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BILL COSBY’S REPUTATION as a much loved entertainer, comedian and ‘TV dad’ has been steadily dismantled over the last few days.
It’s after decades-old sexual abuse allegations resurfaced — prompting several more women to come forward and claim that they too were drugged and assaulted by the star.
The renewed focus on the claims has been a disaster for Cosby Inc. — a number of backers have pulled out of plans for new projects with the 77-year-old, chat show appearances and gigs have been cancelled, and even re-runs of The Cosby Show pulled from schedules.
Amidst all this, Cosby himself has been attempting to stay quiet — and apparently attempting to weather the storm.
So why are we only hearing now about the claims? And what are the chances we’ll see the comedian pursued legally?
Allegations of rape and sexual assault against the star have been bubbling under for years.
They first came to public attention in early 2005 when two women accused him of drugging and sexually assaulting them while they were passed out. One of the women, Andrea Constand, took a civil action.
Thirteen other women had been willing to testify at that trial — but the case was settled out of court the following year. The terms have never been disclosed.
More women have since come forward — with a number going public in just the last few days. Janice Dickenson, the TV celebrity and former model, said earlier this week that she had been drugged and sexually assaulted by the comedian in 1982.
Barbara Bowman, one of women who offered to testify for Andrea Constand, wrote in a Washington Post article last week that she was drugged and raped as a teenager.
The recent media interest in the issue was sparked by a routine from comedian Hannibal Buress, who referred to the rape allegations in a set in Philadelphia late last month.
As part of his routine, Buress lambasts Cosby for “talking down” to black people…
“‘Pull your pants up black people, I was on TV in the 80s! I can talk down to you because I had a successful sitcom!’ … Yeah, but you rape women, Bill Cosby, so turn the crazy down a couple notches.”
A clip of the show was posted to Phillymag, and from there reached a wider audience…
In the wake of that clip surfacing, the Daily Mail also published an article giving a detailed account of Barbara Bowman’s claims against the comedian.
The Buress clip and the Daily Mail article created a storm online — but apparently who-ever looks after Cosby’s social media presence didn’t notice…
Earlier this month an attempt to instigate a humorous meme experiment from his Twitter account went horribly awry.
Since then, both Netflix and NBC have pulled out of projects with the veteran comedian. He had been due to appear in a one-off special for the streaming service, and a new family-based sitcom was in the works with NBC.
The Netflix special, according to reports, was supposed to be “a birthday celebration for Cosby, in which he would share stories from his childhood, first romantic relationships and parenthood”.
Until yesterday, his live appearances seemed unaffected — but venues have now begun to pull the plug on the disgraced star.
As the controversy intensified, his lawyer released a statement at the weekend. The general theme: ‘We won’t dignify this with an answer — and Bill’s a very old man’.
“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,” the statement said.
“There will be no further statement from Mr Cosby or any of his representatives.”
In a round of interviews earlier this month to promote an art exhibition, a number of journalists pressed Cosby for a response.
NPR’s Scott Simon didn’t really get anywhere with him…
While a reporter from The Associated Press at least got a response on the record — before Cosby tried to strong-arm him not to broadcast the relevant footage.
AP only released the clip below in the last few days, even though the interview happened on 6 November.
It makes for uncomfortable viewing…
Well, the producers of ‘The Cosby Show’ Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner released this carefully-worded statement on Thursday.
“The Bill we know was a brilliant and wonderful collaborator on a show that changed the landscape of television. These recent news reports are beyond our knowledge or comprehension.”
Well-known activist the Reverand Al Sharpton, who knows Cosby personally, said the comedian needed to “answer to someone” instead of staying quiet.
“He needs to talk to somebody. He needs to talk,” the New York Post reported Sharpton as saying on Thursday.
While the former sitcom favourite is undergoing an intensive ‘trial by media’ it’s unlikely he’ll see the inside of a courtroom anytime soon.
Speaking to NBC, Loyola Law School professor Laurie Levenson said this week that even if the claims had merit, the time for taking action had long gone.
“All of this might have very well happened, but this was years ago, and we have something called a statute of limitation, which means you have to bring the criminal charges or the lawsuit within a certain period of time.”
“That time is pretty much long past.”
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It’s not looking good for him at all especially with somebody famous accusing him of drugging and raping her. Rape is horrific but pre-medidated rape is pure evil. It’s fairly astounding. If he’s brought to court and found guilty he’ll never step foot outside a prison and rightly so.
Ah Del, some words of advice – read the last paragraph. I know it’s hard to concentrate sometimes but it can be rewarding.
@delhaven before green thumbing yourself you should have re read the article.quote it is unlikely he Will see the inside of a courtroom. Quote even if the claims have merit the time for taking action has long gone. Passing the statue of limatation. So no i guess he wont be seeing the inside of a prison and yes things are looking good for him.btw rape is rape since when is it not premeditated
It says it’s unlikely which is why I said IF he’s brought to court
@delhaven unlikely because of his tender age. Del have you eaten your porridge this morning?
I have not. Bit cranky actually.
Ahh so thats why. You
Although judging by the red thumbs it seeme your not the only one needs there porridge haha
You’re * their*
Patato/potato tomato/ tomato
Just a thought, while there is a statue of limitations to go after him legally clearly at least one woman pursued him with a civil action, I wonder can all these women do the same thing, take civil actions against him? If there is one thing these celebs hate to loose more than anything it’s their money.
ou see, the kids these days, they listen to the rap music, which gives them the brain damage. With the hippin’ and the hoppin’ and the bippin’ and the boppin’, they don’t know what the jazz is all about. Y’see, jazz is like Jello pudding… no, that’s not it. Jazz is like Kodak film… no, that’s not right neither. I’ve got it, jazz is like the new Coke – it’ll be around forever.
Looks like woody Allen could be the next one in trouble..
http://www.cracked.com/blog/why-we-all-ignored-bill-cosby-rape-charges-10-years/
Didn’t Homer use a Bill Cosby book to help him raise Bart. That would explain the regular asphyxiation attempts he used
He can’t be charged due to the Statue of limitations in the States but what I would like to know is what the out of court settlement was. They (the alleged victims) seemed to happy with the settlement and only brought this up now because some comedian decided to make a name for himself. Maybe is Cosby released the terms of the settlement then people might get a truer picture of the situation rather than a whole load of innuendo and trial by media.
Must be easy to get one over on you Brian.
He obviously paid them off. He would be crazy to release details, every woman he ever met would want some!..is their a statute of limitations for every crime? I always thought it was for smaller as such like theft, smuggling etc.
Assuming he paid them off then why did he? Was it because there was truth to the accusations or was it because it was less damaging to make it go away rather than have a public trial by court (and media), be acquitted but still have the mud stick. There will always be people who throw the legal system out the window and go by the tabloid rule of law. No smoke without fire etc.
Well, That’s not that crazy, releasing the terms of the settlement would be a good way to somehow try to clean his name if he’s really innocent and I don’t think by releasing these documents every woman he ever met would want some because of the statue of limitation, the window to make any type of lawsuit is long gone
We’re they all fecking perverts or what!
What’s really cool about this is that the idea of “settling out of court” becomes redundant.
If women wish to allege rape years after the fact and the law continues to allow them to do this, then there is zero incentive for an alleged rapist to settle.
This means that people (usually women) who make allegations will find themselves severely compromised if they cannot prove what they have alleged and a decision is made not to issue criminal charges.
The downside is that real rape will continue, as usual because the victims will be too afraid to come forward. The position of the Police in stories such as this is paramount. If crime is alleged it should be properly investigated and if sufficient evidence exists, charges should be made and the accused should be put on trial.
Moral: we should all keep an eye on how our police protect us from each other. If rape victims are not believed, the crimes will continue. If false allegations are believed, the innocent go to jail.
* forgive my shorthand – for “rape” read “rape and/or sexual assault” in the above comment.
Another famous person who apparently is a serial rapist. We’ve had the Djs Rolf Harris ect. Seems as soon as one accuses them the flood gates open regarding women he’s hurt. If it’s true I hope they lock him up n throw away the key. No place for ppl like that in today’s society
How long is the statue of limitations
AFAIK it varies according to the type of crime, ie 10 years for robbery, 15 for assault, etc. I think some very serious crimes have no statute of limitations but I’m not 100% sure.
Settling out of court why? Cuts both ways, why did he pay? why did they take? Why not pursue someone because he did wrong end of?
Tad of topic but Hannibal Buress is brilliant, himself and Bo Burnham are the two best contemporary American comedians atm..
*were
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