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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhy We All Ignored the Bill Cosby Rape Charges for 10 Years
http://www.cracked.com/blog/why-we-all-ignored-bill-cosby-rape-charges-10-years/In response to the allegations, NBC canceled its plans to produce a new sitcom with Cosby, and Netflix has indefinitely postponed Cosby's new stand-up special, which was originally scheduled to debut later this month. TV Land is even pulling all reruns of The Cosby Show from its lineup, despite the fact that it probably accounts for around half of their programming. If that weren't enough, here's a super uncomfortable video of Cosby vaguely gibber-stuttering his way out of answering any questions about the allegations, as if haunting accusations of rape will simply disappear like the boogeyman if you deny that they exist. Things are looking pretty grim for Cliff Huxtable.
To be clear, I'm not here to talk about whether Cosby is guilty or innocent -- far more intelligent people are going to be arguing that point in the weeks and months to come, and history will just have to make what it will of Cosby's legacy. Hopefully.
I say hopefully because, while four of these women just made their stories public within the last week, 14 of these accusations first hit the news almost 10 years ago. A former protege of Cosby's filed a civil suit against him in 2005, alleging that he drugged and sexually assaulted her, and 13 other women stepped forward to offer their own stories of assault as anonymous testimony should the case go to trial. However, the suit was ultimately settled out of court, and then America just kind of forgot about the whole thing. Netflix didn't pull any Cosby specials or movies from their catalog. TV Land kept right on airing Cosby Show reruns. The Internet didn't explode with Cosby rape memes.
I certainly didn't remember the accusations from 2005.
More, including comparisons to Woody Allen, at the link above.
Sid
Sedona
(3,769 posts)Kobe Bryant.
SidDithers
(44,228 posts)Maybe it falls into the same situation as Woody Allen - a single incident, or victim, rather than more than a dozen or dozens of victims.
Sid
muriel_volestrangler
(101,347 posts)I couldn't find any mention of it on DU at the time (though searches that far back aren't always reliable), but that link turned up on a post from a couple of years later, along with:
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=446798&page=1
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38675-2005Feb19.html
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:ZxjOAl9tmBMJ:www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php%3Faz%3Dview_all%26address%3D389x2088397+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk
You'd think coverage in the Washington Post and ABC would have meant it was very well known.
SidDithers
(44,228 posts)Usually, I'm pretty tuned into the news, but I'm drawing a complete blank on these.
Thanks for posting the additional links.
Sid
Sedona
(3,769 posts)Michael Jackson
marmar
(77,086 posts)Sedona
(3,769 posts)Michael Jackson agreed to pay $15.3 million to settle child molestation charges leveled against him in 1993 by a California boy, according to a confidential legal agreement. A heavily redacted version of the document can be found here.
The January 1994 agreement contains a one-line reference to Jackson delivering "confessions of judgment" totaling $15,331,250 to the boy's attorneys.
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/celebrity/michael-jacksons-15-million-payoff
The Kobe Bryant sexual assault case began in July 2003 when the news media reported that the sheriff's office in Eagle, Colorado had arrested professional basketball player Kobe Bryant in connection with an investigation of a sexual assault complaint filed by a 19-year-old hotel employee. Bryant had checked into The Lodge and Spa at Cordillera, a hotel in Edwards, Colorado, on June 30 in advance of having surgery near there on July 2 under Dr. Richard Steadman. The woman accused Bryant of raping her in his hotel room on July 1, the night before the surgery. Bryant admitted to an adulterous sexual encounter with his accuser, but denied the assault allegation. The case was dropped after Bryant's accuser refused to testify in the case. A separate civil suit was later filed against Bryant by the woman. This was settled out of court
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobe_Bryant_sexual_assault_case#Settlement
Chathamization
(1,638 posts)For example, here's a well received documentary about widespread abuse in Hollywood that's unable to find a distributor. How much guilt do we have for ignoring these things and pretending they don't happen?
woolldog
(8,791 posts)That was a great show.
madokie
(51,076 posts)but that was before I found out he was a predator of women. There was mention of him on the news yesterday morning and I said to my wife that they've cut his soon to be new show and she said they should
MADem
(135,425 posts)though...
jakeXT
(10,575 posts)...
Castor also dismissed the notion that the allegations were somehow swept under the rug at the time.
"It was covered hugely," he said, recalling articles from China to Europe and across U.S. media. "Other than some of the murder cases I had, it was covered more widely than any other case I worked on."
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20141120_Prosecutor_on_Cosby_sex_assault_claim___quot_I_thought_he_did_it_.html#Q7ZEUYQpJBQqkip3.99
Douglas Carpenter
(20,226 posts)established in the publics mind. There is just a lot of cognitive dissonance when older moralizing figures are discovered to have done shocking things - even if rumors had been about for a long time.
KMOD
(7,906 posts)I think you may have hit on it.
But I have to also wonder if I, and perhaps others, subconsciously ignored it. I can't recall any earlier accusations against Bill Cosby, even though they were out there. I also am an avid news reader, and I do recall Cosby's son dying, but not the lawsuit.
Or was it just not covered by the media, thoroughly? If the media found in incredulous, they may not have given it much coverage.
tammywammy
(26,582 posts)He seems to be such a predator.
TeeYiYi
(8,028 posts)...but now that I'm catching up on all things Cosby, I found this to be a hell of a 'coincidence':
TYY
Orsino
(37,428 posts)He was brilliant. Until a few weeks ago, I was unaware of any rape allegations.
I don't think there's a conspiracy theory convoluted enough to exonerate him.
yuiyoshida
(41,835 posts)Its done. Six women coming forward? Wow...*smh*