Courtesy of CNN:
Bill Cosby's long relationship with his beloved Temple University has come to an end, another effect of the scandal engulfing the once adored television star and comedian.
Cosby's Monday resignation from Temple's board of trustees, a position he held for 32 years, was first reported in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Cosby also attended Temple.
At least 17 women have spoken publicly accusing the comedian of sexual misconduct, and many of the women say he drugged them before he raped them. Some of the alleged attacks took place decades ago.
Cosby's attorney, Martin D. Singer, has repeatedly denied the claims. Singer said in a written statement sent to CNN that it defies common sense that "so many people would have said nothing, done nothing, and made no reports to law enforcement or asserted civil claims if they thought they had been assaulted over a span of so many years."
That last point, the one about why the women supposedly assaulted by Cosby did nothing, is the kind of point brought up by an attorney for the accused who knows EXACTLY why the women did nothing. And in fact might be himself a large part of the reason why they did nothing.
The first time that I gave in and blogged about these allegations, I admitted to all of you that the catalyst for me was the admission of Carla Ferrigno that she had also been victimized.
What I did not reveal at the time was that one of the reasons that I was hesitant to chime in was when former model Janice Dickinson seemed to jump on the bandwagon.
Dickinson as some of you may know is kind of a nutjob. She has lived a rather erratic life, which included many messy affairs, issues with substance abuse, and reality show gigs. And to be honest she has not always come off as the most believable person in the world.
However as it turns out she may be the most believable of all of Cosby's accusers. And that is because of this segment from the Howard Stern Show, where Stern plays a portion of an interview he had with Dickinson in 2006.
I am not the biggest Howard Stern fan in the world by any measure, but I think this segment really provides, not only support for Dickinson's claims, but also a window into how hard it is to accuse such a powerful figure of such despicable acts.
This is all really disappointing, but not surprising since there were accusations years and years ago. I loved the Cosby Show and Different World. It just goes to show that you can't judge a book by its cover and even a person who has given so much to us can be a "secret" predator (I put "secret" in quotations because I seems to be a decades-long problem that a lot of people know about). Hopefully, his victims will see justice.
ReplyDeleteI try to avoid celebrity gossip, but I've ended up in discussions about his since it has become such a big story.
ReplyDeleteMy grandfather wanted to debate it last weekend, eventually asking me why i didn't care about the rape allegations once made against Bill Clinton.
I thought it was a good contrast, actually, because on one hand, you have the Bill Clinton allegations - obviously politically-motivated, regarding a sitting President at the time, etc.
But here... What in the world do these unconnected SEVENTEEN women have to gain from accusing a beloved public figure 35 years after the fact?
The best my grandfather could come up with was, "They wanna get their name in the papers."
The papers. Must be some sort of old-timey communication medium.
I had the same opinion as you, Gryph, until I heard the Howard Stern Show clip. (I'm a big fan of Stern - best interviewer ever.) I was never a big fan of Bill Cosby; never liked his preaching masked as comedy and really disliked his sit-com. But I never thought that he would be capable of the now numerous allegations against him. It just shows me that powerful people often get away with despicable things. I hope he suffers greatly if these allegations are true.
ReplyDeleteI was never a fan of Cosby, just didn't think he was that funny. But I did think of him in a "trustworthy father-figure" light, and it's really disturbing that someone who can convince most of the world that he's a great guy, actually turns out to be a serial rapist.
ReplyDeleteI'm at the point where I believe the women.............the numbers, along with their stories are very compelling and believable. Really, there should be no such thing as a statute of limitations. If you did something wrong, you shouldn't be able to pull out the Get Out Of Jail Free card. Cosby should be tried in a criminal court, and maybe these women coming out now will give a possible more recent victim the courage to come forward.
I think the stories must be true.
ReplyDeleteCosby has enough to money to assemble a battalion of lawyers that would make Simpson's "Dream Team" look like bus station janitors. Even after all these years, couldn't investigators come up with evidence of lying in a few cases by showing that Cosby could not have been where and when a given accuser states because he was provably somewhere else, maybe not even in the country?
What is readily apparent is that the "we don't want to talk about it" stance taken by Cosby and his attorneys isn't turning this around.
Must I say it again people.It was social media done smear him!
ReplyDeleteFucking moron! No woman who has been raped wants to be known for that. Go away fucktard.
DeleteI am thinking there are alot more than 17 and still more will come forward.
ReplyDeleteThe Tiger Woods of his generation complete with shiny putter, ball washer, nasty slice, a hole in one, #3 wood and finally he ends up in a sand trap. Four! See ya at the 19th hole you pervert.
ReplyDeleteCosby is just a creeper. It's nice to see him called out for his past misdeeds but I think a lot of people now look at him as this old harmless wonkeyed man with the beginnings of dementia and then they feel sorry for him. I wish all this would have come out sooner back when he was instigating these assaults.
ReplyDeleteHe is guilty, but I have noticed that so many people give him the benefit of the doubt. When you have been raped, as I have been, it really would hurt terribly to be dismissed like that just because this guy is a so called star. He is an awful, terrible human being and should pay for what he has done. These women have had a very different experience with this rapist than the public at large has. He was once beloved and he should now be scorned.
ReplyDeleteI worked at Temple back in the late 80's and early 90's and it was always sort of an unspoken secret that you didn't want to be alone with the guy. Very sad that someone with that much influence who had risen so far above his beginnings would choose to let his dark side rule him and destroy his legacy. He really did a lot for Temple and this choice is really for the best as Temple does not need the distractions. I feel very badly for the women who suffered at his hands.
ReplyDeleteThe kicker, for me, is one of my (soon to be) friends is a Temple Alum and she thinks it reflects poorly on Temple (DUH) because they didn't grab him by the ankles and drag him to the curb when the girl he fathered while married to Camille came forward.
ReplyDeleteThe man WAS a comedic genius back in his heyday. I supported him when his son was murdered, and cut him some slack on some things he's said over the years, but this mudslide of "accusations" is way to much for him to get beyond, he's too old to outrun his lies. The one I feel for is his wife, how many times has she forgiven him and how many more times will she "Stand by her man"? And for what?
Leave the gate open and the dog'll come home every time.
He's a cornered rat and Temple will do fine without him.
Comedic genious? For who the Amish?
DeleteIt was terrible that his son was murdered. I have a hard time feeling anything for his wife. She is not blind, and the sway of fame and privilege of being Mrs. Cosby was apparently better option than leaving the man.
8:55 pm, December 2nd, 2014
ReplyDeleteOne woman is coming forward with allegations about Bill Cosby in a big way: she’s suing him for sexually assaulting her when she was 15 years old. Judy Huth, according to TMZ, filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles tonight.
http://www.mediaite.com/online/woman-sues-cosby-claims-he-sexually-assaulted-her-when-she-was-15/
Who will now run the Temple University Center for Discrediting Rape Allegations?
ReplyDeleteThe lawsuit filed in Los Angeles could be the first legal attack against the comedian since 2005 amid a wave of assault allegations
ReplyDeleteJudy Huth filed a lawsuit with the Los Angeles County Superior Court on Tuesday, claiming the comedian sexually assaulted her at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles in 1974, when she was 15 years old.
The suit suggests the statute of limitations normally applied to assault claims should be waived for Huth, since she discovered "her psychological injuries and illnesses were caused by the sexual abuse perpetrated by Cosby" only within the past three years.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bill-cosby-lawsuit-alleges-sexual-753528