#cosbymeme - Well, that didn't turn out so well...

Woody Allen did not have multiple accusers. There is only one person who has accused him.

Then I disagree that this situation is similar to the Woody Allen situation.

Who remembered this story? I guess “Papa was a Rolling Stone.”

Cosby Testifies About Secret Payments

Cosby said he had a brief affair with Upshaw in Las Vegas in the early 1970s, and over the years, he gave her a total of $100,000.

“Who instituted the affair?” Cosby was asked.

“I did,” he replied.

http://articles.latimes.com/1997/jul/16/news/mn-13121

AP released the full exchange:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI6z97Efw3I

spontaneous said:

Then I disagree that this situation is similar to the Woody Allen situation.

As do I on a few levels.

First, Allen never portrayed himself to be a family man. He never gave the impression of wanting to be a husband or a father. Allen never doled out unsolicited, public advice to comedians threatening them to "clean up" their routines or careers would be ruined (glad that Dave Chapelle never listened to him!) And as far as I know, Allen doesn't have a history of payouts, hidden affairs and DNA testing regarding children outside of his marriage.

Allen's actions were horribly, cuckoo crazy and I still believe he acted inappropriately with Mia's daughter, but there are differences. Neither is innocent.

Patchwork robe Dickerson described in the alleged attack
And yet another alleged victim, Louisa Moritz, attacked in the same manner.

spontaneous said:

Then I disagree that this situation is similar to the Woody Allen situation.

A rich, powerful man accused of a horrible act, a story which is repeated time and again in the media over many years, and the furor of the public. No, Woody Allen did not have multiple accusers (although several members of the family have weighed in), but the similarity is in the court of public opinion and the cries of outrage from the public. I do think there is more credibility in the stories about Cosby, because the sheer numbers seem to bolster each woman's story.

ETA: Please note I didn't say the stories were identical.

Washington Post op-ed on separating Cliff Huxtable from Bill Cosby:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost/wp/2014/11/20/can-we-save-cliff-huxtable-from-bill-cosby/

(Sheesh - I didn't know Charles Schulz cheated on his wife. Good Grief!)

I like that Washington Post article... well written and thoughtful. But she is wrong to say that artists such as Oscar Wilde were pilloried for crimes that were not crimes at all... The infractions she mentions in that paragraph were, indeed, illegal at the time the artists suffered for their actions. We have since decriminalized such things as being gay and criticizing the government. But that's not how it was back then.

She did include Woody Allen, by the way. Extreme sexual misconduct by a famous artist, tried in the court of public opinion, pilloried by the press, causing a body of excellent work to be called into question.

I was also disappointed in Charles Schulz, Project37. Especially since he had such strong faith and religious beliefs that they turned up in the comic strip all the time. Unexpected, although it's certainly not the first time a religious man has misbehaved.

And another one. Recognize her?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2844994/Law-Order-actress-details-Bill-Cosby-s-attempted-sexual-assault-working-Cosby-claims-did-drug-one-woman-set.html

Apparently, Cosby received a standing ovation at an appearance in Florida...I can only assume he was performing in a correctional facility...

As_If said:

Apparently, Cosby received a standing ovation at an appearance in Florida...I can only assume he was performing in a correctional facility...

Nope, just a performance at the King Center at Eastern Florida State College, in Melbourne. The whole scandal, as it emerges, makes me a bit sad and disgusted, as my kids, along with millions of others, enjoyed the Cosby Show, portraying a very idyllic middle-class, gentle and loving, humor-filled family. It is disillusioning, a bit similar to the public exposure of the sordid side of religious figures formerly portraying themselves as virtuous icons.

^I was attempting sarcasm...

As_If said:

^I was attempting sarcasm...

Just to clarify, as far as I'm concerned, the entire state of Florida is or should be on probation .

Sadly, we are learning that he is likely An animal.

project37 said:

AP released the full exchange:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI6z97Efw3I

Wow that is awkward to watch. Ol' Cos really leans on the guy.

There are more women EVERY DAY! It is surreal...it sounds like this man devoted A LOT of time to grooming, luring and assaulting women

Read that he has stepped down from the board at Temple University. He has been a Trustee since 1982.

I guess he got wind of the Change.org petition.

End your relationship with Bill Cosby!

Bill Cosby, alleged rapist of at least 15 women, including a former Temple University employee, continues to be a trustee of Temple University. He spoke at the 2014 Temple University commencement. As recently as August of this year, he was honored by Temple.

It's time for Temple to recognize that continuing its relationship with Bill Cosby is damaging to its own reputation, as well as its students, employees and alumni. It's time for Temple University to sever its ties with this man. Temple should not be the last organization to end its relationship with Bill Cosby - it should have happened in 2005 when the allegations against him first began to surface.

I'm a Temple alum and I want to be able to be proud of my alma mater once again. Please sign my petition to join me in asking Temple to permanently end their relationship with Bill Cosby.

Why is this guy not in jail?

maplewoody said:

Why is this guy not in jail?

Statute of limitations. IIRC only one woman tried to press charges and the prosecutor declined to go forward with the case. The rest stayed silent.

spontaneous said:

maplewoody said:

Why is this guy not in jail?

Statute of limitations. IIRC only one woman tried to press charges and the prosecutor declined to go forward with the case. The rest stayed silent.

Not completely true for the lone woman who filed suit against him. When Bill's attorney saw 12 witnesses coming forward, they settled instead of taking it to court.

Andrea Constand, who worked for the women's basketball team, said she had socialized with Cosby and then sought him out for career advice. She said he drugged and molested her at his suburban Philadelphia mansion in early 2004.

Temple board chairman Patrick O'Connor, a Philadelphia lawyer, defended Cosby in the 2005 suit. Nearly a dozen women came forward to support Constand before the case was settled for undisclosed terms. New accusers stepped forward this fall, after a comedian called out Cosby as a rapist in his act.

As I said, one woman did try to press charges.

And succeeded in her case.

Criminal charges are different from a civil suit.

ParticleMan said:

Criminal charges are different from a civil suit.

I have been thinking about this, too. Is it possible to "settle" a criminal case? Or did she refuse to testify because he paid her? And were all the other women who were stepping forward at that time paid off, too?

Admittedly, I have lost track of the details of how this has emerged and been handled over the decades. It's very confusing. But I also wonder how he could have made criminal charges disappear by paying the victim. And I wonder whether some intimidation might have been involved, given the character that has been revealed by many journalists who have tried to interview him.

ParticleMan said:

Criminal charges are different from a civil suit.

You are correct. Here is more on this story @PeggyC.

The Former Basketball Player Who Brought Down Bill Cosby
http://deadspin.com/the-former-basketball-player-who-brought-down-bill-cosb-1661203971

So, wait... no one ever brought criminal charges against him? Even Constand, who the article says filed hte first claims against him, filed a civil suit demanding money, $150,000. And the suit named 13 other women who were supposed to testify.

Why not criminal charges? Did I miss something there? Constand says she was attacked in 2002, and she filed the suit in 2005. Had the statute of limitations run? I didn't think it would be so short for sexual assault.

I'm very confused by that.

PeggyC said:

So, wait... no one ever brought criminal charges against him? Even Constand, who the article says filed hte first claims against him, filed a civil suit demanding money, $150,000. And the suit named 13 other women who were supposed to testify.

Why not criminal charges? Did I miss something there? Constand says she was attacked in 2002, and she filed the suit in 2005. Had the statute of limitations run? I didn't think it would be so short for sexual assault.

I'm very confused by that.

The prosecutor, while not saying he thought Cosby was innocent, stated that he did not believe he had enough evidence to convict and therefore chose to not pursue it.

Well, yes, at that point, three years after the events, there would be no evidence whatsoever. Which would make any case pretty much impossible to prosecute. Makes it all the more astonishing that any of the women came forward. There was no way to support what they were saying, except in sheer volume of complaints.