before his show at the King Center in Melbourne, Fla. "People should fact-check. People shouldn't have to go through that and shouldn't answer to innuendos."

Cosby, whose scheduled Las Vegas performance on Nov. 28 has been canceled, also addressed radio DJs having offered payment to any guests who disrupted Friday's show.

"The thing is, these people are prodding and pushing people and asking people to have a frat house mentality," the legendary comedian said. "Now suppose someone brings a weapon or decided to do more foolishness... this is not good for anyone."

He compared potential protesters at his show to those at a civil rights march, saying:

"When you go to a civil rights march or something like that, at least there are meetings and some organization to it and people understand how to behave. There may be people coming to the show that don't know exactly what to do; there is no organization to it all."

Cosby has faced numerous sexual assault claims in recent weeks, as two new accusers made allegations Friday.

Cosby had previously declined to comment on the string of allegations, although Cosby attorney Marty Singer released a statement Friday, dismissing the claims as "unsubstantiated, fantastical stories" and questioning why the women had waited so many years to come forward.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bill-cosby-defends-his-silence-751480

Wawwie

11-22-2014, 08:30 PM

I'm really disappointed in him that he's a pervert when all this time he's tried to act like he's a good man and he lives righteous on tv. Then he has the nerve several years ago to diss ignorant blacks for living the wrong way and look at what he's done.
:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: ^^^ Everything you said is right on!

Cosby is a giant hypocrite, sex pervert, maniac, liar!

Mr. Television

11-22-2014, 10:00 PM

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2014/11/22/bill-cosby-joyce-emmons/19396083/

Old friend lobs new accusation at Bill Cosby

Mere hours after Bill Cosby played a sold-out comedy show in Melbourne, Fla., and spoke out about having to defend himself "against innuendo," another woman has come forward with an accusation.

This time, though, the woman says Cosby did not commit the sexual assault — someone else did.

Overnight, TMZ.com reported that Joyce Emmon, a friend of Cosby's from the comedy club circuit, said that he once gave her a white pill that he said would help her migraine. Emmon says she then blacked out and woke in Cosby's bed with a friend of the comedian that she had turned down earlier that night.

When she confronted Cosby asking what he'd given her, he answered, 'It was just a Quaalude.'"

Emmons spoke of a "drawerful" of drugs in Cosby's hotel room. Although she never saw him use them, she witnessed plenty of other people who knowingly did.

"The brand-new claims about decade-old events are becoming increasingly ridiculous," Cosby's attorney, Marty Singer, told TMZ Friday night. He called them "unsubstantiated, fantastical stories" that went unreported for decades.

At a red carpet event Friday in New York, People interviewed Today host Kathie Lee Gifford, who often opened for Cosby during her singing days. "I personally never saw him treat a woman the way it's been alleged, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen," she clarifies. I never saw it."

Janice

11-22-2014, 10:11 PM

If it was just one person, I'd give him the benefit of the doubt but it's hard when it's so many people.
That's how I feel. There's just too many women coming forward with nothing to gain for doing so. They stayed silent because Cosby was a powerful man. Nobody knows for sure, but there's just too many accusations. Where there's smoke, there usually fire. It's actually very sad.

TVFactFan

11-23-2014, 01:14 AM

This story makes me sad because I looked up to the man since I was like 9 years old

:(

Mr. Television

11-23-2014, 07:53 AM

This story makes me sad because I looked up to the man since I was like 9 years old

:(
I know how you feel Sol. I remember watching him every Saturday morning when I was a kid. Fat Albert was one of my great chilodhood memories. And even though TCS did too much preaching for my tastes sometimes, I always thought Bill's heart was in the right place. It's just so disappointing. :(

TVFactFan

11-23-2014, 02:14 PM

I know how you feel Sol. I remember watching him every Saturday morning when I was a kid. Fat Albert was one of my great chilodhood memories. And even though TCS did too much preaching for my tastes sometimes, I always thought Bill's heart was in the right place. It's just so disappointing. :(

And another bomb dropped today with a 90 year old man still have receipts of money orders that Cosby paid the women with to keep quiet back in 1989

Wawwie

11-23-2014, 02:54 PM

^^^ Damn, that Cosby is one sick F***ER!

One woman who was on Nancy Grace was speaking about a time when she was only 19 years old. She's about 40 now. Anyway, when she was 19, she went out to meet Cosby because she thought she would be getting a job. When she was in Cosby's limo, he slipped something into her drink and she got very dizzy and confused. The last thing she remembers from that night is how she told the limo driver she was sick and needed to leave. Everything went blank for her after that. Then the next day, she's naked in bed with Cosby in his hotel room.

The man is lower than dirt!

Mr. Television

11-23-2014, 04:40 PM

I just don't know how a serial rapist could have kept this secret for 50 years. No matter how powerful he is, you'd think it would have gotten out somehow.

Mr. Television

11-23-2014, 04:48 PM

And another bomb dropped today with a 90 year old man still have receipts of money orders that Cosby paid the women with to keep quiet back in 1989
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/bill-cosby-paid-women-ex-nbc-employee-article-1.2020464

EXCLUSIVE: Ex-NBC employee Frank Scotti claims Bill Cosby paid off women, invited young models to dressing room as he stood guard
Veteran NBC employee Frank Scotti says he helped Bill Cosby deliver thousands of dollars to eight different women in 1989-90 - including Shawn Thompson, whose daughter Autumn Jackson claimed the actor was her dad. The ex-aide also tells the Daily News he stood guard whenever Cosby invited young models to his dressing room, which eventually led him to quitting after years on the job.

Back when Bill Cosby was the king of network television, veteran NBC employee Frank Scotti served as the royal fixer.

When Cosby invited young models into his Brooklyn dressing room, the megastar’s pal stood watch outside the door. When the married Cosby sought a Queens apartment for another pretty face, Scotti arranged the deal.

And when the man behind Fat Albert needed cash disbursed to his flock of single female friends — hey, hey, hey — Scotti became the conduit for payments of up to $2,000 a month.

“He had everybody fooled,” said Scotti in an exclusive interview with the Daily News. “Nobody suspected.”

Scotti came forward last week with his insider’s look at Cosby’s womanizing ways during the magical 1984-92 run of “The Cosby Show.”

he 90-year-old Scotti said he decided to speak as the drumbeat of sexual abuse allegations against Cosby, 77, grew steadily louder. “I felt sorry for the women,” he told The News.

The Emmy-winning Cosby, NBC’s most bankable star at the time, used Scotti to deliver monthly payouts to eight different women in 1989-90 — including Shawn Thompson, whose daughter Autumn Jackson claimed the actor was her dad.
Frank Scotti says he did "a lot of crazy things" for Bill Cosby, including being a coverup for the actor. Courtesy Frank Scotti Frank Scotti says he did "a lot of crazy things" for Bill Cosby, including being a coverup for the actor.

Cosby, while denying paternity, paid out more than $100,000 to Thompson over the years after their 1974 affair began. Scotti told The News that he believes Cosby was sleeping with all the women who received money.

I was suspicious that something was going on,” said Scotti. “I suspected that he was having sex with them because the other person he was sending money to (Thompson) he was definitely having sex with.

“Why else would he be sending money?” Scotti asked. “He was sending these women $2,000 a month. What else could I think?”

Scotti, who lives in Lakewood, N.J., saved copies of money orders from the era detailing his payouts to four of the Cosby women.

He recalled Cosby presenting him with “a satchel of money, all $100 bills,” and pressing Scotti to distribute the payments using money orders in his own name.

“I did a lot of crazy things for him,” recalled Scotti. “He was covering himself by having my name on it. It was a coverup. I realized it later.”

Scotti worked as facilities manager at the Brooklyn studio where “The Cosby Show” was originally taped before a live audience.

Thompson, contacted last week by email, refused to comment on the ongoing Cosby sex scandal and stopped writing once Scotti’s name was mentioned.

A second woman said “Dr. Cosby” sent her money to help cover expenses for her son to attend private school. The receipts showed her receiving four money orders in one day worth $3,500.
A cast photo of "The Cosby Show" hangs inside Frank Scotti's Lakewood, N.J. apartment. Bill Denver for New York Daily News A cast photo of "The Cosby Show" hangs inside Frank Scotti's Lakewood, N.J. apartment.

“Your source could have asked me, instead of leading you on a witch hunt,” the woman texted The News. “Not that any of this is your business.”

Cosby, via Scotti, passed along an additional $1,560 to a third woman in February 1990.

Angela Leslie, now 52, was the last name on the receipts — and she told The News the Cosby camp paid for her to fly to California in the early 1990s. She got sick and returned her ticket but saw him two years later in Las Vegas.

Once there, Leslie claimed Cosby got naked before getting sexual — despite her lack of interest. When she backed off, Cosby chased her out of the room.

“I felt so used,” she told The News.

Scotti said Cosby also had an arrangement with a Manhattan modeling agency in which the owner would deliver young women to his dressing room. Some of the aspiring models were as young as 16, Scotti said.

“‘I want you to keep that one girl here,’ ” Scotti quoted Cosby as telling him. “ ‘I want to interview her for a part in the show.’”

he other models and the agency’s owner would quickly disappear, leaving Cosby’s pick alone with the comedian.

“The owner just walked right out,” he recounted. “She knew exactly what was going to go on. Then he’d tell me, ‘Stand outside the door and don’t let anyone in.’ Now you put that together and figure (out) why.”

On another occasion, Cosby asked him to find a Queens apartment for another model from the same agency.
A photo signed by Bill Cosby hangs inside the home of 90-year-old Frank Scotti. Bill Denver for New York Daily News A photo signed by Bill Cosby hangs inside the home of 90-year-old Frank Scotti.

“He said, ‘Call Donald Trump’s brother and see if he can give you an apartment,’ ” Scotti recalled. “So I called him up, and of course, who’s not going to? He’d throw somebody out just to give Bill Cosby an apartment.”

Scotti said the sordid arrangements gnawed at him, and eventually led him to walk away from Cosby.

“It bothered me. . . . You’ve got all of these kids, every time,” he told The News. “I used to like him, but that’s the reason I quit him after so many years — because of the girls.”

The walls of Scotti’s apartment are covered with photos of the former facilities manager from his days at NBC — many with Cosby, including one signed 16-inch-by-20-inch framed portrait.

“To Frank Scotty, my friend,” reads the misspelled inscription.

Cosby lawyer Martin Singer scoffed at Scotti’s claims.

“What evidence does he have of Mr. Cosby’s involvement?” Singer said Saturday. “How would Scotti know if a woman was a model or a secretary? It appears that his story is pure speculation so that he can get his 15 minutes of fame.”

Scotti says he met Cosby when the comedian was doing standup at the Gaslight Cafe in Greenwich Village. When Cosby went to California for the series “I Spy,” Scotti landed a job at NBC.

The two were reunited when Cosby began shooting “The Cosby Show” in Brooklyn in 1984.

Scotti told Cosby that he was considering retirement — and was surprised by the star’s response.

“He said, ‘You’ll never quit me. You love me,’ ” Scotti recounted.

The Cos then gave him a less sentimental sendoff when he announced his departure.

“He looked at me and said, ‘Leave right now,’ ” Scotti recalled.

He has only seen Cosby once since that day.

“He was a very selfish person,” Scotti said. “He thought he was a genius. He thought he was better than everybody else.”

Will and Grace Fanatic

11-23-2014, 05:01 PM

I don't know if I believe all these allegations. But truthfully I don't think it will tarnish the Cosby Show. I believe people will still love and admire the show.

Mr. Television

11-23-2014, 05:10 PM

I don't know if I believe all these allegations. But truthfully I don't think it will tarnish the Cosby Show. I believe people will still love and admire the show.
That's the question. Can you admire the show but hate the star?

Wawwie

11-23-2014, 05:23 PM

I don't know if I believe all these allegations. But truthfully I don't think it will tarnish the Cosby Show. I believe people will still love and admire the show.
It already has.

Mr. Television

11-23-2014, 07:34 PM

http://www.freep.com/story/sports/columnists/mitch-albom/2014/11/23/tv-land-erases-cosby-reruns/19405957/

Mitch Albom: Erasing Bill Cosby with the speed of light

Ever since Bill Cosby was accused by one, then two, then four, then almost uncountable women of everything from unwelcome kissing to flat-out rape, the one reaction I can't quite figure is TV Land pulling "The Cosby Show" reruns from its air.

You'll recall "The Cosby Show" as America's most popular program for five straight years in the 1980s. It portrays a well-to-do African-American family dealing with folksy sitcom issues. Cosby is the funny, loving, often-perplexed father.

It was a show. Cosby was acting.

No different than Charlie Sheen acting in "Two and a Half Men." Sheen has been charged with all kinds of nasty behavior. You still see his show in reruns.

No different than Gary Dourdan, who for years played an investigator on the hugely popular "CSI" series. Dourdan was arrested on battery charges and drug possession charges, including heroin, ecstasy and cocaine. You still see "CSI" reruns everywhere.

No different than Christian Slater, who did jail time for physically assaulting a girlfriend, yet was given another TV show earlier this year on ABC. No different than Gary Busey, Vanilla Ice or Kiefer Sutherland, who have all had issues with the law — not just accusations — yet can regularly be seen on the tube, either acting or playing themselves.

No different than Mark Wahlberg, who was once charged with attempted murder, pleaded down to assault and did jail time, as a teen, for attacking two Vietnamese men. It hasn't stopped him from becoming one of the biggest big office draws in the world, generating more than $1 billion for the latest "Transformers" movie, in which he plays, of course, a hero.

But Cosby, who, as heinous as these accusations are, has not been charged with a single crime, apparently must be removed from our consciousness.

A comedian started chain of events

I don't know what to make of Cosby. I'd like to study it a bit longer. The litany of women coming forth with charges is so incredible, it's either a piling-on or evidence of a serial monster who's gotten away with so much for so long.

The truth may be somewhere in between. I don't know. You don't know. Not unless you're him or you've been with him. As I've written many times about our culture of celebrity, nobody knows nobody.

But for the moment, we are not allowed to ponder the situation. "What more do you need?" you can hear people screaming. "He's a creep! And if you don't say so, so are you!"

It's worth remembering that this latest wave of controversy began less than a month ago, when a comedian in Philadelphia — a comedian? — mocked Cosby's social criticism of young blacks by saying, "Yeah, but you raped women." That clip went viral, meaning a claim never once legally proven still could be heard around the world as gospel. Doesn't that concern us?

Accusations flooded in, most of them 20 to 40 years old. And despite the fact that a person in this country is still innocent until proven guilty, Cosby's career was virtually destroyed overnight. Even his reruns were pulled.

That may seem a little fast to you. But to say so out loud in our harshly righteous world is to somehow support rapists.

That's not right, either.

Real life vs. television life

Now, let me state the obvious. Rape is beyond horrific. So is any form of sexual assault. There are far more victims than ever come forward, and those brave enough to do so are often ridiculed or shamed into submission. It goes on. It has been going on. It is far worse than is ever reported. It has to stop.

Please read that paragraph twice.

But not instantly believing everything you hear in a media deluge is not the same as supporting rape. And yanking reruns in which Cosby played a role suggests we can't distinguish between acting and the real world. It also makes us hypocrites: If bad behavior gets you canceled, we need to be pulling a lot more shows.

I hope justice is served here. If Cosby committed these crimes I hope he can be made to pay. Until that happens, I don't need "The Cosby Show" to disappear any more than I need to watch it year after year. I never believed it was anything more than fictional entertainment. Why anyone would is a good question.

Mr. Television

11-23-2014, 08:18 PM

I think the big difference between those shows and TCS is that it is geared toward families and especially children.

TMC

11-23-2014, 08:39 PM

http://www.buzzfeed.com/kateaurthur/18-moments-that-led-to-bill-cosbys-stunning-downfall

The allegations the beloved comedian thought would fade away resurfaced earlier this year, and in mere months, the career Cosby had built was over.

Wawwie

11-23-2014, 08:43 PM

Vahan

11-23-2014, 08:47 PM

Wawwie

11-23-2014, 08:52 PM

^^^ Personally, I would never want to watch a movie that features O.J. Simpson... so YES to your question.

TVFactFan

11-23-2014, 08:56 PM

Wawwie

11-23-2014, 08:59 PM

^^^^ I don't blame you. I feel the same way. As a kid/teenager, I grew up on The Cosby show and I adored him at one time. Now, I can NEVER admire the show the way I once did. I can never look at that "man" the same way. It's sickening.

TMC

11-23-2014, 08:59 PM

This may come as a shock to a lot of you but I don't think I can watch the Cosby Show again after all of this came out

I admired Cosby so much since the age of 9 and to hear all of this news just makes it hard to look at him on TV

Maybe someone can watch it who is 4 years old today in the future but I can't anymore

http://t.co/VTYrDjYWga

Stars are not role models. If you didn’t know that before this week, the news that Bill Cosby is an alleged serial rapist should finally put to rest the notion...

TVFactFan

11-23-2014, 09:09 PM

Wawwie

11-23-2014, 09:11 PM

^^^ So true.
Every time I click on this thread, I have to see the pictures of The Cosby Show DVDs and the sight of that "man's" face now makes me SICK.

Mr. Television

11-23-2014, 09:14 PM

http://pagesix.com/2014/11/22/are-lisa-bonets-mysterious-tweets-hinting-at-cosby-scandal/

Twitter account attributed to Lisa Bonet was hoax, manager says

By Amber Jamiesen

November 22, 2014 | 9:21pm

Update: The Twitter account attributed to Lisa Bonet has since been suspended and her manager said Sunday that she was not responsible for the account or the tweets. The original story is below.

“Cosby Show” star Lisa Bonet may have posted a cryptic tweet seemingly aimed at her embattled TV dad — and it wasn’t a smiley face.
Modal Trigger

Lisa BonetPhoto: WireImage

“According to the karma of past actions, one’s destiny unfolds, even though everyone wants to be so lucky . . . Nothing stays in the dark 4ever!” read a tweet from the 47-year-old actress’ purported Twitter account, which was later deactivated.

Bonet played Denise Huxtable on the hit NBC series starring Bill Cosby.

At least 15 women — including model Janice Dickinson — have come forward to accuse the 77-year-old *comedian of being a sexual predator.

For years, bad blood was rumored to have existed between Bonet and Cosby, who was reportedly incensed by her sex scene with Mickey Rourke in “Angel Heart” in 1987 and a nude magazine photo shoot she did a year later.

In 2002, tabloids reported Bonet refused to join the cast for a 10th-anniversary special, quoting an unnamed castmate as saying: “Year after year, we watched Bill throw Lisa one bone after another, and all she did was bite his hand. The rest of us were happy to be on a hit show, but Lisa didn’t seem to appreciate her good fortune.”

Mr. Television

11-23-2014, 09:18 PM

This may come as a shock to a lot of you but I don't think I can watch the Cosby Show again after all of this came out

I admired Cosby so much since the age of 9 and to hear all of this news just makes it hard to look at him on TV

Maybe someone can watch it who is 4 years old today in the future but I can't anymore
I can't really blame you. It will never be the same. I just can't get over how he was doing it while his show was on the air. Talk about fooling all of America.

Wawwie

11-23-2014, 09:19 PM

Stars are not role models. If you didn’t know that before this week, the news that Bill Cosby is an alleged serial rapist should finally put to rest the notion...

I can name several male sitcom stars who never broke the law/raped women and were decent people to look up to...

Ron Howard
Henry Winkler
John Ritter
Carroll O'Connor
Sherman Helmsley
Conrad Bain
Robert Young
Jay North
Tom Hanks
Jackie Gleason

Those are a few off the top of my head. I'm sure there's many more.

DJM77

11-24-2014, 05:53 AM

Between I Spy, The Bill Cosby Show, The Cosby Show, Cosby, Kids Say The Darndest Things, Fat Albert, Picture Pages, comedy albums, comedy specials and commercials this man has been responsible for more hours of entertainment for me than anyone else ever. I've literally been a fan of his for as long as I can remember. Still, I don't see any possible way that at least some of these horrible allegations aren't true. I am deeply disturbed by all of this!

Mr. Television

11-24-2014, 08:44 AM

https://tv.yahoo.com/news/bill-cosbys-1980s-co-star-claims-sexually-assaulted-074400620.html

Bill Cosby's 1980s Co-Star Claims He Sexually Assaulted Her, Paid College Tuition
The Wrap
By Jason Hughes 4 hours ago

Another woman has come forward with allegations of potential sexual misconduct by Bill Cosby, and this one was a co-star of his for four years. Renita Chaney Hill co-starred alongside Cosby during the 1980s in his “Picture Pages” educational videos.

Bill Cosby was at the height of his power with NBC's “The Cosby Show” when he encountered Hill. His “Picture Pages” segments filmed in Pittsburgh — the shorts started on a local Pittsburgh children's show — and he was looking for local talent. Hill, a 15-year-old model and aspiring actress, was recommended by her modeling agency.

The Pittsburgh native spoke to local CBS news station KDKA about the alleged attacks late last week. She told KDKA reporter Ralph Iannotti that Cosby flew her to various cities, from New York to Atlanta.

She said she wouldn't see him during the day, but would go to his hotel room at night. She then detailed a similar story to the other alleged victims, claiming the comedian gave her drinks she now believes were drugged.

“One time, I remember just before I passed out, I remember him kissing and touching me and I remember the taste of his cigar on his breath, and I didn't like it,” Hill told KDKA. “I remember another time when I woke up in my bed the next day and he was leaving. He mentioned you should probably lose a little weight. I thought that odd, how would he know that?”

Hill did say that she can't know for sure if she was raped because she was unconscious. “It just felt weird to me, and I remember being in high school saying to him, ‘I'll come see you, but I don't want to drink because it makes me feel funny,'” Hill said. “And he would tell me that if I didn't drink, I couldn't come see him.”

By the time she was 19, Hill claims Cosby was paying her college tuition and her family saw him as a father-figure in her life. Nevertheless, she decided to cut off all contact and gave up her dream of being an actress.

Hill says she came forward after hearing Cosby's attorney criticize the other women who have already done so, and she is unapologetic about waiting so long. “No one wants to be associated with something like this, but the bottom line for me is that no one has the right to violate someone else, no matter who they are,” she said. “I don't care how big they are or how the community sees them, it's not right.”

The mounting allegations against Bill Cosby have already cost him several high-profile gigs. His Thanksgiving Netflix comedy special has been cancelled, as has the NBC sitcom he had in development. TV Land pulled reruns of “The Cosby Show” from its air.

Cosby is continuing to tour and perform stand-up, though two shows in Las Vegas have been cancelled. He most recently appeared in Florida where he received two standing ovations.

He defended his ongoing refusal to comment, telling Florida Today before his performance, “I know people are tired of me not saying anything, but a guy doesn't have to answer to innuendos. People should fact check. People shouldn't have to go through that and shouldn't answer to innuendos.”

LittleRickyII

11-24-2014, 03:59 PM

Reruns should not be banned because of one individual's behavior. Everyone else, from the front of the cameras, to away from them, also put their heart and soul into The Cosby Show. For example, should The Naked Gun trilogy be banned because of O.J. Simpson?

NO!

P.S. I heard reruns of 7th Heaven are back.

No one seems interested in watching Naked Gun movies anymore. I haven't seen them in years. It's kind of hard to be amused anymore while looking at O.J.'s face. A big part of the appeal of The Cosby Show was the feeling that the show reflected the spirit of Bill Cosby himself. Now that's gone.

https://tv.yahoo.com/news/bill-cosbys-1980s-co-star-claims-sexually-assaulted-074400620.html

Hill did say that she can't know for sure if she was raped because she was unconscious. “It just felt weird to me, and I remember being in high school saying to him, ‘I'll come see you, but I don't want to drink because it makes me feel funny,'” Hill said. “And he would tell me that if I didn't drink, I couldn't come see him.”

Besides the obvious trauma from being raped, and dealing with someone who was very powerful and had powerful lawyers, this is another possible explanation for why most of these women didn't file charges: they were unconscious when it happened. Maybe that was part of his MO: make his victims unconscious so they wouldn't know what he did.

I can name several male sitcom stars who never broke the law/raped women and were decent people to look up to...

Ron Howard
Henry Winkler
John Ritter
Carroll O'Connor
Sherman Helmsley
Conrad Bain
Robert Young
Jay North
Tom Hanks
Jackie Gleason

Those are a few off the top of my head. I'm sure there's many more.

Buddy Ebsen
Andy Griffith
Jim Nabors
Jimmy Walker
Steve Carrell
Hugh Beaumont
Jerry Mathers
Tony Dow
John Forsyth
Tom Bosley
Ted Knight
Desi Arnaz (okay, he got arrested for public drunkeness once, but nobody was hurt)
David Cassidy (and yes, he's had a few DUIs but thankfully no one has been hurt)
Dick Van Dyke
Danny Thomas
Robin Williams
Jerry Seinfeld
Robert Reed
Carl Betz
Eddie Albert
Walter Brennan
Richard Crenna

Really, the vast majority of male sitcom stars. There's nothing normal or acceptable about raping women. It's probably the worst crime next to maiming or murdering someone.

isiahthomas

11-24-2014, 04:30 PM

LittleRicky2, that was obviously Bill's mo to get the women unconscious by putting drugs in their drink so he could have sex and they wouldn't know what happened. I'm so disappointed in him. I'm also disappointed in these women that they would wait so long to say something about this which makes me think they're trying to get paid LOL. These women should've said something a long time ago about this. Women can be very vindictive and sneaky when it comes to using men and trying to get money from them especially famous men who are rich. Bill is a sex addict on the down low and he's kept it a secret for a long time until now especially since so many women have spoke about him drugging and raping them LOL.

I'm not gonna start hating him because of what he's done because I don't trust a lot of these women that have spoken about him because I know how women can be when it comes to trying to get money from rich men. I'm not saying what Bill did to them was ok but I don't trust these women because they have a ulterior motive and the motive is to get money. I'm also not gonna stop watching The Cosby Show or some of his old movies he did with Sidney Poitier because of these accusations. I also still agree with what he said about ignorant blacks.

Vahan

11-24-2014, 04:33 PM

No one seems interested in watching Naked Gun movies anymore. I haven't seen them in years. It's kind of hard to be amused anymore while looking at O.J.'s face.

Speak for yourself, and not for me. I still enjoy those movies, and I say this as someone who says O.J. deserved what he got.

isiahthomas

11-24-2014, 04:50 PM

Is OJ Simpson ever gonna get outta prison? LOL. Yeah he's ********. It's really pathetic that he could blow his football commentator job over his wife's murder. He had a lot going for him before his wife was killed and I believe he paid somebody to kill her or it's possible he could've did it because he made himself look guilty when the cops was chasing him on the freeway.

TMC

11-25-2014, 01:21 AM

http://variety.com/2014/biz/news/cosby-biographer-i-was-wrong-for-not-addressing-sex-abuse-claims-1201363937/

Mark Whitaker, whose book “Cosby” caused a stir for omitting rape allegations (http://www.buzzfeed.com/kateaurthur/the-new-bill-cosby-biography-doesnt-mention-the-past-sexual) when it was released earlier this year, tweeted today: "I was wrong to not deal with the sexual assault charges against Cosby and pursue them more aggressively. I am following new developments and will address them at the appropriate time. If true the stories are shocking and horrible.”
Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/tv-tattle#WlwLYlKPtQowbTPC.99

TimOhara123

11-25-2014, 02:54 AM

Wawwie

11-25-2014, 03:39 AM

TimOhara123

11-25-2014, 11:22 AM

DNA evidence testing didn't exist in the '70s and '80s
You are correct however they can test samples from the 70's or 80's now. They could test a sample saved from 1970 or 80 and still get Cosby's DNA correct if they would have had a sample. Also not 1 of the women went to the police or to a Dr. very odd that no one bothered to get any proof on the guy

Zoneboy

11-25-2014, 11:29 AM

You are correct however they can test samples from the 70's or 80's now. They could test a sample saved from 1970 or 80 and still get Cosby's DNA correct if they would have had a sample. Also not 1 of the women went to the police or to a Dr. very odd that no one bothered to get any proof on the guy

Do you honestly believe there's any type of physical evidence from 40 + years ago? I'm quite sure that when all this supposedly happened that these women were thinking to themselves, I'll get some evidence for future DNA testing. :rolleyes:

TimOhara123

11-25-2014, 11:41 AM

Mr. Television

11-25-2014, 12:33 PM

So should we convict a person with zero evidence.
I posted a link to the Fatty Arbuckle case a few days ago on the board that said a witness accusing him of killing a woman, well he ended up being innocent but his life was ruined and he died from all the stress.
So basically give us some proof any proof what so ever is all i'd be asking for.

Remember these were actresses and in a good amoun of cases they were looking for fame and some i'm sure money.
We're not talking about one person. We are way over 10 now and others have come forward and told of similar things that have happened to them. Some others like actress Michelle Hurd and Cosby's co-star from Picture Pages have even come out. I don't know how you can give him the benefit of the doubt anymore especially when he isn't talking. He's acting like a guilty person. He is not the Bill Cosby we all thought he was. It is heartbreaking and I know it's hard to believe it but it's true. And what are these women trying to accomplish? I think most have waited too long to prosecute him. Even if they want to sue him, it will probably be difficult without physical evidence. I don't see what their agenda would be if he didn't do it.

LittleRickyII

11-25-2014, 05:08 PM

If it is true. But ask yourself out of all these people claiming to have been attacked why not a single one can prove the claim. Wouldn't it be kinda odd that they have 0 evidence of anything happening.

Turn your question around. Some of them did attempt to prove their claim but Cosby settled with them out of court, taking away that opportunity. Besides, these women were unconscious when they were raped so unsure of what happened to them. Now hearing from others, bells are going off in their heads: "oh, so that's what happened to me." They probably didn't realize until later they had been raped. It's hard to "prove" unless there is an immediate examination.

Do you honestly believe there's any type of physical evidence from 40 + years ago? I'm quite sure that when all this supposedly happened that these women were thinking to themselves, I'll get some evidence for future DNA testing. :rolleyes:

:lol: Exactly what I was thinking when I read that comment.

Remember these were actresses and in a good amoun of cases they were looking for fame and some i'm sure money.

These were struggling actresses without the financial resources to go up against Cosby's expensive lawyers, not to mention NBC's expensive lawyers. (You don't think NBC was going to allow some unknown women to take down their most profitable star, do you?) He had tons of clout, they had none. Remember what happened to Valerie Harper and Suzanne Sommers when they tried to take on the big guys? And they had a whole lot more clout than any of these women did.

We're not talking about one person. We are way over 10 now and others have come forward and told of similar things that have happened to them. Some others like actress Michelle Hurd and Cosby's co-star from Picture Pages have even come out. I don't know how you can give him the benefit of the doubt anymore especially when he isn't talking. He's acting like a guilty person. He is not the Bill Cosby we all thought he was. It is heartbreaking and I know it's hard to believe it but it's true. And what are these women trying to accomplish? I think most have waited too long to prosecute him. Even if they want to sue him, it will probably be difficult without physical evidence. I don't see what their agenda would be if he didn't do it.

Exactly. They have absolutely nothing to gain at this point in time.

TMC

11-25-2014, 05:31 PM

If this is true, then Bill is an even bigger scumbag than one could ever imagine:
Bill Cosby sold out daughter Erin to tabloids in exchange for dumping serial rape stories (http://www.lipstickalley.com/showthread.php?t=800396)

TimOhara123

11-25-2014, 06:15 PM

Turn your question around. Some of them did attempt to prove their claim but Cosby settled with them out of court, taking away that opportunity. Besides, these women were unconscious when they were raped so unsure of what happened to them. Now hearing from others, bells are going off in their heads: "oh, so that's what happened to me." They probably didn't realize until later they had been raped. It's hard to "prove" unless there is an immediate examination.

:lol: Exactly what I was thinking when I read that comment.

These were struggling actresses without the financial resources to go up against Cosby's expensive lawyers, not to mention NBC's expensive lawyers. (You don't think NBC was going to allow some unknown women to take down their most profitable star, do you?) He had tons of clout, they had none. Remember what happened to Valerie Harper and Suzanne Sommers when they tried to take on the big guys? And they had a whole lot more clout than any of these women did.

Exactly. They have absolutely nothing to gain at this point in time.

Lets turn the question around on you. You are accused by 10 people of doing something, should you be considered guilty til proven innocent, or innocent until proven guilty.

LittleRickyII

11-26-2014, 01:50 AM

Lets turn the question around on you. You are accused by 10 people of doing something, should you be considered guilty til proven innocent, or innocent until proven guilty.

No. And I'm not going to sit silently while people are falsely accusing me. I'm going to raise my voice loud and clear. I'm not going to pay people off with out-of-court settlements so that questions will keep lingering about me. Instead, I'm going to go to court and fight them so that I can get my name cleared. And then after that, I'm going to sue all those accusers for slander.

If this is true, then Bill is an even bigger scumbag than one could ever imagine:
Bill Cosby sold out daughter Erin to tabloids in exchange for dumping serial rape stories (http://www.lipstickalley.com/showthread.php?t=800396)

He's sounding more and more like a sociopath.

OH Nuts!

11-26-2014, 09:47 AM

No. And I'm not going to sit silently while people are falsely accusing me. I'm going to raise my voice loud and clear. I'm not going to pay people off with out-of-court settlements so that questions will keep lingering about me. Instead, I'm going to go to court and fight them so that I can get my name cleared. And then after that, I'm going to sue all those accusers for slander.

He's sounding more and more like a sociopath.

Sadly, I think you're right. I think what these women would like is to see Cosby pay for what I did; and I mean serious jail time not money. But again sadly he probably won't; with all his money, power and expensive lawyers coming out the wazoo. And sociopaths are often very intelligent and cunning-which makes them even scarier. On another note, I never got why everyone was so apesh** over his "talent" anyway-never thought he was all that.

TimOhara123

11-26-2014, 11:31 AM

Mr. Television

11-26-2014, 02:06 PM

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/bill-cosby-nephew-defends-actor-rape-allegations-article-1.2024509

Bill Cosby’s nephew defends comedian against rape allegations: 'I stand behind him and his contributions'
'I believe he is innocent’ nephew Braxton A. Cosby, CEO of Cosby Media Productions, defended comic legend Bill Cosby in an interview.
BY Jason Molinet
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Wednesday, November 26, 2014, 2:56 AM
Updated: Wednesday, November 26, 2014, 11:21 AM

Bill Cosby’s Nephew Defends Actor Against Rape Allegations
NY Daily News

Bill Cosby's nephew called the decades-old rape allegations dogging the TV icon "unjustified claims" and said he stands behind the 77-year-old comedian.

Braxton A. Cosby, a married father of three from Atlanta, told FarrahGray.com he believes his uncle is innocent.

"I believe he is innocent and unless the judicial system can prove otherwise, I stand behind him and his contributions," the younger Cosby said.

Braxton Cosby is CEO of Cosby Media Productions, which he founded with cousin Leon Cosby III to be an entertainment production house that focuses on new intellectual properties in the areas of print, music, television and film.

When asked if his uncle was the victim of a "media lynching," Cosby told FarrahGray.com: "I wouldn't go as far as correlating it with the word 'lynching,' as that would imply some sort type of death being associated with the attack.

'I believe he is innocent and unless the judicial system can prove otherwise, I stand behind him and his contributions,' Braxton A. Cosby said of his uncle, comedian Bill Cosby.

"In this case, my uncle and his legacy are still more alive and well than ever before. He is still performing and going about normal business despite the unjustified claims.

"I would be more inclined to compare it to the passage in the Bible where the people of the village were about to stone the woman caught in adultery and Jesus challenged them by saying that the person who without sin should cast the first stone. The one difference in this case being that the woman was caught in the act and her accusers brought her forward."

The comedic legend has remained silent as more than a dozen women have stepped forward in recent weeks, alleging Cosby doped, groped or raped them in encounters that stretch back decades.

Mr. Television

11-26-2014, 02:10 PM

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/cosby-accuser-plans-class-suit-alleged-sex-assaults-article-1.2021751

Bill Cosby accuser Louisa Moritz wants him to admit to alleged sex assaults
The actress, best known for her role as Rose in the Oscar-winning ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,’ said Cosby should write a letter to each woman he’s allegedly assaulted and admit to his actions. ‘He must apologize. He has not accepted one single thing,’ Moritz told the Daily News on Monday. She contends the comedian assaulted her before a 1971 appearance on ‘The Tonight Show.’
BY Nancy Dillon , Corky Siemaszko
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Monday, November 24, 2014, 12:19 PM

One of Bill Cosby's accusers is calling on the Emmy-winning comedian to get his pencils and some paper — and acknowledge his "horrendous" behavior.

"I want him to write each of us a letter and admit what he's done," actress Louisa Moritz, 68, told the Daily News Monday.

"He could explain that he's had a problem all his life and finally wants to change something. That would be a good start," she said. "He must apologize. He has not accepted one single thing."

Best known for her role as Rose in the Oscar-winning "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," Moritz said either way, she is hoping to wrangle Cosby's other accusers for a mass meeting online or in person.

"I definitely would love to get together with all the women and discuss everything. I have some possibilities that we can do," the Cuban-born actress said, mentioning the possibility of a support group or foundation.

She denied a report she's trying to organize a class action lawsuit.

"There's probably nothing I could do from a legal standpoint that could help me, but there's possibly something that can be done. Maybe one of the other girls," she said. "I could help them with whatever they do."

Moritz has accused Cosby of sexually assaulting her in a Manhattan dressing room for "The Tonight Show" in 1971.

She said Cosby knocked on her door, offered kudos for her acting and promised to take her "under his wing" as he stood over her while she was seated.

Without provocation, the comedian took out his penis and pushed her face into his crotch, she said.

"He put his organ in my mouth. It was very, very upsetting," she told The News, adding that she refused to perform oral sex.

"As he was leaving, he said, 'I hope you're not going to upset me, because then I'm not going to help you.' I took that as a threat," she told The News.

Cosby, 77, has called the allegations of sexual abuse from dozens of women “innuendos.”

The varied accusations have ranged from doping and groping to rape, but none have resulted in criminal charges.

Cosby's lawyer, Martin Singer, has ripped the accusers' stories as "increasingly ridiculous and completely illogical."