Friday, February 6, 2015

A Look At Cosby Abuse Allegations

By Beryl Dalton


Over decades, Cosby has cultivated a father figure image besides being an entertainer. Cosby abuse allegations have dealt this image a major blow. Everyone considered him a father figure and has participated in numerous mentorship programs for young boys. His moral authority is now in question as the list of accusers grows.

Andrea Constand is the most popular accuser after the court filing in 2005. During the time of her molestation she worked with Temple University women basketball team as their director of operations. According to Andrea, the renowned comic molested her in Pennsylvania in 2004. She further claims that police refused to take her statement. She has opened a flood gate with up to twelve women coming forward with similar accusations.

Tamara Green joins a list of twelve other accusers with her claim that the comic drugged her groped her while she was unconscious. A similar pattern of drugging can be seen in the twelve women who have come forward. The actor has maintained his innocence amidst all the claims.

According to Philadelphia Daily News, one of the anonymous women in the papers filed by Andrea Constand is Beth Ferrier. In her words, the comic drugged and sexually assaulted her in the 1980s inside a car in Denver. The story is said to have surfaced in 2005 but was killed by the tabloid after lawyers pressured them. Andrea is said to have settled her lawsuit out of court in November 2006.

Barbara Bowman revealed that she was in the anonymous list filed by Andrea. She met the accomplished actor and comedian in 1980, who was by then her mentor. He is said to have assaulted her a number of times in New York and Reno.

The story hit headlines again in 2014 after Barbara and Tamara had their claims reprinted in Newsweek and Gawker. The media was warming up to Cosby with reruns of his shows, appearance in stand-up comedies and new shows. Netflix was planning a standup appearance on November 28th while NBC was to feature him as a patriarch in an extended family for their new show.

Mark Whitaker, formerly of CNN and Newsweek, wrote a biography Cosby, His Life and Times. While the comedian is said to have cooperated, the book did not mention any of the allegations. In his defense, the writer cited lack of evidence and inability to independently verify the claims by accusers. According to Whitaker, even the courts have not been able to verify them which means that they did not meet his threshold.

Buress Hannibal in a comedy show in Philadelphia made a comment that went viral online. This reignited the debate which was later fueled by a publication by Daily Mail of the original accusations by Barbara Bowman. Barbara describes the accomplished comedian as a monster. Despite mentioning the topic several times during his shows, Buress claims that it never caught the attention of the world.

The return of the comedian to action has been hampered by these allegations. Several appearances on shows have been cancelled including airing of programs on TV Land, Netflix and NBC. His appearances on the Late Night Show with David Letterman and Queen Latifah Show were also canceled. The old comic has received support from Phylicia Rashad, a one time member of his team and Whoopi Goldberg, a renowned actor, among others.




About the Author:



0 comments:

Post a Comment