Bill Cosby to Teach Sexual Predator Wannabes How to Get Away With It

At times there seems like there are two Bill Cosbys. The first was THE comedian of the second half of the 20th century, the man who made everyone laugh with his bestselling comedy albums, reassured children with wonderful animated shows like Fat Albert and Little Bill, and inspired as the lovable Dr. Heathcliff  Huxtable on The Cosby Show. Who didn’t fantasize being invited to visit the Huxtable living room and listen to Christopher Plummer spout Shakespeare and B.B. King sing the blues?

Then there’s the current Cosby, the sexual predator who has been accused by 60 women of having drugged and sexually violated them. This is the Cosby who characterizes all of those women as liars and had the audacity to complain that former Pennsylvania District Attorney Bruce Castor reneged on his deal never to criminally charge him—even though that deal was illegal.  This is the sexual predator who wants to travel across the United States convening “Town Halls” on how not to get accused of being sexual predator. Or, as Christina Cauterucci on Slate put it—“Bill Cosby Wants to Teach Cheating Husbands and Male Athletes How Not to Get Accused of Rape.”

In other words, the real Cosby.

It should be clear by now that Cosby, like many sexual predators, is a bully. He attacks those who call him out with false accusations implying that his victims’ initial openness and trust was an invitation to sexual intimacy. And his talents at deflection would put Donald Trump to shame. According to attorney Gloria Allred who represents a number of women who have accused Cosby of assault, these proposed Town Halls are actually an insidious strategy. She recently told the New York Times that the “workshops appear to be a transparent and slick effort to attempt to influence the jury pool from which jurors will be selected for his second criminal trial.”

The only thing anyone needs to know is if you don’t want to be accused of sexual abuse—DON’T ABUSE ANYONE. These transparent attempts to turn his victims into villains and regain public sympathy are sinister and chilling.  

Andrew Faas is the author of From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire.

Photo credit: MMM

Cosby Proves Once Again Bullies Turn Victims into Villains

We like to think that we’re a society that protects the vulnerable, but the continued power of celebrity bullies like Bill Cosby and Bill O’Reilly makes you wonder. Both bad Bills are fond of the bully’s favorite tactic—turning their victims into villains. In Cosby’s case it’s the brave woman who came forward to seek justice for being sexually abused. O’Reilly meanwhile is promising an all-out assault on those who put an end to his decades of misbehavior by promising an “exposé” of a “left-wing cabal”—just as soon as his current legal quagmire is finished, of course.

It makes me feel deeply that hope is in short supply when it comes to helping victims seek justice.

At least O’Reilly is widely known as a bully, braggart and blowhard. His ability to avoid justice has been due in part thanks to his late friend and fellow bully and sexual predator Roger Ailes, but the accusations against him have been no surprise.

This is contrary to Cosby, who was beloved by an entire generation for his clean humor, intelligent children’s cartoons and endearing turn as Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable on The Cosby Show. That’s why the revelation of multiple cases of rape and molestation has been such a shock. When America’s favorite dad turns out to be a serial sexual predator, how are victims expected to get any sort of closure?

This is where the justice system is flawed. More than 40 women have come forward with stories about being sexually violated by Cosby, but the trial allowed the testimony of only one of them. This made the trial a case of he said/she said without giving the jury the full picture. Why should they listen to a young woman against the word of the most lovable father figure of the 1980s?

The system is clearly stacked against people who are targeted, especially if they’re marginalized or not people of means. Tragically, this allows bullies to think of themselves as bullet-proof and continue their misdeeds. No wonder so many of us are losing faith in the justice system.

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When the Fear Factor Outweighs the O’Reilly Factor

When the leader of the free world endorses someone who is a serial sexual harasser it is tantamount to giving sexual predators not just permission, but encouragement, to misbehave. Yesterday Donald Trump told the New York Times about allegations against Fox News host Bill O'Reilly, “Personally I think he shouldn’t have settled...I don’t think Bill did anything wrong. I think he’s a person I know well. He is a good person.” 

In my book, From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire, I discuss how absolutely critical it is to alter the attitudes of organizational leaders in order to create psychologically healthy, safe, fair and inclusive workplaces. But for this to happen, and the bullying and abuse to end, the entire organization requires a major shift in attitude. Trump, with his endorsement of O’Reilly, has destroyed any shift that has taken place in recent years.

I don’t buy O’Reilly’s claim that the lack of complaints to human resources over the last 20 years means that allegations are baseless. With Roger Ailes as boss, what would be the point to put in a complaint? The fear factor outweighed the O’Reilly Factor when it came to seeking justice.

Clearly, sexual predators like O’Reilly, Trump, Ailes and Bill Cosby are from a generation that sees women as objects.  The New York Times pointed out that O’Reilly’s “hectoring braggadocio and no-apologies nostalgia for a bygone American era mirror Mr. Trump’s own.”

They have become the worst kind of role models—symbols not just of privilege, but of disrespect and even harm for women. It’s particularly surprising for someone of this ilk dotes on his own daughter, Ivanka. And yet Trump’s track record speaks volumes about his disregard for women. From his disparagement of former Miss Universe Alicia Machado, to his multiple settlements against sexual harassment claims, to his well known fraternization with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, Trump is no different than Ailes and O’Reilly.

I believe that Trump’s endorsement of O’Reilly might be one comment too many when it comes to reelection and may even make Russiagate pale in comparison. When you examine his comments to Billy Bush, his support of Roger Ailes and his recent comments about O’Reilly, I predict he has painted himself into a corner as a sexual predator that will end his political career.

Photo credit: The Daily Beast/Reuters