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Longtime actor and comedian Bill Cosby, 77, faced a series of assaults accusations that date back to the 1960s, most coming to the popular media’s attention within the last year. Many of his alleged victims claimed that he drugged them prior to assaulting them. Cosby has been an icon for decades and many of his fans were stubbornly unwilling to believe that their idol would do such a thing, no matter how many women came forward. But it turns out that Cosby himself admitted to his crimes years ago.
Critical Documents Released
Court documents from 2005 containing Cosby’s admission were finally made public this week. At the time, he was facing a civil suit from Andrea Constand, who accused him of drugging and assaulting her. His lawyers were fighting the documents’ release, arguing that it would embarrass their client. But their efforts failed. The documents state that Cosby bought drugs called quaaludes and that he intended to use them on the young women that he was interested in. When the prosecution asked, “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 sleep with?” Cosby replied, “Yes.” Furthermore, he also confessed that he gave these drugs to at least one woman. Although Cosby claims those who took them did so willingly, the women disagree.
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The Victims Finally Get to Speak
Over 25 women accused Cosby of assaulting them. He has never been charged with anything and many of the cases passed their statute of limitation – meaning Cosby can no longer be charged with a crime. With the accusations being covered by media outlets, the women are now coming forward with more details. “It’s huge. I’ve worked so long and hard to tell my story and screamed my story onto deaf ears,” Barbara Bowman, one of the accusers, said. “First of all, I kept it a secret because I was afraid to talk about it, because of Mr. Cosby’s power. Then, when we came out, and lots of other women started to come out, we were called liars. I’m just so relieved that the truth has come out,” Joan Tarshis, another victim, concurred. “I think the message has to be that fame and wealth and power cannot exempt you from justice. You cannot exempt anyone from the law,” Victoria Valentino said.
Facing Backlash
Cosby’s attempt to block the documents on grounds of privacy were denied. U.S. District Judge Eduardo Robreno said Cosby “has donned the mantle of public moralist and mounted the proverbial electronic or print soap box to volunteer his views on, among other things, childrearing, family life, education, and crime. To the extent that (Cosby) has freely entered the public square and ‘thrust himself into the vortex of th(ese) public issue(s),’ he has voluntarily narrowed the zone of privacy that he is entitled to claim.” Since these stories have come to light, several of Cosby’s projects have been canceled. Now with this new information, even his supporters have turned on him.
