The Rape of Bill Cosby (Guest Opinion Blog)
Bill Cosby raped me.
Now that I have your attention, consider this: the allegations of sexual misadventure and impropriety that have pummeled the Cos over the last few weeks is not the issue. The issue is the scurrilous environment where media outlets and journalists lie in wait, like aging corpulent prostitutes, their hair dyed flame red and their nails like elongated daggers — waiting to blow any John who dares to topple those who may be kings. It's once again an example of the TMZ-isation of journalism.
Also read: Bill Cosby Sexual Assault Scandal: TheWrap Investigates 1969 Rape Kits, Options for Alleged Victims
The prized real estate that is the first screen view of news websites, or the much vied for leading news story content on the evening news has been hijacked for reports of the latest Cosby detractor, while issues like Ferguson, IS, immigration reform, and 46 abducted students in Mexico receive a momentary lapse of attention. Our focus shifts when a celebrity falls, and like extras in “Walking Dead,” our direction sharply turns, and our attention shifts to the exposed flesh of the fallen, and we grunt and drool, waiting to feast.
Also read: Bill Cosby's Worst Week Ever: TV Return Is Dead, But He'll Be Fine
The concept of justice is disregarded. The statute of limitations is ignored. The recollections of events that happened as long as fifty years ago are dredged up by aging actresses who have one eye on the CNN camera, and the other on a book or reality show deal. If the statute of limitations was as long as the 15 minutes of fame that these lost souls are trying to recapture, then our prisons would be as vacant as the Holiday Inn in Acapulco (you probably have no idea what that means because you're not used to real news). Thankfully, the statute of limitations was written to avoid exactly what this blog is about. There is no legitimacy to justice if there is no real evidence, and evidence has a way of vanishing as memories dim with the marching of time. A DNA swab on most of Cosby's detractors if done today would most likely come up exceedingly dry.
Also read: Watch Bill Cosby's Florida Performance That Got Standing Ovation Amid Media Storm (Video)
I'm not saying that what these woman claim happened, didn't happen. I get it — Cos was the campfire that parents would sit at with their children, and chuckle at his homespun humor and life lessons. When we all retreated back to our tents with our tummys full of S'mores and toasted marshmallows, Cos was back in his tent, banging the camp counselor after doping her with quaaludes. Yes, that could well have happened, and once those women realized the violation that they endured at the hands of Cosby, then they should have reported it then — not a generation later.
Also read: Hollywood Crisis Experts to Bill Cosby: ‘Shut the F-ck Up!’
I wrote a blog recently taking Woody Allen down for his alleged abuse that was detailed in Dylan Farrow's op-ed in The New York Times. You might find it hypocritical that I suggested that we shun Woody Allen based on years-old testimony, and I'm giving the Cos a pass for his alleged abuse of women years ago. There's a huge difference. Dylan Farrow had credibility. Child abuse in my estimation is on an equal par to murder. The uncomfortable truth that Dylan Farrow courageously revealed, to me, was undeniable — and that abuse had been reported to both social workers and to the courts.
Not so with Bill Cosby. His detractors and accusers smack of something else than truth — they carry the faint aroma of deceit, selective memory, and blind ambition.
11 TV Shows Canceled by Controversy - From 'Honey Boo Boo' to 'Politically Incorrect' (Photos)
Food Network
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TLC
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Oxygen
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All of these series had the plug pulled on them under less than ideal circumstances
Related stories from TheWrap:
Bill Cosby Scandal: What Took So Long for Us to Notice?
Bill Cosby Sexual Assault Scandal: TheWrap Investigates 1969 Rape Kits, Options for Alleged Victims
Newly Emerged Bill Cosby Accuser Says She Wants People to 'Understand That He's Not Mr. Clean'
