Bill Cosby: America's Favorite Dad...and Rapist?

frimble3 · May 3, 2018

nighttimer said:
Camille Cosby has released a statement and much to my disgust she went Full Emmett Till.

Personally, if Camille Cosby wants to play Tammy Wynette and stand by her cheatin' ass man, that's her business. When she misappropriates Emmett Till, a young boy who was beaten, mutilated, shot and thrown in a river shackled to a 70-lb cotton gin fan.

You see any connection between Till and Cosby because I sure don't. It offended me when Clarence Thomas pulled that shit in 1991 and it still offends me now. I'm fucking sick and tired of whenever some prominent brutha gets caught sliding the salami somewhere it shouldn't be they go and pull The Victim Card.

It's vulgar.

She's been with him for 50 years. 50 years of "I hear nothing, I see nothing, I know nothing". That much willful blindness is not going to suddenly clear up. 'Stand by your man' has become, not a song, but a lifestyle.
She should at least have the grace to shut up, rather than making ridiculous comparisons to an innocent victim, killed by a mob.

Twick · May 3, 2018

regdog said:
Women with loose morals and risky behavior are obviously asking for it. Their behavior incited the attack. Pious, chaste, virginal pillars of sanctity, are the only women who should be believed.

You can't win with that, either. "You were a 30-year old virgin? What sort of woman doesn't have sex? A hysterical, man-hating prude, that's who! One who has the vapours and thinks she's being attacked when my client smiled at her, because she's so sexually repressed!"

Fingers · May 3, 2018

Lynch mob? What the entire fuck? Even some of the jurors said Cosby's own words helped them decide his guilt. I seem to remember they were going to get divorced some years back, so she knows he isn't entirely innocent. Quaaludes anyone?

Roxxsmom · May 3, 2018

frimble3 said:
I suspect that the Academy's 'criteria' is that the person's career is so firmly over that the Academy can see no prospects of them being of any further use.

You're probably right. Wish we didn't have to be this cynical, but...

BenPanced · May 3, 2018

Alessandra Kelley said:
I have no idea what their criteria are. This is only expulsions #3 and #4 from the Academy's entire history (and Harvey Weinstein was #2).

Standards of Conduct and Process for Submitting Claims of Misconduct

Academy membership is a privilege offered to only a select few within the global community of filmmakers. In addition to achieving excellence in the field of motion picture arts and sciences, members must also behave ethically by upholding the Academy’s values of respect for human dignity, inclusion, and a supportive environment that fosters creativity. The Academy asks that members embrace their responsibility to affirm these principles and act when these principles are violated. There is no place in the Academy for people who abuse their status, power or influence in a manner that violates recognized standards of decency. The Academy is categorically opposed to any form of abuse, harassment or discrimination on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, disability, age, religion, or nationality. The Board of Governors believes that these standards are essential to the Academy’s mission and reflective of our values.
If any member is found by the Board of Governors to have violated these standards or to have compromised the integrity of the Academy by their actions, the Board of Governors may take any disciplinary action permitted by the Academy's Bylaws, including suspension or expulsion.

(Emphases mine.)

There's more, including a claim submission button at the bottom of the page.

Technophobe · May 3, 2018

Well, there goes the tiny shred of respect I had for Camille Cosby.

waylander · May 4, 2018

IANAL but doesn't Mrs Cosby's statemment constitute defamation?

Tazlima · May 4, 2018

Cosby's wife of more than five decades also equated Cosby's fate to the death of Emmett Till, the black teen who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955 after witnesses said they saw him suggestively whistling at a white woman. The killers, meanwhile, were acquitted.

"Once again, an innocent person has been found guilty based on an unthinking, unquestioning, unconstitutional frenzy propagated by the media and allowed to play out in a supposed court of law," Camille Cosby wrote. "This is mob justice, not real justice. This tragedy must be undone not just for Bill Cosby, but for the country."

This is all kinds of wrong. Apart from the disgraceful comparison to Emmett Till, the mindset of onlookers in the two cases were completely different, not because racism isn't still rampant in the US (clearly it is), but because COSBY WAS BELOVED.

I remember when I first heard the allegations; I desperately wanted them to be untrue. I wanted to believe he was innocent. I wanted to believe the image I grew up watching was based in reality. Cosby was a symbol of kindness, and innocence, and goodness, and thoughtful introspection, and trying to tease out the thread of the right thing to do from the messy tapestry that is life. He shared a place in my mind with Mr. Rogers, and it was devastating to realize it wasn't reality, but a carefully cultivate image that served as camouflage for a predator, a pretty, shiny lure with an anglerfish lurking behind it.

I have no doubt of his guilt, but I mourn the loss of the person I thought he was.

The media didn't whip anybody into a frenzy, they simply shone a light on the predator until people had no choice but to recognize the reality beneath the varnish. They did their job, even though they knew it would hurt because, like cancer, sometimes things that don't hurt can be dangerous, and removing those things can hurt a lot, but eventually that pain will pass, and the result will be true health.

If there was a mob mentality in play, he was convicted despite that mentality, not because of it.

nighttimer · May 5, 2018

frimble3 said:
She's been with him for 50 years. 50 years of "I hear nothing, I see nothing, I know nothing". That much willful blindness is not going to suddenly clear up. 'Stand by your man' has become, not a song, but a lifestyle.
She should at least have the grace to shut up, rather than making ridiculous comparisons to an innocent victim, killed by a mob.

Agreed, and seconded, but not just by me. It's not my place to go and try and put Camille Cosby in check the way she needs to be put in check. No, the best qualified person to talk sense to a Black woman like Camille is another Black woman:

Dear Mrs. Camille Cosby:

Please, for the love of God and all things good, just be quiet.

It’s over.

Your dear husband — and to be quite honest, one of my first celebrity idols — was convicted last week of three counts of sexual assault.

I know that seems unfair to you, especially in a world where disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and President Trump, who have both been accused of similar acts, still roam free. So I can only imagine that Bill Cosby’s possible jail time seems particularly egregious to you. You pledged to love Bill till death do you part. Separation by a 30-year prison term was not part of the deal.

But, Mrs. Cosby, to compare your husband’s trial and conviction to a lynching and use the case of Emmett Till as a metaphor, as you did Thursday morning in a three-page statement, is not just outrageous, it’s a fallacy. It’s right up there with Kanye West’s Tuesday afternoon dumb-dumb talk that included the tweet, “slavery was a choice.”

This kind of gross exaggeration only serves to distort the painful legacy of African American men: Those powerless brothers of yesteryear who were killed for the minor infractions of not lowering their eyes or clearing the sidewalk when a white woman crossed their path. Philando Castile, Trayvon Martin, and Sandra Bland also come to mind.

So how can you — a race woman from the 1960s era — even fix your mouth to make that statement?

frimble3 · May 5, 2018

Thank you for the link. Very well written, and, yes, it has more validity coming from another Black woman.

CWatts · May 6, 2018

frimble3 said:
Thank you for the link. Very well written, and, yes, it has more validity coming from another Black woman.

Agreed.
It's particularly damaging when early role models like Cosby fall, but I have to cynically wonder if his misogyny and sexual predation may have actually helped him behind the scenes with powerful men in Hollywood? Kind of like how even now, black and white men bond over rape culture on athletic teams (see: Steubenville)?

frimble3 · May 6, 2018

Tazlima said:
This is all kinds of wrong. Apart from the disgraceful comparison to Emmett Till, the mindset of onlookers in the two cases were completely different, not because racism isn't still rampant in the US (clearly it is), but because COSBY WAS BELOVED.

I remember when I first heard the allegations; I desperately wanted them to be untrue. I wanted to believe he was innocent. I wanted to believe the image I grew up watching was based in reality. Cosby was a symbol of kindness, and innocence, and goodness, and thoughtful introspection, and trying to tease out the thread of the right thing to do from the messy tapestry that is life. He shared a place in my mind with Mr. Rogers, and it was devastating to realize it wasn't reality, but a carefully cultivate image that served as camouflage for a predator, a pretty, shiny lure with an anglerfish lurking behind it.

I have no doubt of his guilt, but I mourn the loss of the person I thought he was.

The media didn't whip anybody into a frenzy, they simply shone a light on the predator until people had no choice but to recognize the reality beneath the varnish. They did their job, even though they knew it would hurt because, like cancer, sometimes things that don't hurt can be dangerous, and removing those things can hurt a lot, but eventually that pain will pass, and the result will be true health.

If there was a mob mentality in play, he was convicted despite that mentality, not because of it.

I think the other effect of Cosby's 'America's Dad' image, is that when the truth came out, there was an urge to punish his perfidy.
Show biz people, politicians, and 'religious' men, eh, most people recognize that they are experts in using people to get what they want. When they are revealed as predators, no-one is really all that surprised.
It may hit home if it's your minister, representative, employer, or favourite celebrity, but, in general, I think there's an attitude of 'What do you expect from those people?'
It's not about Cosby being Black, the response would be the same if it was Mr. Rogers, or a long-time department store Santa.
The response is not about his actions, it's about the feeling of betrayal.

frimble3 · May 6, 2018

CWatts said:
Agreed.
It's particularly damaging when early role models like Cosby fall, but I have to cynically wonder if his misogyny and sexual predation may have actually helped him behind the scenes with powerful men in Hollywood? Kind of like how even now, black and white men bond over rape culture on athletic teams (see: Steubenville)?

I can totally see it. "He may be Black, but he's just like us!"
And they should all be ashamed of themselves. As they have no sense of shame, it's gotta be public humiliation.

Twick · May 7, 2018

CWatts said:
Agreed.
It's particularly damaging when early role models like Cosby fall, but I have to cynically wonder if his misogyny and sexual predation may have actually helped him behind the scenes with powerful men in Hollywood? Kind of like how even now, black and white men bond over rape culture on athletic teams (see: Steubenville)?

That's an interesting thought. It's clear that, for many years, the idea of a man "getting one over" on a woman sexually, by rape, drugging or other coercion, was seen in Hollywood as something humorous rather than criminal. Certainly the ability to join what Trump called "locker room talk" by boasting of his conquests couldn't have hurt him.

Alessandra Kelley · Sep 24, 2018

The sentencing hearing started this morning.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2018/09/23/bill-cosby-sentencing-what-expect/1360531002/

A grim-faced Cosby, 81, entered the Montgomery County courthouse at 8:15 a.m. EDT as a small handful of protesters shouted at him.

The comedian will learn his fate following his April conviction on three counts of aggravated felony sexual assault for drugging and molesting a former friend, Andrea Constand, at his home in Montgomery County outside Philadelphia in January 2004.

Whatever happens, will not be the end of the matter. Cosby is expected to appeal his conviction, which could be overturned at some future date.

SWest · Sep 24, 2018

His attorneys are turning things into a real sh!@show, filing an official complaint about the trial judge with the Judicial Conduct Review Board of Pennsylvania in Camille's name.

MaeZe · Sep 24, 2018

It's like he's trying to run out the clock, dies before he spends a day in jail. And the courts are enabling him. What's with waiting six months to sentence him? Put the man in jail already!

nighttimer · Sep 25, 2018

Bill Cosby will likely learn his fate today.

Bill Cosby’s sentencing hearing for the drugging and sexual assault of Andrea Constand began in a Pennsylvania courtroom Monday. Cosby was facing a maximum of 30 years in prison, but the judge in his case said he will likely be imprisoned for less than three years.

Despite a psychologist from Pennsylvania’s Sexual Offenders Assessment Board testifying that Cosby has a personality disorder that makes him a “sexually violent predator” who has an interest in having sex with nonconsenting partners, Judge Steven T. O’Neill chose to merge two of the counts in his case, reducing his potential sentence from 30 years in prison to just ten years. O’Neill said that based on state guidelines for sentencing, Cosby could serve 22 to 34 months in prison. (emphasis added)

Cosby was convicted in April on three counts of aggravated indecent assault on charges that he drugged and sexually assaulted Constand—a former Temple University administrator—in 2004.

Cosby’s sentencing hearing could wrap up as early as Tuesday. A delay in the hearing was caused after Cosby’s defense attorneys demanded to hear from the state psychologist who originally put in his report that Cosby should be designated a sexually violent predator—Dr. Timothy Foley.

Cosby’s attorneys have argued that his advanced age, 81, as well as the fact that he is legally blind make him less of a risk to anyone—especially since there have been no new allegations against him since 2004.

The sexually violent predator notation is a sticking point because if the judge agrees with it, Cosby would not only be required to have routine counseling for the rest of his life but even if he does not go to prison, he would still be required to check in with police once a month.

There is still no word as to whether or not Cosby will speak on his own behalf during the proceedings, but Judge O’Neill thinks he should.

“I hope that if he so chooses, he will get the last word,” O’Neill said.

I too hope Bill Cosby speaks up. Whatever his fate, I hope he would take this opportunity to speak to Andrea Constrand and all the women he preyed upon for years and apologize and ask for forgiveness. I hope Cosby would take the opportunity to speak to his fans whom he disappointed and manipulated with his lies and good-guy facade. I hope Cosby would take the opportunity to speak to his wife (whom I doubt will show up in court today) and family that he betrayed.

I hope for all of those things and I expect none of them to happen. Cosby will remain mute, haughty, and unapologetic. Men like Cosby are incapable of feeling remorse for their actions. Many serial killers don't see their victims as actual human beings and the same goes for serial rapists. Cosby has no empathy in him. Women only exist to please him and give him pleasure. What they get out of it is unimportant.

They are silent no longer.

And as far as William E. Cosby being too blind, too old and too sick to serve 10-to-30 years and in effect serve a death sentence, I have a response: Get the Fuck Outta Here With that Shit.

One commenter summed it up nicely:

The ‘he’s old, he can’t rape anymore’ argument shouldn’t be terribly persuasive, you know. Rehabilitation is only part of the theory of imprisonment. Punishment is the much larger part. I don’t give a fuck if he’s blind, deaf, unable to speak, paralyzed from the neck down, and experiencing the end stages of alzheimer’s. His ass should spend every last day of 30 years in prison, should he live that long. He should never take another free breath.

And that the judge is treating him like the victim with this whole ‘having the last word’ bullshit is the limit. This kind of nonsense is why I didn’t go into criminal law.

Mic drop.

Alessandra Kelley · Sep 25, 2018

The judge has ruled Cosby is “a sexually violent predator.”

The label means Cosby, 81, must undergo counselling for life and appear on the sex offenders' registry.

A judge made the ruling ahead of sentencing the comedian for drugging and molesting a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.

At a retrial in April, Cosby was found guilty of three counts of sexual assault against Andrea Constand.

Tuesday's classification means he will need to register with state police and notify any community he lives in of his sex offender status, as well as undergo mandatory counselling for life.

Neighbours, childcare centres and schools will have be notified
of his whereabouts.

SWest · Sep 25, 2018

This ruling is also going to make the defamation lawsuits against his other victims smell funny.

nighttimer · Sep 25, 2018

The fall from grace is complete. Bill Cosby is going to prison from 3-to-10 years.

Less than two hours after being designated a sexually violent predator, Bill Cosby has been sentenced to 3 to 10 years in prison by a Pennsylvania judge after being convicted for the 2004 rape of former Temple University employee Andrea Constand.

The ruling by Judge Steven O’Neill comes nearly three years after the much accused actor once known as “America’s Dad” was arrested an charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault against Constand. With Cosby sitting in the Norristown, PA courthouse, Tuesday’s long-expected decision comes six months after a jury found the actor guilty of all three counts in a retrial.

“No one is above the law,” O’Neil said from the bench to Cosby, who was seated just in front of him in the Montgomery County courtroom. He added that it’s no matter what their “wealth, fame, celebrity or even philanthropy” — a clear dig at the latter element Cosby’s lawyers frequently brought regarding their client’s character.

Proclaiming he felt feel a duty to “the public, the Commonwealth and the defendant,” O’Neill said there would be “no probation, no limited confinement” such as home arrest. “I am compelled to consider the guidelines,” O’Neill told the court of the prison time, which is up to four years under legislative rules in the law.

“This is a court of law and I plan to sentence you under the law,” O’Neill said.

Attorneys for Cosby are expected to quickly file an appeal, but their client will have to cool his heels in prison while that case moves up to the state Supreme Court. His prison time will start immediately in a state facility; he had been under house arrest and out on $1 million bail.

Reading poetry of a great fall and noting “who he is and who he was,” O’Neill told Cosby while reading his sentence that he will have to participate in sex offenders treatment while behind bars.

Having gone through a battalion of defense lawyers since being charged, Cosby sat in court yesterday and today as his current team tried to convince O’Neill to spare the 81-year-old prison time based on his age and health. But with more than 80 inmates older than Cosby in Pennsylvania’s prison system, and a recently opened $400 million facility for seniors with health issues like the actor, the argument never gained traction with either the judge or the D.A.

“You were old then,” the judge said while reading the sentence today, decimating the belief that Cosby is too old and sick for prison.

The guilty verdict at the April retrial held a combined sentence of up to 30 years, but on Monday the Montgomery County D.A. and the defense agreed to collapse the three counts into one with a 10-year maximum sentence. In recently filed paperwork and in closing arguments, D.A. Kevin Steele advocated for a sentence close to a decade plus fines and court costs. However, O’Neill indicated Monday that he was looking at a sentence closer to the state guidelines of 22 to 36 months.

Meanwhile, today’s earlier ruling labeling Cosby a sexually violent predator means he must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life and check in with state police monthly. With the prison time, Cosby will also be required to attend counseling and provide details of any change in residence once he is released.

As sources told Deadline today, the Cosby will be handcuffed in the courtroom and led out by Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department deputies. He will then be taken to the lower part of the courthouse to complete paperwork before being transported to a nearby state prison.

MaeZe · Sep 25, 2018

His prison time will start immediately in a state facility

That is what should have happened right after the conviction. At least the judge didn't send him home yet again to 'get his affairs in order'.

Three years is not enough but maybe that means he'll have to listen to the women he raped tell the parole board why he should not get parole.

frimble3 · Sep 25, 2018

Good for the judge for not agreeing with any of the 'oh, poor old guy' arguments. This makes it harder for the next sexual felon to try to pull that crap. "Oh, he's so old, young, misunderstood, privileged. disadvantaged, etc. He's such a great scholar, athlete, whatever."

Good for the judge calling out the 'he's a great philanthropist' excuse, in particular, which in this case means that you giveth with one hand, and rapeth with the other.

What is that great quote? Oh, yeah: "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime."

BenPanced · Sep 25, 2018

nighttimer said:
Camille Cosby has released a statement and much to my disgust she went Full Emmett Till.

Cosby's publicist had this to say:

“This has been the most racist and sexist trial in the history of the United States,” he said, laying the blame at the feet of “white women who make money off of accusing black men of being sexual predators.”

“They persecuted Jesus and look what happened,” Wyatt added. “Mr. Cosby is fine. He’s holding up well. Anyone who wants to say anything negative, you’re a joke as well.”

Marian Perera · Sep 26, 2018

“They persecuted Jesus and look what happened,” Wyatt added.

He accepted his sentence and punishment. Go and do thou likewise.

Bill Cosby: America's Favorite Dad...and Rapist?

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