14 DAY TRIAL // Veteran actor and beloved comedian Bill Cosby is a staple of American television. His lengthy career spans several decades and goes back to days when African-American actors on TV were a rare thing. His wholesome, family-oriented humor has placed him in the Pantheon of great American classics, earning him the nickname “America's dad.”
As the years passed, the lovable Cosby turned from the mild-mannered father with irresistibly funny word mispronunciation into the mild-mannered grandfather, a patriarchal figure looked kindly upon by everyone around him.
Cosby faces rape accusations from 16 women at the moment
But the last month or so has seen a complete change in popular opinion of Bill Cosby and it has everything to do with the rape allegations that have come from numerous women. At the moment, no fewer than 16 women have come forward to the press to claim they have been assaulted or molested by Cosby, 12 of whom claimed they were also drugged before being assaulted by the comedian.
The attacks, as far as the accusers say, took place between 1965 and 2004, and if we're to believe those who have blasted Cosby for his deeds, the aging comedian is one of the most prolific and dangerous rapists in the States today, who has also never been caught.
The first rape allegations came in January 2000, when a woman by the name of Lachele Covington claimed in a police report that Cosby had groped her in his apartment. Four years later, Andrea Constand brought a similar charge against Cosby, but a year later, the police announced that they wouldn't follow up on the case from lack of sufficient and credible evidence.
However, Constand's action brought 13 other women in court who testified to being molested by Cosby over the years. The actor settled out of court in November 2006 for an undisclosed sum.
Celebrities begin confessing to Cosby's abuses over the years
The bulk of Cosby's rape accusations began coming in November of this year, when several prominent celebrities came forward to point a blaming finger at the comedian. Among them were Joan Tarshis, former model Janice Dickinson, actress Louisa Moritz, actress Carla Ferigno, Florida nurse Therese Serignese, former Playboy model Victoria Valentino and actress Michelle Hurd.
These accusations came just when Cosby was preparing his big comeback into the spotlight so initially they were regarded with suspicion by the public. More and more turned against the lovable Cosby though, as the media began turning up evidence to support his victims' stories.
Comedian Hannibal Buress led a virtual anti-Bill Cosby campaign in his stand-up acts in order to raise awareness on the matter. This, coupled with an ill-timed social media promotion campaign in the form of a Bill Cosby meme generator (which eventually backfired as people used it for rape jokes), helped spur the attention of the media and the public on the matter.
The odd effect of that was that more and more women came forward to claim that they have been molested or abused in some form by Cosby over the years. The more women came forward, the more people were forced to believe that Bill may not be the lovable father figure they've thought him to be.
Presently, there has been little physical proof to back up these stories that took place in the ‘90s, ‘80s and ‘70s. The reason for that may be the fact that Cosby was very scrupulous in planning his exit strategy. According to a former NBC employee, Cosby used him to make payments to women he allegedly slept with so that he would never be directly involved. Frank Scotti, the former TV studio manager, claims that Cosby would use him to send out cash payments to various young women throughout the ‘80s and that he even sent him in search of discrete apartments where he could consummate his affairs.
Cosby refuses to address the rumors, still acts like the lovable father figure
Throughout the scandal, Cosby has remained utterly quiet and has stubbornly refused to address any allegations, pretending they weren't even real. An interview with the prestigious AP press agency recorded earlier this month shows Cosby asking his interviewer upfront to cut out the part of the interview with the rape questions (he didn't even answer them).
While Cosby refused to give into the bad press and has his lawyers say loud and clear that these allegations are false, the public is faced with a tough decision: is Bill Cosby a rapist who drugs women and then has his way with them, or is he just a talented actor with a gift for comedy, a living legend?
It's very hard to decide considering the fact that so many of us have a fondness for the characters Cosby played on the screen. After seeing him play the father figure for such a long time, it's hard to imagine him as a devious rapist with a secret life.
The industry takes a stand
The industry, however, seems to have already made up its mind. Just like in the case of actor Stephen Collins who was exposed as a child molester last month, Bill Cosby suddenly found that doors which used to open wide for him now stayed firmly shut. Several networks canceled airings of The Cosby Show and venues from all over the country canceled stand-up shows Cosby was supposed to do.
NBC even scrapped a Bill Cosby project before it even got into the production stage and gave some bogus motivation that it wasn't fully laid out, but since it came immediately after the rape accusations, everyone knew what it was really about – nobody in the entertainment industry wants to be associated with rape and molestation, nor do they want to be accused of promoting people suspected of such actions.
