About that EBONY Magazine Cover and the Cosby Conundrum
Yesterday, EBONY dropped the mic on everyone when they released the cover of their November 2015 issue. It is a cover made to look like a cracked picture, featuring the Huxtables. The crack starts on the face of Heathcliff, which is mostly covered because of it, and it spreads throughout, but everyone else’s face is still visible. And then you look and realize that Cliff is covering Rudy’s ears.
The moment I saw this cover, I said “WELL DAMB. They went there.” Yes, they surely did. They took it there, came back and ran to the grocery store. That cover is instantly iconic, and there is no way you can look at it and not feel the gut punch that was intended. Whether you hated it or loved it, it gave you a visceral reaction, because the statement is loud and clear, and the conversation we are meant to confront is incredibly uncomfortable but necessary.
EBONY’s team had to know that backlash would happen. It is strong. It is bold. It is just right. To me, it is perfect. Mass rage has spilled out on their Facebook fan page since the cover dropped. People are wall-sliding and sobbing all over their comments, talking about how Ebony has betrayed the Black community, ruined their childhood and stole their last piece of candy. Folks are threatening boycotts, cancelling subscriptions and saying they’ll never support anything EBONY does ever again. People are UP and SET. If you want to fight the air, go take a look. The Butthurt Brigade is out. And I have to say, I am fascinated by the level of vitriol that is coming at this cover.
I interpret the cover pretty literally. The allegations of rape that are being dropped at Bill Cosby’s feet have tarnished the legacy of a man called “America’s dad” and of the show that he created to be semi-autobiographical. He caused the crack but it reverberates through the entire cast photo because those people in the picture were a part of the magic of the Cosby Show. Without them, he would not be America’s dad. That does not mean they are to blame for any of it. Let me repeat: THEY ARE NOT TO BLAME. But their legacies in those roles are tied together and the success of the show was because they played an amazing unit. You cannot watch the Cosby Show without any of them. It also has Rudy’s ears being covered by Cliff and this seems to be a wink to our “hear no evil” approach to this. We don’t want to hear it, or talk about it.
No, I don’t see the exclusion of Raven-Symone as shade. Don’t forget that she wasn’t a part of the show until season 5.
Like countless others, I grew up watching the Cosby Show. I can quote many episodes verbatim, and it had a very special piece of my heart. It was the prototype for familial perfection, and it was revolutionary in that it dared to paint a Black family as such. I loved the show fiercely, so I get the attachment to it. This is why this cover was an immediate jab to the chest for us.
We are attached to the Huxtables, particularly Healthcliff, the patriarch. Some people imagined him to be their father, and the idea that he could be a monster in real life shatters our hearts to pieces. THIS is important because it is one of the reasons why Bill Cosby is being defended so vigorously against the allegations. Well, there’s also the part about society not giving a shit about women’s bodies and rape culture is a bitch. It’s also undeniable that it is because people do not want to think of Cliff Huxtable as a rapist.
You’re probably like “Ok but why have Dr. Huxtable on the cover? Why not Bill?” It is true that Bill and Cliff are not the same person. BUT Bill is prospering from the Cliff Cape and Armor. The reason he has been protected, besides the obvious that society doesn’t give a damb about women, is that people are giving him leeway BECAUSE of what he represents in Heathcliff. You do not know Bill. You know Cliff. Bill is the guy you know is married to Camille. Cliff is the coogi sweater-wearing face of fatherhood. That is who you’re giving the benefit of the doubt when you shrug off those allegations. Claire’s husband would never drug women. Rudy’s dad would not dare to use his power to get women to do sordid shit. Dr. Huxtable, the gynecologist, would never cross those boundaries. True. But Bill Cosby very well might have.
We must separate Bill and Cliff to be able to understand that one was a fictional character, who was made up and created to be perfect. The other is a real man, with flaws so deep you need floaties. At the same time, we must know that Bill and Cliff are bound together because Bill is still receiving the privileges of Cliff. You aren’t defending Bill. You’re going to bat for Cliff. That is why that cover gave you a visceral reaction. You immediately winced because the idea of Cliff raping 45 women punched you in the gut.
We’ve attached so much real life value to a fake character that some of us want to act like this scandal is not happening. We close our ears and go “I CAN’T HEAR YOU.” We can be disappointed by the comeuppance of the people playing our favorite characters, but we cannot let our love of the legend keep us from addressing the crimes of the real person. We need to separate the persona from the person.
Cliff Huxtable clearly carried the hopes and dreams of Black America because folks are calling this EBONY cover a betrayal. You would think the magazine reneged in a tied up game of Spades. People are hollering, talking about how they are contributing to the downfall of Black people by going along with the plan to bring us all down by bringing down one of our largest icons. Well, Bill did bad all by himself, and calling him out and the consequences of his actions is needed. There are times when we can discuss things as “family business.” And there are times when you need to know when to stand on the porch, get Cicely Tyson to ring a bell and call it out.
Black unity does not mean I cosign your dumb shit and mistakes ALLATAHM because you got melanin. It also does not mean that one of the most iconic Black media outlets should sweep the giant pink elephant in the room under the rug. They are doing the job they should be doing, using facts to drive conversation and tackling topics that are relevant, both tough and mundane.
So the people who are wilding out on their fan page gotta chill. Some of y’all would not defend your own MAMA this much. They’re outchea threatening boycotts and I’m like “Girl, shut up. Shut it up!” Talmbout you boycotting Ebony. I bet your goofass ain’t bought an issue in the last year. NO. ONE. CURR.
I need people to stop with the idle boycott threats for everything they disagree with. You have cried wolf enough. It hasn’t mattered.
The Cosby Show was great, in every sense of the word. It was Black pride in show form, from the music to the art to the fashion. And it is because Bill Cosby insisted that it was unapologetically Black, even down to the crew. The man has done amazing things for the Black community. We cannot deny that. But this whole rape thing ain’t just “some mistake.” Folks have skeletons in their closets but when these skeletons include you taking someone else’s body without their consent, then you’re a fucked up person. And when it is tens of people, then you’re basically Voldemort. Your past charity can only make up for so much.
50 women have come forward saying Bill Cosby molested them, and they are young, old, Black, white. Where there is fuel there is fire, and he has been kicked off the pedestal. Some people are handling it better than others but for some, it is absolutely preposterous and it is a conspiracy against Black America. Break up the Cosbys, and what might be next? Let us check the Willie Lynch letter for it’s psychic readings.
The person who did this is Bill Cosby, not EBONY Magazine for pointing it out. While folks are mad for Bill, are they just as mad for his victims? OR NAH? Some of the comments I’ve seen are stuck on stupid and I am floored. Everyone won’t love this cover, sure. We can be critical of it. But some of the reasons I’ve seen have me facepalming because people are PRESSED. It hurts like hell. I get it. We gotta deal.
I say congrats to the EBONY Magazine team for taking this where it needed to go. This was brave. No one is happy to see this fall from grace but we have to face it and talk about it and heal from it.
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136 Comments
Can’t lie. It hurts.
It does.
As for the Ebony mmagazine cover, I think it’s in poor taste to include the Huxtables. Mr. Cosby also had a show called I Spy, the voice of Fat Albert & Friends, a show call Cosby and several others I can’t recall. Those children and Phylicia had nothing to do with his scandal. Now I’m gonna need that hacking group to check out Ebony editors and employees to see who has broken the law or has a scandalous background. I’m sure someone with malice intent can find something. I don’t subscribe to Ebony, so no love lost here.
In my yoga class, I tell my students to feel the pain, anger, frustration, and stress but, don’t turn from it, don’t run. See it, acknowledge it and begin the journey of dealing with it. Black America, feel the pain, betrayal, and horribleness of Bill Cosby’s (alleged) crimes against women. We need to have the conversation, acknowledge the victims, and help them and us heal.
WORD. We cannot heal from repression. That ain’t how any of this works.
Luvvie, you have replied to two of my posts!!! We officially go together.
Just thinkin… Is this Gravy Train perp the first black man to be so well protected by the media? They say he literally “saved” NBC with his show’s high ratings. He got the white boy treatment for a long time. Started to believe his stuff didn’t stink. Oh, well, all have sinned and fallen short……
The line of the article for me: “Let us check the Willie Lynch letter for it’s psychic readings.” On Point as hell!! This is one of the best articles I’ve ever had the privilege of reading. And the cover in question I think was a stroke of NECESSARY GENIUS. 10 outta 10 ob both counts far as I’m concerned.
WORD.
Very well said, Luvvie. I commend Ebony for taking this step. People need to learn how to separate fact from fiction, and realise that everything is not a conspiracy to bring down black people.
Via Hollywood Reporter
No. 112: The Cosby Show (NBC, 1984-90)
“If the poll had been done two years ago, this show likely would have landed in the top 20, maybe even the top 10. Still, affection for the show is so strong that even after some 50 women have accused eponymous star Bill Cosby of sexual assault, it almost made the list.”
I don’t know how to do the standing ovation online but this deserves one. Best I’ve read about the entire controversy, not just the Ebony cover.
*curtsies*
Agreed.
Yes. One monkey don’t stop the whole show. The truth will set us free.
You’ve given words to all my thoughts…thanks Luvvie for always keeping it 100!
You are so right. I barely watched The Cosby Show growing up therefore have zero attachment to Dr. Huxtable (didn’t even know his 1st name till you said it). I look at it through objective-Bill’s-not-my-daddy eyes. 50 women people … their 40s, their 80s! If Bill did these things my goodness give them the ability to finally tell it. Bill can reap it if he sowed it. If he didn’t he can reap that too. Amazing cover Ebony.
I wonder who’s idea it was to make Cliff a GYNECOLOGIST? I have never put those two things together until just now. A serial rapist portraying a doctor who’s primary function is to heal/help/care for women. ***MIND BLOWN***
I did too! It bothers me now….
???????????? Wow. I didn’t think of that until you just said it. Wow.
Obstetrician. I felt it at the same time you did. Whoa !!!!!
Now I’m wondering thanks to your comment about why we never saw Cliff visit the Hillman Campus on A Different World. Everybody else including Rudy was on that campus at some point. With Cliff being a graduate of that school, why didn’t he get to mentor the pre-med students ( a’la Kim Reese)? Makes one wonder.
Chrissy,
Exactly. When the women talk about the room being cleared, drivers paid to take the women home, money exchanged for silence; don’t think Mr. Cosby is the only one guilty. He had accomplices to carry this out. My problem with the whole thing is waiting until he’s in his 70’s? Really?? Also, I have found a way to move forward from date-rape in college. It’s sad to know that these women did not warn the other one. It’s like knowing your neighbor is a serial killer, but move instead of warn the others on the community.
I had the same question in mind: Why a GYN Dr.? Hmmm, now we know. What a f&%king CREEP!
Very well written response. I must admit I didn’t know what to make of it actually. Although it did make me double over as if I had the worse case of cramps ever. I appreciate you reminding us how society deals with the victims of these types of crimes. It just all very, very, terrible nightmare bad.
The whole thing sucks but we cannot protect monsters in the name of Black power.
And we are strong enough to deal wif da truf. Ain’t it?
Correct, we can’t blindly protect monsters under the guise of Black power.
An artistic and deep, brilliant cover from Ebony indicating the reverb from these Cosby allegations – just look at the damage to Bill Cosby’s face, showing how one can’t distinguish Mr. Cosby, a real man vs. Heathcliff Huxtable the character who’s a doctor. There are so many things in this one cover an THIS, this is what folks choose to be mad at Ebony magazine about.
All those years of REAL LIFE colorism and diminishing certain groups of Black women, that doesn’t warrant outrage, huh? OK. I get it.
Black people… SMH.
I have to disagree, I do not think “Cliff Huxtable” could not have done these things, I think “Bill Cosby” could not have done these things. Cliff Huxtable is pretend plays no part in my thoughts regarding this scandal. I find it next to impossible to believe that Dr. Bill Cosby raped or molested 50 women. had sex with them? Yes, I can believe that. But the fact that he raped or molested 50 women ad not ONE of them said anything until now is ridiculous to me. I could maybe, maybe believe one woman, but 50? Nope. I am not Black, do not think this is a conspiracy against the Black culture. I think this is 50 women who saw the opportunity to jump on the Bill Cosby gravy train, and shame, shame on them for accusing someone of such a horrific thing and using claims of rape and molestation. I do agree with the Ebony cover, however. This scandal, sadly, has fractured the image of The Cosby Show.
I’m baffled by the thought that anyone, especially a woman (but on the internet, who knows?) could still believe that every single one of the 50+ women were in some sort of alliance to tarnish Bill Cosby’s reputation. “Why now?” Because someone of Bill Cosby’s status was virtually impenetrable, and larger-than-life. Those who spoke out were quickly silenced, and others were utterly dismissed, because how could “America’s Dad” be capable of sexual assault?
When a man is protected by that sort of reputation, is it that difficult to believe that these women were silent out of fear and shame? And that, with every new testimony, they finally felt validated to tell their side of the story? Is it that odd to you that their experiences were remarkably similar?
It’s a shame that Bill Cosby’s actions have caused the legacy of his show to be tarnished, but he’s entirely to blame here.
You took the words out of my mouth. Any person is capable of anything. You don’t know Bill Cosby from a holetter in the wall, except what you’ve seen of him in movies, TV, books and the media. How many stories have been told where the people who DID know someone who did something crazy PERSONALLY say “I’m flabbergasted! He/she would have NEVER done that.” BUT. THEY. DID. I don’t know if he did or didn’t, but I know that he’s just a man and, as such, he’s fully capable of the unthinkable like anyone else. It’s already been revealed that he used quaadrules, as he admitted. So he lied HIMSELF? Give me a break. The notion that he’s above doing wrong like other mere humans is what’s insane.
Thank you.
This is not a new story which is a common misconception . Mr.Cosby has been taken to court a few times before & def settled with accusers in past DECADES. Many women were afraid to say something bc of victim bashing & the backlash of accusing a very powerful man. Dealing with rape is not black & white. The man himself admitted to giving women drugs to sleep with then. He made jokes about it for Gods sake.
Yet people are still like “BUT WERE YOU THERE?” It is mind-boggling how hard people are bending to defend this man.
Sooooooooo you would rather dismiss the 50 women than the man who you do not even know, have never met, never had a conversation with. Yes, that makes perfect sense.
Please tell me what they are gaining from this? Ridicule?check. Humiliation?check. Money?Nope. Fame?Not really (there are too many so the only one’s whose names I remember were the already famous ones.) How would ~50 women come up with such similar (and, mind you, not EXACT) stories? Why would they go on TV and say I was vulnerable, naive, and by the way, they also said of the few people they *did* tell back then “no one believed me.” That speaks VOLUMES about the times they were living in…even many of their own mothers did not believe them. Please believe I understand women still have a ways to go before we achieve true equality in this society, but if you think we haven’t come a very long way since just the ’70’s then you haven’t been paying attention. Women, especially young women trying to have their own career, were certainly not taken nearly as seriously as men. There was no such term or concept as “date rape.” If you were on a date then you must have wanted it on some level, and if you gave him any indication that you liked him (and if he paid for dinner, for goodness sake) then he had every right. It makes perfect sense in that atmosphere that a young woman would not want to say anything back then. For you to believe the word of one man today, over the stories of those ~50 women is proof positive that as a culture we have a long way to go still.
Emily, please tell me, what did these women gain from coming forward? What gravy train are they on? Some of the women who accused him years ago received payouts, and guess why they were likely paid off? Because the man knew he was guilty. In a deposition, in his own words, he admitted drugging women to have sex with them. That is rape, Emily. Rape.
But as for the women who are coming forward now, what are they gaining from it? Other than ridicule from people like you who find it easier to dismiss similar stories from dozens of women than to believe Bill Cosby is guilty of rape? What else have they gotten out of it? The short answer? Not a damn thing. So please have a stadium of seats with that “gravy train” BS.
You are an idiot to think that so many women could be lying. You are an example of why so many women who are raped never tell their stories. Shame on you.
Many TRIED to talk about it. No one believed them.
You need to educate themselves before you try to slide some blame onto these poor women.
It’s VERY easy to assume that once they saw others coming forward, they finally felt empowered enough, safe enough, to finally step out of the shadows. But before the first few started to make noise, it was just them and their word as a mostly unknown, against God. Damn. Bill. Cosby. They probably felt helpless, alone, and afraid of the blame people like you would place on them.
If you really don’t have enough empathy to understand why they all hadn’t come forward publicly until now, then frankly you are being ignorant. Please exercise some empathy and maybe learn a little bit about this case before spewing this type of idiocy.
Women *did* speak out. They were not believed. They were silenced. They were told to stop besmirching the character of such a wonderful man. Accusations like this have been following Cosby around for decades. We live in a rape culture in which the woman is almost always deemed more at fault for her rape than the man committing the crime. If it’s still like this now, can you only imagine the stigma and shame back then? How much more pressure there was to stay silent back then?
Well said!
Emily, I felt the same as you. However, once the 2005 deposition was leaked recently, I finally accepted that all those women were telling the truth.
Q. When you got the Quaaludes, was it in your mind that you were going to use these Quaaludes for young women that you wanted to have sex with?
Cosby: Yes.
So, correct me if I’m wrong, it’s the number of women that have come forward that makes this hard for you to swallow? So, would one or two have been more believable for you?
That was a rhetorical…
You question why they said nothing – until now. Do you know how many women/girls are raped/molested by “less” men than Bill Cosby who say NOTHING? Do you not understand what comes with telling folks that you’ve been violated? Do you not understand the shame that is heaped on the heads of victims/survivors for having the audacity to speak? Where exactly have you been living that you have not been witness to the Victim-Shaming/Victim-Bashing/Victim-Blaming, (both real and even via the lovely shows we watch on television), that would keep even the boldest woman quiet?
Do yourself a favor, go by your local rape crisis center and man the phones for just 1 hour. Hear the stories – first hand – of those who have been victimized. If that won’t work for you, how about you sit down with a Victim or Survivor (I’ll even volunteer!), and allow her to share the details of not only what she experienced during but after she was victimized. You see, it’s easy to “sit up on high” and judge these woman if you’ve never experienced what they have.
If you can spare just a moment in your ever so busy life, to come off that horse/mountain and have a conversation, you might find it a little more believable. Additionally, you might just realize that it took GUTS and STRENGTH far greater than you could remotely fathom, to have the NERVE and the AUDACITY to come out and tell their story – especially knowing that those against them far outweigh those riding with/for them.
**I apologize for any errors/misspellings. It’s hard to type correctly through tears of anger, frustration, and downright disbelief.**
I must say that it felt so good to read this extremely well written post-thank you very much Luvvie, and the comments of support, especially pertaining to why so many women said nothing.
I am one of those women and I write this with tears in my eyes for STILL not having the guts to come out.
See, I am a Cosby victim that didn’t even know she was a victim until some 20 years later when I began to read of how he drugged women for sex. I knew Cosby well. He sent me to College on a full-scholarship, I was a model. I looked at him as a father figure. I thought he thought I was smart. That felt great from someone like him. America’s dad and a champion of education. Remember he gave 20 million to Spelman?
I had to make myself remember the time I found myself alone with him in his private room after a taping of the Cosby Show. What happened to the room full of people that were all just having a sit-down dinner?
I remember feeling like a rubber-band, in an odd state, while he moved my body around in something that felt like a dance. He told me something to the fact that we were dancing. At one point, he looked at me and asked if I wanted it to go further. No, I said.
To this day I don’t know what happened. I don’t remember anything after that. It was inconceivable to me at the time that I could have been drugged or raped. That I was actually set up by accomplices of his who worked for him at the studio who knew how to clear a room when it was time for him to do his dirt.
Rape? No way. He was like my dad.
Today, I live with not knowing if I was raped or not. I don’t know how I got home. I don’t remember anything after saying no. Yet I still consider myself a victim, caught up in a mess that I wish I had no part of because, whether he raped me or not, you can’t go around drugging women against their will.
Ask me if I would like a qualude and to have sex with you. It’s not your right Most Powerful Man in America to take away my right as a woman.
My body. My choice.
Sometimes I think it’s better that I have no memory because it was easy for me to forget the whole thing.
Then women started coming forward. So many. There have been times when I’ve been THIS CLOSE to coming forward too because I felt like, wow, the women are winning. People are believing them now. Then I read a comment from someone like ‘Emily’ right here and I’m reminded that we STILL live in a society where even women are protecting this man. Even after 50 women have come forward. Let me say that if there’s 50 now I make 51 and there are still so many others, like me, who still won’t come out of the shadows. Why?
Because it sucks to be judged and scrutinized for why you didn’t say anything then and now. Your life gets picked a part. Some people will judge that I was a model so I wasn’t that innocent. I was actually an opportunist. How can you not know that you were drugged? Oh, he sent you to college? You got something out of it.
I have a life today, somewhat in the public eye and I’ve seen what they do to women. Look how they ripped Beverly Johnson, the first black woman to be on the cover of Vogue. I have too much to lose. I don’t want Bill Cosby to be the 1st thing people think of when they think of me. I don’t want the hate.
But it still hurts because I feel like I should be standing with these women. Adding my voice to the list so that others, like me, will feel comfortable enough to come forward.
Most days I feel like a coward. But I guess that’s what it means to be a victim. You end up being a part of something that if given a choice you’d say, no thanks. Cosby took away that choice.
Anyway, thanks again Luvvie for facilitating this conversation and for all the amazing women who vocally support the victims in this case. Thanks to Ebony magazine too for being bold enough to call a cat a cat.
❤
I am so, so sorry. Thank you for coming forward here. I’m sure that brought it all back. I hope you get lots of comments of support.
I think it’s incredibly brave that you wrote something now. Sending you thoughts for healing. Thank you for sharing your truth. Love to you.
My eyes welled up in tears as I read your words. You are brave. Hugs to you!
I’m so very sorry…
I’m so sorry to hear this. Be strong and if and when the time is right to speak for you, there will be support. That choice is yours and I understand. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Emily, you have not educated yourself on the topic of sexual abuse. Start with watching this movie in full. You can probably order it through Netflix. It is Danish. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKe_AxTFGXc
Emily. Do you realize that you know more about Heathcliff Huxtable than you will ever know about Bill Cosby? You don’t know that man. None of us do.
And that’s Luvvie’s point. We have made a habit out of seeing celebrities as the roles they play on TV or in movies. Anyone who’s ever met an actor who’s an ass in real life will tell you this is a mistake.
People ask why these women didn’t speak up earlier. This, right here, is why. Because they knew that a lot of folks will *always* believe one celebrity over any number of ordinary people.
I completely get it but still cannot fathom 45 women coming out over the course of a few months saying bill did this to them. Come on not one person went to police …you mean to tell me 45 people all decided its time to come out. Shoot people that alept with presidents came quicker. Look at Michael Jackson situation, people came out very quickly. I can wrap my head aroun 45 people.
STAAHP!! Many of these women have been cominng forward for DECADES. Many of his accusers tried and failed to get justicr AT THE TIME. The idea that it is only happening just now as some kind of conspiracy is a fantasy. What’s happening now is that decades of accusations have reached critical mass and Cosby is no longer powerful enough in Hollywood to escape responsibility for his actions.
You can’t wrap your head around it until you actually do the research. Women came out before. He settled a case 10 years ago.
I hear what you’re saying and agree with the premise….at the same time, I think it’s unfair to the other people in that picture to, by association, be dragged into this whole issue. I think I could’ve been 100% behind it if it was just him, or a photo of him from the show with all the cracks. I get the point, but if I was one of the other people in that photo I wouldn’t like it. I would not want to be associated with anything to do with him anymore. Period. Even sing him out his hands over the little girl’s ears in this picture just give me the damn creeps now.
They don’t have a choice but to be associated with him. Most of them are who they are because of this show. No one blames them, not does anyone lump them in his shame, but they are a part of this legacy, for better or worse.
You also have to remember the point of the whole issue is family issues in America, namely in the Black family. The Huxtables were used as a vision of the ideal Black family, but the state of the Black family in 2015, as a whole, is far from the ideal, and their November issue is dealing with some of those themes. So the broken picture does double duty, to me. I’m sure that was part of their purpose.
Exactly.
They’re associated no matter how you slice it so we may as well talk about it instead of sweeping it under the rug. I can’t watch the Cosby Show right now and many people feel the same way. Bill messed this one up so bad it ain’t funny and every single person in that picture will be affected from being on the Cosby Show. That’s a fact. So why the outrage in addressing it? As if no one thought about this before this Ebony article. We were all thinking it… we’ve been thinking this for months on end now.
*standing ovation* All of this.
AMEN to all of this. I grew up on Bill Cosby. I watch Fat Albert cartoons, we had Cosby comedy albums and books in the house. When The Cosby show came on it was my version of the Golden age of television. Here was a middle class family that reflected my own family’s values. This was something to aim for. These allegations hurt because that idolized image of black family life has been tarnished. Finding out that the man who created Healthcliff Huxtible is also a rapist monster hurts, and it hurts deeply. That doesn’t mean we should cover this up or try to deny it happened.
True story.
Thanks Luvie for your commentary & a big UPs to Ebony for stepping out side of the sugar-coated cereal box. Ebony has always treated black celebrity like soft serve ice cream. I understand not wanting to pile on when folks is going through their ish; but, to completely ignore there is a big ole pile of it blocking the door is another damb thing. It is past time that they tell the real story with a just of bit of Big Mama’s tough love.
I think the journalist touched on something so real that the attack appears to be on Bill Cosby but we want to defend Heath Cliff. We have totally made Bill Cosby Heath Cliff. It’s all so sad but as a culture we have got to be ready to deal with the truth including mental illness being a real fact and many of our people suffer from it. Not saying that about Bill Cosby just a side bar – I am thankful that Ebony’s cover says “we will talk about this”. Betrayal of the black community? Really? Sin is sin and it must be exposed and dealt with. It’s a crying shame that he was allowed to get away with such monstrosity – my mama always said “what happens in the dark will come to light, I don’t care how long it takes” and that is also biblical. It’s a shame that in his glory days he thought it was okay. I wonder what was he thinking while planning his attack on these women? I’m so disappointed and so hurt by his choices but it lets me know that no one is above God and you will reap the consequences of your choices especially when you hurt people. Good for Ebony for being brave!
I wonder why Sondra wasn’t in the picture. I didn’t think of little Olivia, but their eldest daughter is missing? This cover is a complete gut punch.
Luvvie, you completely articulated what I’ve had issues saying out loud. I WAS devastated because I’m thinking of Dr. Huxtable, the character, not Bill the rapist. I hate Bill for this. #WeWereRootingForYou
Chile…. and he was damn GYNOCOLOGIST!?!? It’s Friday.. I need a cocktail.
This picture seems to be from season 1 of the show. Sondra was a later addition.
Bingo. Sandra was introduced late in season one, retroactively introduced in spite of the fact that the show had made a huge deal about the number of kids the family had up until that point.
Supposedly she was created because Cosby decided out of the blue that he wanted to do storylines about a kid graduating college and going out into the world as a parallel for Cliff and Claire’ relationship. So they retroactively rewrote the canon on the fly to give them a new oldest child.
Great piece!
However, I am not shocked that many people are reluctant to believe the truth about Bill Cosby because belief feels like a betrayal to (some) of our identities. I accept that each human on this earth is complex and may be a living contradiction of their projected greatness. We must increase our capacity for complexity to accept that while “The Cosby Show” was a transformative powerful show, Bill Cosby was a serial violator of women.
This whole article is subjective and is absolute BullShAT;)!!! You’re all in your feelings as you state the “Cosby Apologists” are! Lol! MGooddayd
“This article is subjective.” WELCOME TO MY BLOG WHERE I WRITE MY OPINIONS. Ha.
Um, this is someone’s PERSONAL blog, so obviously she’s going to be subjective. Do you know how the internet works, ma’am?
1. Do you honestly believe that, without help from the media, we wouldn’t look at Heathcliff Huxtable and still see Bill Cosby?
2. As an author, you must know how ridiculous it is to tell a blogger that their article is subjective. You asked people who disagree with your petition to just scroll on. Why not exercise the same level of maturity?
Girrrrrrl bye.
Thank you for saying this.
I find it amazing that even though court documents have been released that show that Bill Cosby admitted that he drugged a young woman people still refuse to believe he did it. He’s disgusting. I’m sickened at the thought of what he was doing behind the scenes when he was doing very good things publicly. I’m beginning to believe that he did some of those good things publicly because he knew what he was doing in private. It’s working. People keep pointing to his good works saying, “How could this man have done those horrible things?” He drugged those women without their permission or knowledge. Would some of them have had sex with him anyway? Probably, but he is yet wrong AND disgusting for doing what he did. I believe there are more who won’t come out because they don’t want to be called stupid or liars.
You SAID that! Allaof it! Livvie, thank you for voicing a truth many needed to hear.
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Wow, this article SAID EVERYTHING that I have felt about the whole situation. I saw this cover and said, “OH wow”, but it’s the TRUTH! I like you know every word, from every episode VERBATIM! On Saturday’s I would MAKE my son watch it and tell him how important and iconic it was …at 3yrs up to a few months before the pulled all episodes of cable tv. My son is now 7 years. I had a plan that my kids would Cosby, they would love it and create a tradition with their own children…..I WAS THAT COSBY GIRL!!! Naturally when allegations started to come out, I too was one of those who put my fingers in my ears and say, “LALALALALALALA I CAN’T HEAR YOU!!!” I felt like “they” were working hard to attack this “poor man” and “his stellar legacy”. My heart was broken when I could not deny he was in fact a sick, evil man, who used his position to violate women. My heart is broken again just writing this. Thanks for this article.
I have very little public things to say about this, Bill Cosby debacle. However, if we’re going to talk about misuse of power for sex (because it’s disrespectful to victims of ACTUAL rape to be lumped with some of his accusers), then the (I am literally gagging as I write this) first “Black” president, another perverted Bill was accused of the same misuse of power before and during his term/s in the highest office in the land. Yet black folks clamor for him then and now! We throw our support behind his wife, who showed her white sheet and entitlement during the 2008 primaries. I just find it sickening that Ebony choose to put a fictional family on the Cover to discuss the Black family or lack thereof instead of reflecting on the 10 year anniversary of the Million Man March. I mean isn’t that what black publications are for, to cover the information others are not. I think a discussion about family would have been more helpful if the focus was on actual families. I don’t have to boycott Ebony, I don’t waste my money on items I don’t find useful. So I guess their subscribers are pleased with them. IMO
Thank you Sharon. Your comments are definitely on target. I question, who reads Ebony anymore? I guess this cover is a means of gaining readership. Sorry, didn’t work for me. These 45+ women are not all innocent victims. And I bet there are other men in the entertainment industry at that same time, doing the same thing with women. I find it hard to believe that a Black man during that era was the only one getting his kicks with some (maybe not all of them) women looking to elevate their career. How about if we let the judicial process complete its review! And yes, Ebony where is your article on the Million Man March, etc. Mainstream media does not need your help keeping Black people in their place!
Magazines, especially the cover feature, are put together up to 3 months before publication date. The Million Man March just happened. It would never have been the cover of this issue.
Honey if you woke up to find somebody had drugged you and had sex with you while you were passed out, that’s rape.
(And this is from someone who has been “actually” raped).
Rape is being penetrated sexually against your will. Rape is “I didn’t want or intend to have sex with you but you did it to me anyway. ” It’s that simple.
As a rape survivor, I’d appreciate you not creating rape hierarchies to describe our experiences. I’ve been stranger raped, AND date raped, and the end result is all quite the same, i promise you.
It doesn’t make sense to scold the press for doing their jobs… which is to cover pop culture. This cover is provocative and timely. They actually did a good job. The picture is click bait but the article actually has substance. Whether you agree or disagree with their POV or approach, you cannot reasonably say that discussing this was pointless or in poor taste. We can’t close our eyes and act like we don’t see on of the biggest influences in Black entertainment “falling from grace.”
We have real issues about the Black family. If they wanted to discuss that, then use a REAL Black family on the cover.
If they want to talk about Black men and sexual assault, then use a picture of Bill Cosby by himself along with other Black men, in their REAL lives, accused of sexual assault.
Not here for the cover at all.
We just agree to disagree.
You summed up how a lot of white girls felt about the Cosby Show growing up in the 1980s, too. That is one well-thought out magazine cover, for sure.
I think that there were so many kids in the 80’s from broken homes looking at this loving , well off family , and wishing that they had the same. He has broken the collective hearts of a generation and he needs to own up to it.
Cosign this all the way: That is why that cover gave you a visceral reaction. You immediately winced because the idea of Cliff raping 45 women punched you in the gut.
And ain’t none of them actually subscribing to Ebony anyhow.
Thank you for laying it all bare Luvvie! Bill Cosby is NOT Cliff Huxtable! He is a man who abused his position of power and status to commit multiple acts of rape. I know it’s gotta be hard for people to separate the two people, but you NEVER truly know the darkness someone is capable of till it comes to light.
My cousin dated her boyfriend throughout high school, got married a year after they graduated. Aside from some time spend in jail for juvenile crap, he was a pretty good guy. He was a car salesman, bright, funny, and dad of 5 kids. Then one Easter it comes out that this man was arrested on on 43 counts of rape and assault of women on the university campus! MY campus! I had been living on campus for 2 years, and two separate times a girl in my dorm was assaulted or almost assaulted by these unknown serial rapists. He is serving 3 life sentences without a chance of parole. More than 10 years later and my cousin is STILL putting her life back together after the damage that was done. These women are scarred for life, and he wasn’t even a celebrity.
This backlash against EBONY is similar to how some married women react when they catch their husband cheating. They want to attack the mistress/jump off/side chick without confronting the primary person responsible, the husband.
Sometimes within our community we take the “what goes on in your house, stays in our house” too far. We can’t always deal with our own ish, especially when it fogs up the lenses in our glasses and threatens to upset our balance.
It’s a smart and thought provoking cover. Folks would be better served not focusing on the cover and dealing with the real issue.
Not true … Nowhere near true
In fact, EBONY couldn’t be construed a side chick because “ain’t nobody been checkin’ for her in years … till now.
Comparing the backlash against EBONY to a husband, wife and mistress/jump off/side chick is how I see it. And I feel confident to do so because I do read EBONY.
It’s not my position to defend the allegations against Bill Cosby. As I stated because it is MY opinion…I believe the cover is smart and thought provoking. It has initiated a conversation which, under About EBONY on their website, is one of the three things they state the magazine does.
Ebony/JET is dang near broke. I like the controversy of it all. They better sell it. It was a family my generation (when it was actively on TV/before the reruns) looked up to simply because they weren’t in the hood or portrayed as poor like most black families prior to it airing were. Being middle class or above wasn’t new to me but just new to TV and it looked good. It still looks good but he has tarnished the brand. That’s just reality. He has affected the pockets of the rest of the cast when it comes to those residuals. He has let people defend him knowing the truth (and I think there is some truth to it). Now how he got away with this in the early days I will never know. I didn’t really think he had that much clout until the Cosby show.–as far as to rape white women and actually have them afraid to speak up–because in my mind in those 70s and 80s they would have locked his black behind up with the quickness.
Fascinating …
and utterly disappointing …
Commending EBONY for journalistic heroism for echoing the obvious? Please.
Seems we’re fine with exploring tragedy and loss of mythic heroes we’ve created in our mind in public when it’s (financially) convenient.
MLK was an adulterer / Malcolm, a drug dealer, number runner, pimp and ex-con / and the COS is an adulterer whose been accused of Raping countless women in his dressing rooms, on the set, hotels, the playboy mansion, lodges, casinos, etc…
And the women who agreed to meet with him that accepted pills to take from his hand, drinks he poured and espresso he made on his brand new machine were unwitting victims of a sexual predator who was also a married man in public.
Hey, Bill Cosby’s a creep. I get it.
But ya’ll probably still “step in the name of love” and holler “sexual healing” in your cars and at the club.
(NEWSFALSH: R Kelly and Marvin Gaye are pedophiles with written accounts of their acts)
But you know what … maybe this might seem like a new concept imma drop but …
Everyone in Sports, Music, Entertainment, the Black Church and the Civil Rights Movement behave the same way.
(because in their worlds, sex is currency that people trade for access and opportunity)
Heal from the hurt of losing a black iconic cultural institution?!?!?
(We are talking to grown folk with a storage locker full of skeletons, right?)
Luvvie … You don’t need to write this.
It doesn’t deserve space on your site.
(But as long as you’re willing to publish content about the obvious, how about getting EBONY to write about the assault and battery charges Queen Latifah faced, do an expose on Lauryn Hill’s financial woes and why she couldn’t pat her taxes, Discuss the unseltteld copyright lawsuits Beyonce faces, etc….)
(and while we’re all tearing down black iconic cultural institutions, when the hell are we gonna stop giving EBONY a pass for trife, shallow stories about a mythical black world we all don’t want to believe will, can or should exist)
In my opinion, it’s never an act of courage to kick someone when their down based on accounts from others that neither of us can verify or weigh objectively.
Bill will remain a millionaire, most of these women will never see a dime …
And those schools who took their degrees back better hope he doesn’t sue them for the return of the monetary contributions he made to their institutions.
So, in effect, you’re saying, “Hush.”
Okay. Well, no. Black America’s propensity for circling wagons around anyone who looks like us will have us looking like a fucked up mess of fools if we aren’t willing to critique folk for heinous acts. And THAT is what the Ebony cover was, a critique of the legacy of The Cosby Show in light of Cosby’s acts. It’s what good journalism does.
And R. Kelly’s career nadir, MLK’s debauchery and Michael Jackson’s legacy have ALL been subject to long think-pieces by learned folk in magazines for years. But you’re looking at the Cosby cover and saying, NAW, it ends here! (in your Captain Picard voice). Chile, please. That just proves Luvvie’s point, so thank ya.
Opinions abound,
And mine focused on the obscene propensity of black folk to have a public breakup with the one who breaks our hearts …
(Pssst … Barack Obama is next)
Long think pieces?
More like carefully curated opinions on the sublime.
But you tell me, for all the think pieces we’ve intellectually labored over like this one that Luvvie penned;
Is there any evidence that points to a lasting, substantive benefit for us …
Or is it just an exercise in “casting the first stone by those who are without sin”?
I’ll give luvvie this, though;
(At least she knows why writing this benefits her)
Everyone in media, news, etc acts the same way? Everyone? All celebrities drug and rape women? Really? Then I guess we should all stfu, huh?
I actually feel sorry for your damn post.
This is not what got me about the cover. I see how everyone’s face is cracked except for Lisa Bonet’s, who happens to be one who spoke out. Phylicia Rashad’s infamous eyebrow is segmented. I feel uneasy about that. Warner wouldn’t speak on what he didn’t know; why smash his face?
Ebony got what they wanted in the end: our attention to them. I don’t know if it does enough justice for abuse victims, though.
Thank you Luvvie!
As usual you are on point.
I was completely obsessed with Lisa Bonet and her character Denise and frankly I found a lot of the Cosby show to be corny, so I wasn’t so mesmerized by Cliff lol. But of course I recognized how ground breaking and important the show was regarding representations of black people.
As the saying goes, life imitates art….Does anyone remember the episode in which the Huxtables have a family bbq and Cliff talks about the effects of his sauce? I read about an article about this episode and watched the clip and it’s really crazy! All of the women become compliant and amorous toward the husbands. I’ve included the link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CA4yuz8qgj4
So although, yes Cliff is fictional and Bill is the real perpetrator, the fact that Bill linked the show to many parts of his real life, Bill’s actions definitely affects the show.
I am so tired of people attempting to debunk women’s rape allegations by accusing them of a money grab. There are a million and one ways people can find to manipulate others for a guaranteed payoff but instead a woman would rather choose public shame, hatred and even risk her life for money that may not be promised. And this seems perfectly logical?
Your article opened my eyes to my own feelings. I did not want to believe that it was true. Always loved Bill Cosby and just could not believe that he would do such an awful thing! Not him! Then he admitted it. All those women! I know that the show re-runs were pulled and I felt sad at first. But now I doubt I can watch it again, in fact I know I can’t, not without thinking of what he did to all those unsuspecting women. Another hero with feet, not of clay, but mud. A hero has died. Well, as you said. It was fantasy and we need to remember that there are real dads out there that are the men that we thought Bill Cosby was.
Your comments made me smile. There ARE good dads out there. Thanks for the reminder.
People. C’mon. You know you can hate on somebody in your own fam, but damn if somebody outside comes for ’em. Ain’t enough horses on the planet for that entire posse to ride. So yeah, I’m disappointed that Cosby sucks as a man – AND is an incredible child educator. Somehow I’m OK with the cognitive dissonance in that statement.
But then again, I’m cool with concepts of both science and spirit, so go ahead and judge me.
Finally, someone gets it …
Seems simple enough to me when you say it that way.
LOL! So Ebony should’ve “kept it in the family?” Hating on a celebrity for their appearance, work or lifestyle is one thing. Calling a rapist out for his immoral behavior is a completely different thing. They didn’t diss his last stand-up tour, they’re talking about a very serious crime and all of its fallout.
The notion that this should be ignored by Black media is laughable and it’s actually one of the first things Cosby said months ago in his own (pitiful) defense.
This post needs to be shared ad infinitum, on every social platform that hurt and irate blackfolks be. Bravo, Luvvie.
Thank you.
Like it or not, this was obviously done to sell a non relevant magazine and after this issue it will go back to struggling to survive like BET
All 50 women are attempting to do to Bill Cosby in the media what they cannot do in a court of law. Ebony is now partially white owned (JP Morgan Chase) and has no vested interest in black men. I will never support them again. The media can try but they will never have the power to control the legacy of a man that has contributed more to HBCU’s then any other A.A. person.
So “the media” is the new “white man” to be blamed for all of our struggles.
Listen, the only person… the onliest one… responsible for destroying Bill Cosby’s legacy is Bill Cosby. The media is simply reporting on it because that’s what they do. You don’t like the article, don’t pick it up. But don’t blame the media foe what Bill did. It’s not like they fabricated this story to sell mags.
AMEN!!
Great article and I support Ebony’s cover, but Raven-Symone did not join until Season 6, not 5.
I don’t agree with the cover. What is happening is Bill’s issue and only his. The cover isn’t going change anything about how much the show meant for me. First off the show was fiction. I will love it forever. I feel for all the members of the cast that the cover is trying to pull into the situation. The cover is about money plain and simple. It’s not proving any point to me. If they wanted to prove a point then they could have put a pic of just him and put a crack into it. We have moved into time where we no longer need a jury to convict. If you agree with what is being done to Bill be careful cause then it could possibly happen to you as well. But what if your innocent. That all for me.
“If you agree with what is being done to Bill be careful”? Seriously? How bout I disagree with what Bill has done and that has consequences. Ebony is a magazine and they will try to sell it every month even when Bill Cosby is not on the cover so of course it’s about money for them. They are a business and not a charitable organization. There’s no point to prove here. We’re all having a discussion, whether we want to or not, whether in our heads or aloud, about what this mess has done to our culture. Bill was an icon so this situation has ripples for days.
Rape is a criminal act. Whether you agree that he’s guilty or not is your right but criminal behavior is a public matter because it affects the community. Which is why many cases are “the People vs whomever.” His actions affect everyone around him and especially those who were on the Cosby Show because, as Luvvie pointed out, people think they know Bill because they knew Cliff. And Cliff could never do such a thing.
I just read this out loud to my husband. What a great article.
I have been fighting my own demons for the past four years and because of it, I have lost relationships with nearly everyone in my family. I have been called a liar, told to “get over it,” and asked to “forgive and forget” because it has caused a riff in the family that none of them want to face.
People don’t want to believe that someone who is funny, charming and well liked could ever do such a thing —it’s easier to blame the victim. It isn’t right; it’s just easier, and most people can’t handle the truth.
I think the biggest argument is time: understanding why victims wait so long to come forward. Though I cannot speak for these women, I can tell you that FEAR is a powerful emotion. And I cannot think of anything worse than overcoming it; only to be torn down and ridiculed by ignorance.
The scariest thing about the whole Bill Cosby debacle is that all you have to do is “say it” – no proof, no evidence, no trial by court, nothing to back it up – and people run with it. The power to make or destroy a person by the media is dangerous.
The “proof” that the media feigns to present is no proof at all. Generally they take snippets and sound bytes – out of context, mind you – and present it as the whole story, or as fact. People do no further investigation.
We should all be very afraid that just on the strength of someone else’s word we could be destroyed.
Just because CNN presents it or Gloria Allred says it, doesn’t make it so. But they know people are sheep and will take it like it’s gospel.
I also find it interesting that it always almost exclusively Black stars that are dragged through the media mud as the worst celebrities in America.
Funny that I NEVER saw Woody Allen take this type of mudslinging and his own daughter accused him of incest. He is still welcomed in Hollywood, makes movie, has all his stuff on NetFlix and is going happily about life.
Also, no matter how people wrap themselves into knots to claim that white women from the 1960’s, 70’s, and 80’s were afraid to report sex assault by a Black man, I will never believe it. As for the few non-white women involved, i don’t believe them either simply because there was no reason for them to wait to report, and even worse, many claimed to go back to Cosby and accept money, continued their acting careers,etc from him. One or two may do that, but 40 people who were assaulted will not all come to that same conclusion. Sorry, don’t believe these people for a second.
Michael Jackson was known worldwide and they still went after him hard – Bill Cosby is mainly unknown outside the borders of the U.S. and he had no power in the 60s and 70s. Having one TV show or a cartoon doesn’t give you power. If they had wanted to report him, he would’ve been taken down easily.
I personally believe that Bill Cosby partied 1960s and 70s style like many back then – sex., drugs, rock & roll – and that ALL of the women seemed like willing participants who now seem to regret in years later. Bill Cosby seems like a philanderer and maybe even a sex addict – but not a rapist, at least not in ANY of the cases that have been presented. And as for the woman who claimed to be 15 years old when she was assaulted, as many have asked, what was 15 year old doing at the Playboy mansion in the first place? Seems like Hugh Hefner is the one who should be getting the Cosby treatment instead.
And you can’t tell me that women 50, 60 and 70 years old at some point in the last 30 years didn’t think to file police reports and go through the entire court system, doing whatever they had to, until they received justice. sitting on Dateline NBC lobbing accusations could be done by anybody. The way this whole thing is going, any of us could say “oh Cosby did this to me” and it would be disseminated to the public as fact. SCARY. If the women were actually raped, then they did a huge disservice to themselves (and to other women who have been assaulted) by keeping quiet until now.
And I Don’t. believe. any. of. this. for. one.second. Groups of people have been known to come together to form a lie. This seems to be no different. And media sources are known to be like hyenas and jackals – once one jumps on the carcass, they all descend – it’s their big story and proof or no proff, they will join in the ruckus – just like Ebony (who sold their entire catalog for peanuts – now THAT should be the story).
Bill Cosby stepped on somebody’s toes BIG TIME and is now paying for it.
Americans should always be afraid when the media plays the role of the authority and the court of public opinion is the court, judge and jury.
Thank you Janeela for the courage to own your opinion which seems increasingly unpopular. I happen to agree with you.
You are making some interesting assertions but I feel compelled to clear a couple things up for you. To your point that Woody Allen’s own daughter accused him of incest – wrong. Woody Allen was accused of molesting his adopted daughter so even if the investigation had revealed that the accusation was true, it would not have been incest as they were not related by blood. The accusation was investigated. The result was inconclusive meaning it is entirely within the realm of possibility that it happened but they couldn’t prove it. If the allegations had been proven, Woody Allen’s career would have been over but it still wouldn’t be incest.
Also to your point that Bill Cosby had no power in the 60s and 70s – also incorrect. Cosby was the first black actor with a lead role on a weekly show since Amos and Andy almost 20 years earlier. He won three Emmys. He did stand-up, music, television and movies. He was everywhere. I don’t know if you were alive back then but he was a big deal – HUGE. He didn’t just become famous on The Cosby Show of the 80s. He had already been in the entertainment business for 20+ years by then. And there is most definitely power in celebrity. Celebrities have teams of people who have a vested interest in protecting the brand and the money which was Cosby’s case was significant.
What’s more, there are women have come out against Cosby over the years. The most recent was an allegation made in 2004 where he drugged and had sex with a woman that worked at Temple and the subject of the 2005 deposition which can be found online. In it, five other women who accused him of sexual assault are mentioned, one dating back to 1976. Is it within the realm of possibility that a portion of these women aren’t being truthful? Yes. But it is also within the realm of possibility that some of these women are telling the truth and some did come out against Cosby.
The media frenzy around Cosby may seem disproportionate but when you consider the scope of his career, it’s not at all surprising. Add to that that Cosby often regarded himself a moral authority and sexual assault accusations using quaaludes makes the news that much more sensational.
The details of deposition reveal that Cosby, by his own admission, gave women quaaludes. If he gave them quaaludes without their knowledge and then had sex with them – that is sexual assault. If a person has sex with another person without consent, that is sexual assault. If a person is passed out and unresponsive and another person has sex with the passed out person, that is sexual assault. Is it shocking to think that America’s Dad would act in such a way? Yes but it is not improbable. Darren Sharper was handsome and successful. I’m sure he had any number of women willing to have sex with him as did Cosby. Yet Sharper choose to drug women before having sex with them. Only Cosby and the ladies in question know the truth.
Personally, I’m not crazy about the cover. I don’t think the fictitious television family should have been included but I understand the reasoning. Cosby’s decisions have undoubtedly fractured the lives of his television family. With the show off the air, they won’t be receiving residuals and that financial loss could be crippling.
I’m not trying to convince you to turn on Bill Cosby but if you’re going to support him, you should probably have your facts straight.
“If he gave them quaaludes without their knowledge …. If a person has sex with another person without consent…. If a person is passed out and unresponsive …. Is it shocking to think that America’s Dad would act in such a way?”
If, if, if. And that has been the entire problem with this whole case. Your facts obviously are not straight when you decide a person is guilty when it’s based on “ifs” and YOU don’t even know the whole story. You can find a lot of stuff on the internet that is less than factual.
The other “if” is that he gave quaaludes to women who requested them and “if” they WILLINGLY took them as well as “if” they equally exchanged their own drugs with him, that would not make him a rapist. Just another Hollywood group of partiers overindulging in uncontrolled substances.
As far as we know, Bobby didn’t rape Whitney and Lamar Odom didn’t rape anybody just because they were having drug-filled sex parties, sorry. Male and female alike, they were all willing participants.
And no it’s not shocking that Cosby could do horrible crimes – it’s not shocking that ANY man could be a rapist. That is not and never has been the point. I don’t believe in accusing people without backing it up. It’s plain and simply wrong. And i don’t believe this many women relating to one man would all choose to basically stay silent. It is also very harmful to real sex assault victims.
And I meant Mia Farrows daughter, Dylan, accused Woody Allen, – and you’re correct technically it wouldn’t be incest because it wasn’t his real daughter, but being that she was 7 years old when Mia recorded her accusation against Allen, does it matter who’s daughter it was? It was somebody’s baby daughter and he was accused of terrible crimes against a child (as well as very inappropriate behavior with the adopted daughter you mentioned), yet he was never slaughtered in the media.
Also, please note that Black men who are on camera and on wax with IRREFUTABLE evidence of them assaulting and mistreating women or advocating sexual assault and misogyny (i.e. NWA and Dr. Dre) are being welcomed at colleges and being given million-dollar movie deals. Yet Cosby has unsubstantiated accusations and is being burned at the stake – sounds fishy to me.
So it’s more believable to you that 50 women and Cosby’s own deposition and settled cases are a part of some conspiracy to dethrone a 78 year old man past his prime… than it is believable that Bill acted inappropriately, and possibly criminally, in at least one of these instances?
If the former were true then it would be the biggest conspiracy the entertainment world has ever seen. Why would anyone do that? What could anyone gain from that? And whoever is “behind this” may as well be the devil because they’ve been at it at least for 10 years and clearly have all the power known to pull this off. Hundreds of people would have to be involved in a “lie” this huge. Hundreds.
White women in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s were afraid to report sex assault by ANYBODY. Rape crisis hotlines? Sexual assault treatment centers? Police evidence collection protocols? Just being invented. Almost everyone a woman might tell was male: talent agents and managers…ER doctors…clergy…cops, lawyers, judges. And men objectified and belittled women in the popular culture every day of the week; comedians told jokes about dumb blondes, women drivers, etc. In rape cases that did make it to trial, lawyers routinely defended the accused by saying the woman’s short skirt or tight pants made him do it.
I felt the stories shared on Dateline NBC rang true, so true that I would be surprised to hear you watched it and still didn’t believe any of the women. But all I’m really hoping for is that when I tell you things used to be very different, even as recently as 25 years ago, maybe you’ll be willing to believe it.
???????? Ok fine, in our history what other Black man was protected from RAPING White women by this system? So we should just ignore the one woman who said she was to be hired to seduce Bill? Alex Haley wrote Roots…..Thurgood Marshall was Supreme Court Justice….heck Jesus was White. No court process yet many drinking the kool-aid. I love and protect women and if he is found guilty so be it. PLUS isn’t Ebony White owned. All I know is Bill Cosby did betray us like Ben Vereen, and others so there is that. He also said Donald Trump was an idiot right before all the women started dropping. Beverly Johnson a strong sister who claimed she kirked, would’ve pursued something….oh wait she did get a reality show recently. Bill offended not only us but someone very connected. IMO! I know folks going to eat me alive. Just remember what they do to ALL our leaders and swallow with the koolaid.
All them damn white women crying trying to get some money with a few of US thrown in. All the mess surrounding Bill Cosby. WE as blacks will damn near believe any and everything whites say. Shit is ridiculous. My question is: How will you and everyone else will look when it comes out those “PeckAWoods” lied? And I would sue that Gloria Allred for every penny she has if I were Bill.
Great blog. Good read and very relevant. Also, love the memes/gifs. 🙂
It was fairly open and known that Bill Clinton had multiple affairs and engaged in oral sex either while running for the Presidency of the United States or while in Office.
Most Americans as well as many Black Americans still perceive Bill Clinton as one of the most successful Presidents of modern time if not the first “black” President.
To date, not one of Mr. Clinton’s honorary Doctorates have been revoked and in many circles Mr. Clinton has gone on to do great philanthropic work in the US and abroad.
It saddens me that Mr. Cosby’s collective body of work and philanthropic contribution does not garner the same amount of respect regardless of the outcome from these allegations.
It saddens me even more that Ebony has decided to hop on the “lynch Cosby” bandwagon.
I won’t be purchasing the magazine again.
Stephon Effinger
I’m actually disgusted that you compared Clinton to Cosby. Clinton was a freak. Cosby is an alleged rapist. There is absolutely no connection between someone who likes to have sex and someone who physically violates other people. To know anything about rape is to know that it’s actually not about sex, but about power.
Clinton receiving oral sex in the Oval Office was disgusting, unprofessional and ridiculous but one thing it was not… is criminal. Cosby is accused of a crime, multiple crimes… multiple heinous crimes. Folks are acting like he stole a pudding pop and we should all just chill. Nah.
However, Clinton also was accused of rape.
Never ever heard that but my point still stands that being a whore and being a rapist are not the same thing. Thanks.
I don’t need 50 women to come forward with horrible tales of being violated by 1 man to convince me that the man did, indeed violate the. ONE is enough for me.
Why are people so quick to protect the predator and not the prey? Nothing may ever happen to Bill Cosby behind the women coming forward, but let the women have their space and piece of mind after all these years of keeping this inside. THEY are the brave ones and deserve the utmost respect.
Thank you for this. While not your usual & characteristic wit & charm, you handled a tough situation with such poise & grace. Unlike many others. Wish your blog was filled with more posts like this, but if you stopped writing those side-splitting, cackling, spitting my coffee out, falling on floor *gasping for air*, gif-filled delights, I’d probably drift away too!
So I commend you from time to time dipping deep into an uncomfortable issue & handling it better than the people clouding Ebony’s FB page right now. You are a treasure!
Peace.
This is so on point. Imagery is powerful which is why the smash is over Bills face and the cracks ripple out towards others in the picture. The facade that was wrapped up in what Mr. Cosby represented has been shattered and smeared his legacy. Ive read folks in the comments debating about the length of time it took for these women to come forward and why they didnt warn each other. They were not friends so and this happened over decades so how could they warn each other. And let me share a little of my story. I was also raped when I was 13 yrs old by my first boyfriend. I TOLD NO one, because I was ashamed and because I was told to stay home and did not but was instead hanging out at a friends house. I thought I caused that to happen to me because I did not listen. I’m now 39 years old and I know better. I also know the name of my attacker and if he ever did something like that again to someone who was brave enough to do what I couldn’t, I would stand with her so that the world knows she is not crazy and out to bring the man down but that there is indeed merit to her story. The victim shaming/blaming when a person is raped is so real on an average level and it becomes intensified if the perpetrator is someone of ‘good standing’ and power.
So he’s a disgusting pervert and he’s going to prison. Like you didn’t see that from those gross jello commercials? Please.
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Thank you for this.
When will this sexual harassment stop I wonder? It is indeed shameful and hurtful that women have been for ages seen as an object of lust and satisfaction and not as a sister, mother, wife, gorlfriend etc.
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