Until recently, most people weren’t aware of the fact that Bill Cosby had several allegations of rape and sexual assault against him. The number of women claiming that they were abused by Cosby is at about 20 now – all different women from different places, of different ages and who encountered him at different times – and it took a joke from a recent Hannibal Burress stand-up routine to get anyone talking about it again. One person who doesn’t want to talk about it, unfortunately, is Cosby himself.
During an interview on NPR last week about an unrelated project, host Simon Scott asked Cosby for his response to the allegations brought against him. His response? Sit and stare silently while shaking his head. Seriously.
According to host Scott Simon, Cosby shook his head and didn’t say a word.
Cosby and his wife Camille had been discussing their collection of African art on NPR’s Weekend Edition.
Simon prodded: “There are people who love you who might like to hear from you about this. I want to give you the chance.” But Cosby stayed quiet. (via HP)
Wow. Of course, people wanted to know why, if Cosby was an innocent man who 20 random women just decided to lie about because they had nothing better to do with their days, he didn’t defend himself. Well, he’s got a lawyer to do that for him, now (via TMZ):
Cosby’s lawyer says, “Over the last several weeks, decade-old, discredited allegations against Mr. Cosby have resurfaced. The fact that they are being repeated does not make them true.”
The lawyer adds, “Mr. Cosby does not intend to dignify these allegations with any comment. 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.”
Uh, in what world does this dude live? I mean, I know Cosby is paying him to say nice shit and basically try and defend his honour, but “he’s doing his best work”???? Yeah, okay.
It’s a shame that people are so reticent to believe something so blatant, simply because Cosby was a beloved TV and family figure from our pasts. Jimmy Saville was one of the most charitable and well-known performers in England, and it only came to light after his death just how vile and disgusting he was and how many children and teenage girls had their lives ruined by his predatory sexual abuse. Sorry, Cosby is no longer a national hero – and it’s clear as these allegations come out that he never was. Just because we don’t want to believe it doesn’t mean it’s not true. Too bad he’ll probably kick the bucket before he has to pay for any of his crimes.
I understand that we live in an “innocent until proven guilty” country, and that’s fine – maybe there’s a tiny sliver of a chance that ALL of these women made up random stories about being abused by Cosby just for fun and because they’re sad and pathetic. The fact that many of their narratives are shockingly similar – despite not knowing one another and never having met – is a total coincidence! Cosby is innocent! But sorry, I just don’t think so. He had the access and the status to take advantage of women and he did it, and that makes him disgusting.
He’s not going to say anything, either. He’s hoping all of this will just die down and go away. If so, he may want to seriously consider retiring, because I think he’s just about done.
I kinda thought he HAD retired. That’s messed up, man. Reminds me of the Canadian DJ that got fired recently. I’m glad at least it’s getting taken seriously
I may have scanned the whole article looking for Hannibal Buress’ s joke.
I would like to ask Mr. Cosby why an innocent person would settle out of court with one of his accusers. An innocent person, who has nothing to hide, does not “settle”. They defend their reputation. Just his doing so makes me believe that the allegations are at least partially true.