JCC Does Bill Cosby get a pass?

It appears he got off because the two women mentioned said they willingly took the drugs.

 

so his career is most definitely over and his entire body of work is now tainted. i guess that's good. but in all likelihood he'll just retire quietly and comfortably like other 77 year olds.

 

I first heard his standup comedy a year ago. I could not stand The Cosby Show throughout its run, so whenever comedians referred to Bill as their hero, I was always suspicious. But last year it got too much - I'd heard too much praise, and it was right there in the YouTube suggestion list, so I caved and listened to Bill's standup routines. All of them. Some a couple of times. Shared it with friends. There was a handful of occasions where I could finally agree: Bill was the standup master.
Shortly after, Hannibal Buress' bit became a thing, and the rest is history.

That went fast! I'd just discovered it.

Last month, I did a speech for a good friend at his wedding, and I killed. Because I knew where to get the laughs. Because I did a Cosby buildup - painting a scene so merrily and vividly that the audience expects you to break it, and when you do, you have them. Basically a trick of the trade. But I wouldn't have known it if I hadn't listened to Bill. I am convinced you can become a professional comedian just by listening to that man.

Of course, I'm not going to listen to him again. It would be a troubling experience. No fun anymore. I just want to say: no, it's not good. It really sucks that his body of work is now tainted.

 

I hope justice is served and Cosby does not get off scott free. My nearly lifelong enjoyment of his work is over.

 

I wonder where Jabba-wocky is going to publish his apology letter. Medium, perhaps?

 

While recent revelations of Cosby's deposition were a surprise, I stand by my initial view: I doubt there will be a conclusive legal judgment in this, either in civil or criminal court. Too much time has passed, there's no physical evidence, and no complaint was filed at the time of the alleged incidents. However, Cosby's career is pretty much over; his age had already brought that about, but now it's occurring under a cloud. I suspect he'll eventually retreat from the public eye for the remainder of his life. After he's gone, there will be a cooling-off period of a few years, then a reassessment of the situation (as in, "Can separate the work from the man?" and "Well, he was never convicted, you know."). In time, I figure we'll be able to watch "I Spy" again without guilt, though perhaps not with the exact same level of enjoyment. Sort of like the Lonesome Rhodes prediction.

I'm not saying this is a good thing or a bad thing; that's just my view based on what I've seen in the past.

 

I hope there isn't a "cooling off" period-- not in the sense that people stop knowing about and caring (to the extent they do now) that Bill Cosby was a sexual predator for decades. He was obsessed with power and wielding it over others, particularly women. That's the main reason he assaulted so many women-- it wasn't about sex. It was about power.

 

A truly great cover and picture.

 

Well, nothing has been proven yet.

(Don't misinterprate this post)

 

How much will you pay me not to tag every regular of the feminism thread right now?

 

Nothing. Tag away, it would be freaking great.

 

I think the destruction of Cosby's legacy is sufficient at this point. Since he doesn't have that much longer to live, the fact that he has to live with the fact that everyone now is aware of his many rapes in the past is enough. He's too powerless and frail to hurt any person anymore, and everyone knows the man is sick. No one trust him, anyway.

Ta ta, Bill. You were never funny, as Mr. Maher said.

 

Ummmmm... yes. Yes he was. I'm okay with revisioning legacies to ensure that people know he was a horribly flawed, predatory man -- but not to take away their actual talent.

 

Edit: Question answered.

 

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Dammit, insomnia made me miss something...

 

Yes, and I have to say from my perspective - not wanting to talk for KW - it was magical and your life is going to be a little bit less amazing because you missed it.

 

Compared to the Jimmy Saville scandal over in England, at least Cosby is still alive to deal with the public revelation of his crimes, and the public's reaction to them.

That's something, isn't it?

 

Yes, because rape and an appetite for underage girls are the same.

 

I wonder whether the Bill Cosby scandal will open the floodgates in America to load's of "celeb's" being put in jail for "historic allegations of a sexual nature" like here in the UK after Jimmy Saville's evil crimes came to light?


Personally I always found Jimmy Saville to be creepy, so haven't been particularly surprised by all the stuff that's come out about him... Where-as Rolf Harris, I never for a moment suspected there was anything strange about him and have been genuinely saddened to find out one of the guys who was on telly a LOT when I was a kid and who seemed to have such a rapport with children had such a dark side...

 

Do we really think, though, that rock stars haven't had sex with underaged teens for years? I mean, does anyone believe that musicians wouldn't have dared?

 

Whoa, slow down there, Ender.

They sorta are the same, which is why it's called statutory rape. Children cannot consent.

Plus some of them apparently were adults (or after the age of consent) who were forcibly raped.

 

I think the worst thing about Jimmy Saville was the abuse and rape of vulnerable people in care homes and hospitals... Just so shocking that people who are (hopefully) in a place of care and protection like a hospital can be abused like that - And I still don't really understand how he was apparently virtually running some of these facilities (I know he was a major fundraiser, but still...)

Probably. Though funnily enough there's been surprisingly few "rock star's" brought into this!

Seem's to be mainly "TV personalities" of a certain age and radio DJ's so far.

The name's you would think, like "Rock Gods" and so on... There's been nothing really.

Biggest name investigated so far is Sir Cliff Richard, but at this stage it's just allegations and I'm hoping for my mothers sake that the allegations do indeed prove to be false.

 

Cosby drugged adult women and used their incapacity to sexually violate them.

Jimmy Saville, and other celebrities, cultivated pre-pubescent and pubescent boys and girls for sex.

They're very much abhorrent acts, both of them. But let's not simply say "sex scandal celeb" and leave it at that. There's importance in segregating the two offences.