This year we mourned the tragic deaths of many great entertainers.
“It’s a weird year for comedy. We lost Robin, we lost Joan, and we kind of lost Cosby,” said comedian Chris Rock in a recent interview with Vulture.
Rock is right in a sense. We did lose Cosby. We lost the image of the man Cosby wanted us to see. We lost the goofy man who raised the rambunctious Huxtable family. We lost the man who revolutionized the modern African American sitcom. We lost someone who we looked up to.
However, Cosby did not die. Merely, he showed us his true colors.
In November, The Washington Post released said 16 women came forward and alleged Cosby sexually assaulted them. Many of the women said he used drugs to debilitate them before the attacks.
Even more disturbing than the attacks is the fact that many victims reported the crimes to police to no avail.
Lachele Covington, 20, told the New York Post that Cosby groped her in his apartment on January 28, 2000. Covington was an actress who appeared on “The Cosby Show”.
“Cops consulted the Manhattan district attorney’s office and decided no crime had been committed because until the very moment Covington pulled her hand away, all actions had been consensual. So cops never questioned — or charged — the comedian,” The NY Post said.
Cosby also faced accusations from a former Temple University employee, Andrea Constand in 2004. Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor said there was “insufficient credible and admissible evidence” and authorities were unable to charge Cosby, said CBC news. Cosby later settled out of court when Constand filed a civil claim.
With new accusations popping up every day, the Cosby case looks more and more like that of a serial rapist being protected by the authorities. Due to his power in the entertainment industry, Cosby was able to get away with these acts for years.
Cosby declined to discuss these claims with the media, which only makes him look guiltier.
Unfortunately, Cosby is not the only entertainer to get away with sexual assault.
Last year, Dylan Farrow, daughter of actress Mia Farrow, came forward with accusations that director and stepfather Woody Allen molested her.
Despite a large body of evidence and a history of accusations, Allen continues to make films and is regarded as one of the Hollywood greats.
Is this what will happen with Cosby? Will these allegations become old news and be swept back under the rug?
So far The Cosby Show has been pulled from TV Land and other networks. Many of Cosby’s standup performances were also cancelled.
As a nation we can stop this vicious cycle of rape culture in our nation by refusing not to talk about it. It does not matter if they are Oscar winners or the President, these men are criminals and should be regarded as such. If the issue is silenced, so are the victims.
