BILL COSBY ACCUSED OF RAPE

[sally]

I'd shut up either way too. If I was innocent instead of shouting it from the roof tops I'd let everyone know I don't owe them a fucking explanation. He's too old to give a fuck anyway, he already made his money.

[Duchess]

You wouldn't be able to pry my mouth open with a crowbar. To speak would only be fodder.

[HairOfTheDog]

Interesting. It really surprises me that all three of you would honestly say nothing and lose everything you'd worked for if you were innocent -- just throw in the towel for fear of being questioned. Not me.

I wouldn't wanna be a celebrity in the first place. But, if that was something that I worked my whole life toward and reaching the top was something I'd achieved and valued above virtually all else, I'd never limp off in silence like a defeated little bitch if I was wrongly accused by anyone(s). Not if I was 47, nor if I was 77 -- like Cosby. He's still working on a lot of projects, he's not old and decrepit FFS. He could live another 20 years.

Anyway, I would set the effin' record straight by releasing a statement, doing an interview, or filing defamation suits -- like all of the other wrongly accused celebrities before me who were successful enough to quash such extortion without having to shout it from the rooftops or throw themselves at a pack of wolves. If anyone pounced, so what? I'd be ready and hit 'em back with the truth. Cosby has one of the best cut-throat lawyers alive and he's no shrinking violet himself.

People wanna believe Cosby. People wanna believe these women are lying (read this thread). The only reason a PR person would advise Cosby to be silent is because he's guilty.

A PR person who told him to clam up and hide if we was innocent -- when Cosby is still vital and still very concerned about image and legacy -- should not be a PR person but rather an undertaker.

[Duchess]

I just don't think speaking up at this point would serve any purpose. I don't believe it would be a positive thing. It would appear that he is guilty of what he has been accused of and at this point what could he possibly say if all this is true?

[username]

Interesting. It really surprises me that all three of you would honestly say nothing and lose everything you'd worked for if you were innocent -- just throw in the towel for fear of being questioned. Not me.

I wouldn't wanna be a celebrity in the first place. But, if that was something that I worked my whole life toward and reaching the top was something I'd achieved and valued above virtually all else, I'd never limp off in silence like a defeated little bitch if I was wrongly accused by anyone(s). Not if if I was 47, nor if I was 77 -- like Cosby. He's still working on a lot of projects, he's not old and decrepit FFS. He could live another 20 years.

Anyway, I would set the effin' record straight by releasing a statement, doing an interview, or filing defamation suits -- like all of the other wrongly accused celebrities before me who were successful enough to quash such extortion without having to shout it from the rooftops or throw themselves at a pack of wolves. If anyone pounced, so what? I'd be ready and hit 'em back with the truth. Cosby has one of the best cut-throat lawyers alive and he's no shrinking violet himself.

People wanna believe Cosby. People wanna believe these women are lying (read this thread). The only reason a PR person would advise Cosby to be silent is because he's guilty.

A PR person who told him to clam up and hide if we was innocent -- when Cosby is still vital and still very concerned about image and legacy -- should not be a PR person but rather an undertaker.

As I said, you can't prove a negative. He can't prove these women are lying (if, suppose they were) any more than they can prove he's a liar. It's a he-said, she-said situation and the only ones who have credence right now are those accusing him (because they're a group who have similar stories). I don't think he could rightly accuse them of extortion (for sure) and defamation...who in their right mind would challenge that large of a group of women?

He'd be an idiot to come forward and try to fight that battle. Sorry HotD, but the story is dying already because he's not feeding the media frenzy. It will continue to die. He may lose jobs, endorsements etc. and his legacy will always be tarnished because of this but speaking out about it? It would only make things worse.

[HairOfTheDog]

[quote='Duchess' pid='381109' dateline='1417393100']
[size=medium][i]I just don't t

[sally]

Interesting. It really surprises me that all three of you would honestly say nothing and lose everything you'd worked for if you were innocent

It's called dignity. If anything I might flip everyone the finger.

[HairOfTheDog]

As I said, you can't prove a negative. He can't prove these women are lying (if, suppose they were) any more than they can prove he's a liar. It's a he-said, she-said situation and the only ones who have credence right now are those accusing him (because they're a group who have similar stories). I don't think he could rightly accuse them of extortion (for sure) and defamation...who in their right mind would challenge that large of a group of women?

He'd be an idiot to come forward and try to fight that battle. Sorry HotD, but the story is dying already because he's not feeding the media frenzy. It will continue to die. He may lose jobs, endorsements etc. and his legacy will always be tarnished because of this but speaking out about it? It would only make things worse.

The "can't prove a negative' works both ways. It would be working in his favor if he was innocent and directly claiming so. He'd be an idiot to remain silent if he's innocent. The story is dying and so is his whole career and his legacy. If he's innocent, that's an idiotic trade off.

If he'd directly claimed his innocence earlier, many would still likely be focused on how all those women had to be asking for it, or lying, or looking to profit, or whatever.

By continuing to not directly state his innocence and remain silent, he's shifted the burden of proof (in the court of public opinion) from the women to himself.

Also, Cosby has enormous wealth and resources which could have (and would have, IMO) been focused on uncovering lies and holes regarding dates, times, places in the women's stories. That's not that hard to do for a public figure, even in regards to details from all those years ago. If he were innocent, all he'd have to do is directly declare his innocence and present or leak a few such details and the pendulum of doubt-benefit would swing back his way. The cost of protecting and defending himself in such a manner would be way less than the value of his lost contracts and the hit to his image and legacy.

It doesn't much matter -- we agree that remaining silent is prudent if he's guilty. We don't agree on remaining silent if he's innocent, but neither of us believes he's innocent anyway. Still fun to hear your view and go round and round about it, but I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree again, French Fry.

[Maggot]

I've liked Cosby since his Chickenheart album. But his pecker got the best of him it seems.

[HairOfTheDog]

Interesting. It really surprises me that all three of you would honestly say nothing and lose everything you'd worked for if you were innocent

It's called dignity. If anything I might flip everyone the finger.

Pffft.

Dignity? The man has, without solicitation, used his platform to chastise and tell everyone and his brother how to live their lives in a way that he considers to be dignified and moral.

BUT, he's suddently too dignified to say, "rape is immoral and bad -- I have never drugged and raped anyone, ever"?

Nah, silence in the face of terrible attacks on one's character and integrity is not "dignity" for an innocent person (famous or not). That silence would be weakness or apathy for an innocent person, IMO.

For a guilty person, that silence would probably just be wise.

[sally]

If he's innocent why does he owe the media and every schmuck on every internet forum around the world an explanation. I wouldn't feel the need to explain myself. Fuck you. The general you, not you personally, HotD.

Well actually now that I think about it, fuck you too.

[HairOfTheDog]

That's why you've not chosen to be a celebrity and not chosen to use media to tell every schmuck on every internet forum around the world about what "integrity" means, and how they should live, sally.

It was Cosby's right to preach morality and present himself as a role model to the country (not only by way of his fictional characters, but as himself Bill Cosby), and many people heard and/or embraced his message.

He doesn't owe me (or anyone else) an explanation unless he cares that I and a lot of others suspect that he's a vile, piece of shit, hypocritical, serial rapist. Considering how he's spent his whole adult crafting a public image exactly opposite to that, I'd guess he cares. It's not apathy keeping him silent, it's guilt.

And, fuck you too.



(Shit, I really wanna delete post 186, but too late-- worse than a DP even)

[sally]

Who says he purposely created an image though? He's just an actor, whatever the public perceives him as is on their own head. He's just a human being like everyone else. So what that he complained about young black people acting like niggers, maybe he really doesn't like niggers. That makes him owe the world an explanation about a bunch of sluts accusing him of rape?

[HairOfTheDog]

Bill Cosby purposely created a public perception about his image, sally.

That's a fact, not an opinion -- whether the image he portrayed of himself, the man, reflected the truth of who he was (in part or whole) or instead was only what he conned people into believing.

He chose to be more than an actor. He chose to give lectures about morality and societal values, rather than remain silent on the topics and just be an actor. He chose to write books about fatherhood and family values, rather than remain silent on the topics and just be an actor. He chose to give speeches at schools, advising children and young adults about how to be successful and productive members of society, rather than remain silent and just be an actor. He chose to privately and publicly criticize other entertainers' material for being undignified and inappropriate, rather than remain silent and just be an actor. (Some of which may have been sincere and positive; all of which were choices and actions based upon his public image he created and projected.)

All the while, he was allegedly drugging, raping, and molesting women -- many of whom he chose to approach in the role of a mentor.

Now, he's choosing to be silent. Maybe he was just acting all the time, all along.

[sally]

Yeah, maybe he was just acting. That's why you don't look to celebrities, or musicians as role models. You appreciate their talent as actors or musicians and that's it. After all his books and speeches he still doesn't owe anyone shit if in fact he's innocent. Why would an innocent person owe anyone anything? Again I wouldn't feel like I needed to.

[sally]

What is he supposed to say anyway, get on live TV and say "I did not date rape any of these women" like Bill Clinton with Monica Lewinski, except he doesn't admit to it afterwards like a dumb ass. Then what, the whole world is going to cheer for him?

[HairOfTheDog]

You're going in circles, sally.

I already said he doesn't owe me or anybody else an explanation if he doesn't mind being considered a piece of shit serial rapist.

I understand that you, sally, wouldn't care if anybody called you a serial rapist and you'd just be silent and lose your business and all that stuff.

You said Bill Cosby is just an actor. Not true. He's also a person who chose to use the public image of himself, the man not the actor, to serve as a spokesperson on morality and the like. If he was acting when he did the books, lectures and such -- as Bill Cosby the man -- it was the act of conning people, not performing an act as a thespian for a knowing audience.

He wasn't a role model to me. I would like to hear what he has to say anyway. I am interested in understanding why people do what they do. I care about the explanations/rationalizations that pastors come up with for molesting kids in their congregation, for example. I care about why nobody believed some of the kids for years and like to hear directly from those involved when I watch documentaries and read about the cases. Human nature and behavior interests me -- not only the good side of it.

Maggot, this is not a man who simply got in trouble because of his pecker. He was outed years ago for being a prolific womanizer and not many people seemed to care a bit. This is a man who allegedly drugged women in order to incapacitate and rape them, even though he had access to all kinds of women who would willingly role play any act he wanted. This is a man who is in trouble because his veil has been lifted -- if he did what he's accused of doing, he is a man with deep psychological and character flaws who gets off on betraying, dominating, and violating women under a guise of trust -- a sexual predator.

[sally]

You asked a hypothetical question as to why he wouldn't declare his innocence to the world if he wasn't guilty. I'm not trying to go in circles, I'm just saying how I understand that he wouldn't. What good is it going to do him and his family to keep this top news just to please the public?

[username]

Somebody should have told Paula Deen to shut up. j/s. Often times, thou dost protest too much and it just makes shit worse.

[HairOfTheDog]

You and user and Duchess all answered the question as to why you think Bill Cosby should remain silent, even if he's innocent.

I understood what all of you posted when you answered the hypothetical question, sal.

I've already explained clearly why those explanations don't make good sense, to me, when applied to Bill Cosby -- along with explaining what I would advise him to say and how to go about it if I were his PR person (post 188).

And, I've also explained why I would never choose to remain silent and lose everything rather than defend myself against bullshit allegations.