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