Petition Seeks to Revoke Bill Cosby's Presidential Medal of Freedom

[LittleRickyII]

http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-...freedom-201597

Bill Cosby may lose one of his biggest honors after new details surfaced about his history of sexual misconduct. A petition that asks for the star's Presidential Medal of Freedom to be removed is gaining steam.
Filed to the White House's website, the "Revoke the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Bill Cosby" petition made its way online in the aftermath of the Associated Press' scathing report on the comedian. As previously detailed, the AP article unearthed documents from 2005, in which Cosby admits to obtaining Quaaludes for the purpose of giving them to the women he was attracted to.

"The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest award bestowed on civilians for their contributions to society. Bill Cosby does not deserve to be on the list of distinguished recipients," the petition reads. "PAVE: Promoting Awareness | Victim Empowerment, a national nonprofit dedicated to sexual assault prevention and victim empowerment, is rallying supporters to remedy this injustice. Cosby admitted to procuring drugs to have sex with women without their consent. He has been accused of serial rape by dozens of others."

"We cannot yet give his accusers their day in court, but we can fight back in the court of public opinion," the petition continues. "We urge the administration to take the unprecedented action of revoking this award."

Cosby, 77, was awarded the Medal of Freedom in 2002 by then-President George W. Bush. The same year, the Medal was also given to baseball great Hank Aaron, opera singer Placido Domingo, Mister Rogers' Fred Rogers, and Nelson Mandela, among others.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest commented on the request to revoke Cosby's Medal on Wednesday, July 8, telling reporters, "I don't know whether or not it's legally possible to do so."

In the decades since the Medal was first introduced, a formal revocation has yet to take place. Perhaps the closest thing that's happened occurred in 2011, when senators withdrew their support for Penn State football coach Joe Paterno's Medal of Honor nomination following the child sex abuse scandal involving his assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky.

[Vahan]

Do it. It is only fair.

[LittleRickyII]

Originally Posted by Vahan

Do it. It is only fair.

I wish it were possible to use this award as leverage to try to pressure him to go into court to face his accusers. For example, they can ask him to sue these women for slander, which would require him to convince a jury that they're all lying and that he's innocent. He would have to confront and address all their testimony. If he can do that and win, he gets to keep the medal; if not, it's revoked. Of course, I know he's not going to sue them for slander because he knows he's guilty and can't possibly win.

[Vahan]

I also noticed there are people calling it hypocrisy that Bill Cosby's star on the Walk of Fame is viewed as historic, but the Confederate Flag is viewed as racist. While I agree it his hypocrisy, I do not think his Walk of Fame star should be removed. If they take out his Walk of Fame star, they might as well take out EVERY star on Hollywood/Vine of someone with a shady personal life.

I mean, let's be honest: 99% of Hollywood stars on the Walk of Fame have had their fair share of skeletons in their closet, including Bill Cosby.

[Retro4Life]

Originally Posted by Alan Brady's Hair

My understanding is that the petition will be considered just after Bill Clinton's presidency is revoked for the exact same accusations. History books will just show George Bush the Elder directly succeeded by his son.

It never fails to amaze me how politics can creep into just about any discussion.

[Wawwie]

Originally Posted by Alan Brady's Hair

My understanding is that the petition will be considered just after Bill Clinton's presidency is revoked for the exact same accusations. History books will just show George Bush the Elder directly succeeded by his son.

"Exact same reason"? I don't think so.
Bill Clinton never raped anyone.

[LittleRickyII]

Originally Posted by Alan Brady's Hair

My understanding is that the petition will be considered just after Bill Clinton's presidency is revoked for the exact same accusations. History books will just show George Bush the Elder directly succeeded by his son.

Originally Posted by Wawwie

"Exact same reason"? I don't think so.
Bill Clinton never raped anyone.

There was a woman named Juanita Broaddrick who came on some show like 20/20 or Dateline in the late '90s, while Clinton was president, and claimed he raped her, or tried to rape her, in the '70s while he was governor of Arkansas. That case is more of a he said, she said because it's only one woman against one man, not 42 women vs. one man. I remember seeing the interview and thought she sounded credible. There were other women who came forward and said he had made passes, or that they had had consensual affairs, but nothing like what Ms. Broaddrick said. But if what she said was true, then it's certainly horrible. Even one rape is too many.

Originally Posted by Retro4Life

It never fails to amaze me how politics can creep into just about any discussion.

Yep. It's called deflection.

[king of comedy]

I never knew this. Cosby should have known there are consequences for his actions.

[JamesG]

President Obama: No Mechanism To Revoke Bill Cosby’s Medal Of Freedom
by Lisa de Moraes
July 15, 2015


President Obama did not wait for that WhiteHouse.gov petition to hit 100K signatures to weigh in on Bill Cosby’s Presidential Medal of Freedom, to let people know he would not take back the medal because there is no precedent or mechanism for doing so.

Then he tried to mitigate that news, with a strong statement on rape. “I’ll say this. If you give a woman — or a man, for that matter — without his or her knowledge a drug, and then have sex with that person without consent, that’s rape. And I think this country, any civilized country, should have no tolerance for rape,” Obama said, when asked about revoking Cosby’s medal during a White House news conference that was supposed to be about the new Iran deal.





Cosby was awarded the country’s highest civilian honor, in 2000, by President George W. Bush. A petition was launched earlier this month asking Obama to revoke Cosby’s Medal of Freedom.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. is among the politicians who has said supports the petition. The White House is compelled to respond to any petitions hitting 100K signatures. At this time, still needs about 89K by its August 8 deadline.

http://deadline.com/2015/07/obama-sa...eo-1201476432/

[king of comedy]

They may go for his Kennedy Center Honor he got in 1998.