Bill Cosby Gives Rape Allegations The Silent Treatment
Several women have accused Bill Cosby of rape and sexual misconduct over the past decade. But the accusations, which have received only sporadic media coverage in the past, came roaring back to the headlines this week after a fellow standup comedian called Cosby a rapist on stage.
To make matters worse for Cosby, a Twitter campaign he supported this week that intended to make him a “meme” backfired badly.
Although Cosby reportedly reached a financial settlement with at least one of his accusers, he has never been prosecuted. According to Mark Whitaker, a journalist who wrote Cosby’s biography, there have been “no definitive court findings, no independent witnesses.”
Nonetheless, the allegations are suddenly having a legacy-threatening impact on Cosby’s career. His scheduled appearances on The Queen Latifah Show and Late Night With David Letterman are off, and many media writers are wondering whether his forthcoming NBC sitcom will still make it to air. (Editor’s note: His NBC sitcom has now been canceled, his Netflix special has been called off, and reruns of “The Cosby Show” have been pulled from TV Land.)
Cosby appeared on NPR’s Weekend Edition this morning to discuss an unrelated topic. When host Scott Simon asked him to comment on the allegations, Cosby said….nothing. (Simon had to tell the audience that Cosby was shaking his head). When Simon tried a second time, there was complete silence once again. When Simon tried a third time, still nothing.
Cosby’s silence doesn’t equal guilt. I always keep in mind former California Congressman Gary Condit who, in 2001, remained publicly silent for weeks about his role in the disappearance and murder of intern Chandra Levy. While the public took his quiet public stance as a sign of his guilt, he was later found to have no role in her disappearance.
But whether it’s fair or not (and to be clear, I believe it’s entirely possible that his numerous accusers are telling the truth), Cosby’s radio silence will likely be seen by many—I’d guess most—as a sign of his guilt. And although Cosby has maintained his innocence either directly or through his representatives in the past, he’s had nothing to say on this latest—and most threatening—wave of negative publicity.
Cosby’s strange silence on NPR guaranteed more publicity for the allegations against him than a banal response would have (e.g. “I’ve answered questions about this topic in the past, and I’m not going to help keep this story alive by commenting further.”)
All of this raises a question: If he was unprepared or unwilling to answer a question on a topic that would so obviously come up, why did he proceed with the interview? Why not stay out of the public eye until either the media coverage died down or he had something more substantive to say? Although I usually think that remaining silent during a swirling controversy is a bad idea, remaining silent during a national media interview is an even worse idea.
I was a teenager during The Cosby Show’s run. I loved the program. Now that I have a toddler son, I’ve often thought about buying the series when he’s a bit older and enjoying classic Cosby moments together: Dr. Huxtable taking Monopoly money from Theo; Rudy lip syncing to a Ray Charles classic; the high fives that follow the discovery that Theo is dyslexic.
But these allegations throw into question for me whether Cosby is the moral force I want to share with my son. My guess is that I’m not alone in those concerns. For that reason, and others that are far more important, my sense is that Cosby will need to address these allegations more directly soon—or risk losing further bookings, his forthcoming show, and his reputation.
UPDATE: NOVEMBER 16, 2014, 10:00 AM:
Bill Cosby just tweeted a statement from his attorney that reads:
“Over the last several weeks, decade-old, discredited allegations against Mr. Cosby have resurfaced. The fact that they are being repeated does not make them true. Mr. Cosby does not intend to dignify these allegations with any comment. He would like to thank all his fans for the outpouring of support and assure them that, at age 77, he is doing his best work. There will be no further statement from Mr. Cosby or any of his representatives.
– John P. Schmitt, lawyer for Bill Cosby”
His refusal to speak will not quell this controversy. If anything, it will achieve the opposite, since it will leave an open, undefended playing field for his accusers to have their stories heard. If he’s guilty of these allegations, his silence might be better for his long-term reputation than an overt confession or unconvincing media interview. But if he’s innocent, his refusal to speak will cement for many, unfortunately, that the allegations are true.
UPDATE: NOVEMBER 21, 2014
I appeared on Washington’s WTOP radio to discuss this case. You can hear the audio here. (Audio no longer available.)
What do you think? Please leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
Share this article
- Share on Facebook
- Share on Twitter
- Share on LinkedIn
- Share on Email
Let me preface this by saying this is in NO WAY a defense of Bill Cosby or his actions. However, I have to state that the silent approach is the proper path at this point, whether or not he is innocent. And I use the same Condit example to explain my point to whomever I work with…
There is nothing Cosby can do to get his reputation back. No interview would be viewed cleanly and the multiple accusers would be all over the media speaking about it, calling him a liar while repeating the charges in horrific detail. His innocence, if real, doesn’t matter anymore. (Yes, I found that sentence easier to write because of the mass of people who have come out with their rape allegations, hush payments or bizarre experiences.)
Maybe it’s because of the job we shared in common, but I too use the Condit experience as a teaching tool. I am like you to a large extent; going before the cameras – if the truth is on your side – shows transparency and helps regain trust lost during the initial storm of allegations. However, my Condit lesson is different. There is a point of no return on talking to the media. If you hit that point, you have to let the fire burn itself out.
Condit is the perfect example. He was silent during the summer of 2001 and took an appropriate beating in the media because Levy was still missing. Because Condit knew he was innocent and we wanted to make the drumbeat stop, he finally gave in on August 23, 2001, with Connie Chung. It was too late to have the desired effect. It was a disaster and served as a final nail in his public coffin, even though, as it turned out, the truth about the worst allegations was on his side.
I took part in an interview shortly after Condit/Chung. I stated then that he shouldn’t have talked, the damage was done, and he had reignited the story. Only the legal process could save his name at this point.
I also said, on September 6, 2001, that the media attention would go away – it always does – and that some bigger story would come along and knock him off the front page.
I don’t have to tell you what that event was. We barely heard Condit’s name again.
Cosby can only put himself in legal trouble if he speaks now and the only thing he is “saving” is a few concert dates in Poughkeepsee. The entertainment industry is doing what it does; simply moving on to someone else. Just ask Mel Gibson.
Guilty or innocent, this is first paragraph material in the obituaries. However, by not speaking, he shortens the lifespan of this story right now. The media will eventually move away onto another story. It always does.
I agree with Mike McGill. Silence is his best option at this point. Speaking out would hurt him more than help and only prolong this media whirlwind and open up the floodgates for more women to come out. In fact he did provide a banal response to a Florida newspaper over the weekend, so the only thing he can do is ride this out until the next big scandal or news event hits.
And where is the help and advice for all the women this man has abused? No wonder they never came forward–there are too many examples of women discredited and lives disrupted by powerful men. Look what happened to Anita Hill and Monica Lewinsky.
Hoping another crisis will supplant this and waiting for the news to blow over doesn’t bring justice to the victims. Justice is not served by ignoring this issue. The sooner we stop supporting the Bill Cosby’s of the world with our dollars, our advice, our admiration, our support– the sooner this type of behavior will become unacceptable because there will be consequences. As it now stands, women are not believed, and these abuses will continue until women find their own powerful voices.
The internet does at least serve that purpose–women are finding their voice and exposing the Bill Cosby’s of the world.
I think both you and the commenter above make some interesting points.As a media consumer, when I hear a silence like that in the face of a difficult question, it is intensely uncomfortable. It comes across as arrogant or condescending. I am reminded of Australian PM Tony Abbott’s painful silences when asked questions challenging his policies. He stared the cameraman down and just smiled at him and nodded. John Oliver then parodied it on his comedy show and Abbott became a laughingstock. I would think even saying “I’m not going to comment on that during this interview” or something to that affect would be better than complete silence.
With all that said, however, I’m not particularly invested in Cosby saving face. As someone who works in the field of DV/sexual assault, I know false allegations are very rare and exist largely in the minds of those trying to protect perpetrators. I just hope that the truth comes out.
Let’s not be naive about the attraction of celebrities. One cannot begin to imagine the stratosphere these people flourish in–the parties, the drugs, the energy, the charisma and the strongest of attractions to those who want to be part of it all. Cosby was one of the most charismatic of celebrities in the 70s and 80s. If what these women are saying is true, why pursue at the time, a gentleman of the sort that Cosby allegedly was? There are just as many women, I’m sure, who knew of his indiscretions and figured the hobnobbing with him just wasn’t worth the risk. We don’t hear from them.
I, too, believe his silence is his best course right now. A short while ago, when he came out with disparaging remarks about young blacks and how they should be turning their lives around, and he also mentioned some of the aspects of our culture that are shameful, so many people agreed and still agree with his sentiments. At that time I figured it wouldn’t be long before somebody took him down. And, sure enough, someone did.
He is right in so many ways and in so many ways, historically, if these allegations are true, he’s been terribly wrong, misguided and blinded by that celebrity-takes-all attitude that is so much a part of the entertainment industry.
[…] stature and the seriousness of the allegations, his silence became the news. Brad Phillips of Mr. Media Training noted that Cosby’s mishandling of the interview resulted in even more media and social media […]
[…] stature and the seriousness of the allegations, his silence became the news. Brad Phillips of Mr. Media Training noted that Cosby’s mishandling of the interview resulted in even more media and social media […]