Bill Cosby's 'public moralist' stance backfired, led to document release

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

Source: CNN

His admission was kept under wraps for a decade. And Bill Cosby wanted it to stay that way.

But it was his own public stance as a moral evangelist that helped tip the scale for the judge who unsealed documents this week showing Cosby admitting, under oath, to getting drugs to give to women he wanted to have sex with.

(…)

"The stark contrast between Bill Cosby, the public moralist and Bill Cosby, the subject of serious allegations concerning improper (and perhaps criminal) conduct, is a matter as to which the AP — and by extension the public — has a significant interest," U.S. District Judge Eduardo Robreno wrote in his decision to release the documents.

(…)

The judge cited Cosby's 2004 "Pound Cake" speech, in which the comedian lambasted some African-Americans for what he considered bad parenting, a lack of personal responsibility and inexplicable crime.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/08/us/bill-cosby-sexual-assault-allegations/

---

The deposition was made public largely because Cosby crowned himself a moral crusader.

It was a stunning — and deeply ironic — chapter in the story of one of the more enduring and controversial utterances in the past 15 years by an African American about African Americans. And its reappearance in a legal matter so potentially detrimental to Cosby, who has decried the allegations against him as baseless, may also go down in history as a case study in the costs of hypocrisy.

(…)
Without the speech, Cosby would still stand accused of drugging and raping women, and his decades-old legacy would be endangered if not in tatters.

But without Pound Cake, it is unlikely that the public would know that, when Cosby was asked “When you got the Quaaludes, was it in your mind that you were going to use these Quaaludes for young women that you wanted to have sex with?” in 2005, he said, “Yes.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/07/07/how-bill-cosbys-2004-pound-cake-speech-exploded-into-his-latest-legal-disaster/

[PoliticAverse]

1. Reced for exposure. n/t

[Ken Burch]

2. It was a clear case of a man who "doth protest too much".

I keep wishing there'd be a Million Pound Cake March.

[Ken Burch]

3. It's also interesting that the stand-up comedy world has rounded on "Cos".

They're all busting on him on Comedy Central every night now-my impression is that this was an open secret among comedians for years now but they all felt too scared of committing career suicide to call him on it.


Hannibal Burress was the one who broke the ice, I think:

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

6. People knew

Back in 2005, when the allegations against Cosby were in the news, Tina Fey was co-host, with Amy Poehler, of Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live. And she not only mentioned the allegations on the show, she highlighted the reason other people—specifically, in this joke, Kenan Thompson, being a good sport here as usual—didn’t want to talk about them: because Bill Cosby was a powerful man who could affect someone’s ability to get work.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/12/04/bill_cosby_rape_allegations_tina_fey_brought_them_up_on_saturday_night_live.html

Which, interestingly, didn't stop fellow early 2000s SNL clique member Jimmy Fallon from inviting him on over and over and cozying up to him:

[rocktivity]

26. The uploader of that video is the one who "broke the ice."

CBS News.com: Buress told...The Howard Stern Show..."I've been doing the bit on and off for six months...It wasn't my intention to make it part of a big discussion...It was just something I was doing at that venue right there. So for someone to put it to the media, it's crazy...I said it and I gotta stand on it, but it is an interesting situation."

The uploader of the video is probably as surprised as you are, Hannibal, so take heart -- and stay out of small planes...


rocktivity

[Skittles]

4. just the way he spoke creeped me out

I have never been able to stand him - ugh

[HFRN]

11. always thought he was full of himself

speaking with those exaggerated pauses and inflections as though he were about to say something as profound as Moses, when talking about a Jello pudding pop

[Skittles]

29. EXAAAAAAAAACTLY

*TOTAL PHONY*

[cui bono]

30. You must not be familiar with his stand up career, before he became a TV star.

He was a great and respected comic (comic, not necessarily human being-I don't know if people knew what he did or when he started doing it, just providing some background). Sad that the power seemed to go to his head, or maybe he was always like that with women. But he was one of the great ones of his time and comics looked up to him careerwise.

[CharlotteVale]

23. Same here.

[wordpix]

28. I loved the Cosby show but now

Creepy Cosby it is

[JackInGreen]

5. Maybe

We could have it moved to wherever he ends up serving time?

[Divernan]

7. The statute of limitations has run out for his rape victims, so no criminal charges.

But, this evidence will strengthen each civil suit against him, and he'll probably pay big to settle them to avoid the public humiliation of multiple trials.

AP reports:

The Bounce TV network, which is geared toward black viewers, announced Tuesday that it is taking its reruns of "Cosby," the comic's 1990s-era CBS show, off the air immediately.

And the smaller Centric cable network, which is affiliated with BET and aimed at black women, said it is dropping "The Cosby Show." The 1980s NBC series was a big chunk of Centric's schedule, airing four hours a day and in weekend marathons once a month.

It doesn't appear that "The Cosby Show" is airing regularly anywhere else now in the U.S., said Bill Carroll, an expert on the syndication market for Katz Television. He said he doubts it will return while its star, who turns 78 on Sunday, is alive.

The Bounce TV network, which is geared toward black viewers, announced Tuesday that it is taking its reruns of "Cosby," the comic's 1990s-era CBS show, off the air immediately.
http://news.yahoo.com/bill-cosbys-moralizing-undoing-192515614.html;_ylt=A0LEVrYb_ZxV6TcARQsnnIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTEzbWFxdmg3BGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDRkZHRTAyXzEEc2VjA3Nj#

[joshcryer]

8. Likely one of the most prolific serial rapists...

...in US history.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

9. I'd love to see this become legal precedent.

Just think of how many (mostly Republican) public figure legislators are constantly moralizing at the public while secretly, hypocritically doing all kinds of appalling things, and getting court records sealed if and when they get caught...

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

12. grounds to unseal the Bill O'Reilly files?

One can only hope

[wolfie001]

16. Yes! Yes! Yes!

Open "The Loofah Files"!

[rocktivity]

25. That's "Loofah-FALAFEL Files" to YOU! eom

rocktivity

[samsingh]

22. why are his files still hidden under the same argument?

o reilly is a moral crusader who is charged with all sorts of things as well. release his files too.

[HFRN]

13. it's always been the case that if you legally benefit from silence

be it the 5th, not taking the stand in your own defense, getting evidence excluded, records sealed.....you *cannot* appear to be any kind of witness in any venue or any way on the silenced topic, or you make it available for cross-examination, to impeach your witnessing - Cosby was just too stupid and arrogant to appreciate this

that's exactly what the judge is saying

"The stark contrast between Bill Cosby, the public moralist and Bill Cosby, the subject of serious allegations concerning improper (and perhaps criminal) conduct, is a matter as to which the AP — and by extension the public — has a significant interest," U.S. District Judge Eduardo Robreno wrote in his decision to release the documents.

[Divernan]

10. Cosby admitted to getting SEVEN prescriptions for Quaaludes

"When you got the Quaaludes, was it in your mind that you were going to use these Quaaludes for young women that you wanted to have sex with?" Troiani asked. "Yes," Cosby replied.

"Did you ever give any of those young women the Quaaludes without their knowledge?" Troiani asked. Cosby's attorney objected and told him not to answer the question.

While Cosby admitted that he acquired seven prescriptions of Quaaludes with the intent to give the sedatives to young women he wanted to have sex with, he has not admitted to actually drugging any of his accusers.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/08/us/bill-cosby-sexual-assault-allegations/

So 7 different prescriptions - leading to these questions for each individual Rx - how many tablets, and how many refills. Quaaludes were often prescribed as sleep aids, so it's reasonable to believe Cosby got at least a month's worth in each prescription, i.e., 30 tablets and that there was a provision for refills. Even without any refills, we're looking at 7 X 30 =s over 200 tablets.

[Dustlawyer]

14. Somewhere Richard Pryor is smiling!

Cosby attacked Pryor for being "too dirty," and Eddie Murphy as well. Both spoke of this in their routines.

[Robbins]

15. while Pryor used cocaine

I don't believe there were any stories of him raping women.same with eddie murphy.worst i ever heard of him maybe he went to
transveste hookers.

Cosby used the he was family friendly comedy white he attacked those who used cussing in their comedy,and was morialist to blacks.He's totally exposed now as rapist.and serial rapist too.even before this we had way too many women come forward with
same story.

Conservatives used to love Cosby with him being so critical of black youth.

[duhneece]

17. "Conservatives used to love Cosby with him being so critical of black youth."

That's what I took away from the revelation...Conservatives used to love Cosby with him being so critical of black youth.
Thanks for reading my mind, Robbins! But now, get outta there!

[marble falls]

20. And he never lied about it or denied it.

[REP]

32. Richard Pryor talked about how fucked up rape is in "Live In Concert"

Something about how could someone take another's humanity like that. It wasn't said as a stand-up-and-clap line, just sort of an aside after a bit.

Pryor was an immensely talented man and seems to have been a flawed yet truly decent person. Cosby is an insufferable, unfunny rapist.

[thesquanderer]

18. Wow. Some RW politicians could be shaking in their boots.

The rationale for opening sealed records was that Cosby "donned the mantle of public moralist and mounted the proverbial electronic or print soap box to volunteer his views on, among other things, childrearing, family life, education, and crime." It sounds like any politician who has vocally taken a RW position on these kinds of moral issues could have their records unsealed if they were ever involved in a hushed-up morally questionable deed in the past.

If Cosby or anyone ever pusues the legality of this kind of sealed document release, I think the Supreme Court would reverse it. Hypocrisy is not a crime. But meanwhile, the documents have been released, and there is no way to unrelease them.

[restorefreedom]

21. excellent point

fortunately for us, most of them are too stupid or arrogant to even hesitate to go off on their usual moral rants.

[Historic NY]

19. To bad he went from actor to blowhard.....

[rocktivity]

24. It also had to do with nobody noticing that the deposition's statute of limitations

ran out eight years ago, and the civil suit lawyers not filing a copy of the out-of-court settlement...

NPR.org: The court's rules state that unless there is an objection, documents filed in the court will be unsealed automatically two years after the conclusion of litigation...Cosby's attorneys objected, saying it would violate Cosby's right to privacy...and would violate the confidentiality agreement signed by the two parties.

...(The judge)...argued that while Cosby is clearly a public figure, when he talks about issues of public policy like unwed mothers and crime, he (also) becomes a "public moralist," which...opens him up to "legitimate public scrutiny." The release of these documents...is therefore important for the public to weigh "the stark contrast between Bill Cosby, the public moralist and Bill Cosby, the subject of serious allegations concerning improper (and perhaps criminal) conduct..."

...(A)s to the confidentiality agreement...the two parties never filed (it) with the court, so the court has no obligation to honor it...

But I'm not complaining...In fact, you could even say that I'm having the last laugh!


rocktivity

[rocktivity]

27. UPDATE: "(E)ven his staunchest supporters are backing away."

PhillyMag.com: First Jill Scott, who stood up for him on Twitter earlier this year, admitted she was wrong to defend him, and now Disney has announced it will remove a sculpture of Cosby from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame Plaza at the Hollywood Studios theme park...

Complete with his fatherly wooly sweater...but he's not the first Pennsylvanian with feet of clay, is he?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/120416776


rocktivity

[MADem]

31. And his AGENT (and the prestigious agency with whom he was associated) has dumped him too...!

From your same source: http://www.phillymag.com/ticket/2015/07/09/bill-cosby-dumped-by-agent-currently-un-repped-in-hollywood/

He's down to just his publicist--that's the kiss of death....

[olddots]

33. sadly Cosby was one of many using ludes & coke to play "the game "

The game is rape = power ,if we don't want to buy into it we can demand better but we all seem to love slease as entertainment .
I really
hate the guy because I admit I admired him and its becoming harder to admire anyone lately because of what he did .