Rape Allegations Haunt Bill Cosby In The Digital Age

[Family Ties Forever!]

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

http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/14/showbi...ons/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]

Thank you for sharing!

[TMC]

According to CDAN, Kate Walsh of Grey's Anatomy has stated 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.

[Mr. Television]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/p...ions/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]

Originally Posted by TMC

According to CDAN, Kate Walsh of Grey's Anatomy has stated 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.

Interesting, I'll bet Kate looked smoking hot back in the 80's as she does now.

[Mr. Television]

http://www.theguardian.com/commentis...istening-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]

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/liv...by-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.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by Stuck In The '70's

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/liv...by-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.

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.

What we're learning from this terrible Bill Cosby situation

[DJM77]

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.

[Mr. Television]

Originally Posted by DJM77

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.

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]

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]

Originally Posted by Vahan

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.

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

[Vahan]

Originally Posted by Stuck In The '70's

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]

Originally Posted by Stuck In The '70's

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.

very well said

[Wawwie]

Originally Posted by Vahan

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.

Please elaborate. A lot of us here are confused.
BTW, sexual assault is not a "joke."