Tag: Bill Cosby

Categories
Opinion The Last Word

Show and Tell: 59 Men and Counting

CREDIT: Denis Makarenko | Dreamstime

It’s a given that men are dogs and pigs, but, my God, the description of Harvey Weinstein’s conduct was shocking to me — then I talked to my wife. In my naivete, I never realized this ugly conduct happens all the time. Melody was and is an attractive woman, which means that since she was 16, practically every man she’s ever known has hit on her, including a cop and a former teacher. She’s seen it all — flashers, gropers, masturbaters, heavy breathers, and aggressive advances from acquaintances and co-workers both young and old.

And her female friends said these encounters are common with them, as well. Everyone had a tale to tell. Some of Melody’s stories were too harrowing to repeat. Fortunately, she escaped these incidences unharmed. The 30 women who accused Weinstein of sexual abuse over 20 years weren’t so lucky. Weinstein’s victims include a Who’s Who of Hollywood actresses — Gwyneth Paltrow, Ashley Judd, Angelina Jolie — and Rose McGowan, who refused a $1 million hush-money offer and called out Hollywood talent agencies as being “guilty of human trafficking.” It only took one brave woman telling her story to The New York Times to open Pandora’s Box, so to speak.

Weinstein initially denied engaging in nonconsensual sex, but his unspeakable behavior was common knowledge at Miramax, the company he founded. Weinstein has reached seven settlements with other victims.

Weinstein’s predatory conduct was appalling because it was so disgusting. He invited women to his quarters and reappeared in a bathrobe, exposing himself. Ashley Judd was asked to watch him shower. Other unassuming targets were told that watching him masturbate would help their careers. Weinstein has been accused of giving alcohol to a minor, rape, and assault.

The bloated, bearded swine blamed his behavior on coming of age in the 1960s, when the rules were different. No they weren’t. Only in Hollywood could a dirtbag feel so entitled and powerful that women would surrender to his nascent charm. He had the power to make or break an actress’ career, and if rebuffed, he would go out of his way to punish them. After the Weinstein allegations, 59 more men in politics and entertainment have been accused of abhorrent sexual behavior, and the list is growing every day.

Denis Makarenko | Dreamstime

Harvey Weinstein

For 20 years, viewers spent their mornings with Matt Lauer. After learning that he had a button under his desk to lock women in his office and pull the old Harvey Weinstein bathrobe routine, I feel duped. It’s like if Dick Van Dyke were arrested in a child pornography sting. Same goes for Charlie Rose, fired by CBS, PBS, and Bloomberg for making lewd phone calls and incidences of groping. Thoughtful and soft-spoken political analyst Mark Halperin, co-author of Game Change, masturbated behind his desk while meeting with a female colleague. The hot comic Louis C.K., writer and director of the classic movie Pootie Tang, did bits about masturbation in his stand-up act. Now we know he wasn’t kidding. Accused of exposing himself and asking women to watch him masturbate, his upcoming comedy special and a new movie release have been cancelled.

The list goes on: Kevin Spacey, Jeffrey Tambor, Dustin Hoffman, Garrison Keillor (!) for God’s sake. Bill O’Reilly paid out $13 million to five women. Former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson successfully sued Fox Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes for $20 million for “unwanted sexual advances.” Ailes took the easy way out and died earlier this year. Of course, there’s accused child predator and our probable new Senator from Alabama, Roy Moore, cruising teen hangouts to make new friends. He claims all of his accusers are lying.

We have obviously reached a tipping point in male-female relationships. The old dinosaurs are going down, and the push is finally on for women to be believed. But must we blindly believe all women? Case in point is Senator Al Franken and his accuser, radio personality Leeann Tweeden. On a 2006 USO tour in Afghanistan, when Franken was still a comedian, Tweeden said Franken forcibly kissed and groped her. She later wrote Franken, “grabbed my breasts while I was sleeping and had someone take a photo of you doing it, knowing I would see it later and be ashamed.” Franken immediately apologized and called for an ethics investigation on himself, which was smart, because it could force Tweeden to testify under oath. The photo mentioned was childish and sophomoric but contradicts Tweeden’s account. She is asleep in a cargo plane wearing a flack jacket while Franken’s hands are hovering over her chest while he smiles for the camera — obviously a joke — a stupid one, but a joke just the same. Tweeden was a regular on Sean Hannity’s nightly propaganda broadcast, and a Trump supporter. Sounds like a hit job to me, yet some are demanding his resignation. Which brings us to the most blatantly hypocritical pot-and-kettle dilemma. Over the past two decades, taxpayers have paid $17 million for hush money and to settle Congressional sexual harassment charges for 264 Congressional staffers and other legislative employees. One other question remains: When is Donald Trump going to sue those 20 women who accused him of predatory sexual behavior, like he promised?

Randy Haspel writes the “Recycled Hippies” blog.

Categories
Editorial Opinion

Calling to Account

All of a sudden, we’re getting into Rip Van Winkle territory. But the familiar universe doesn’t require a full 20 years, any longer, to be unrecognizable. Last year at this time, we here in Memphis knew that Nathan Bedford

Forrest was developing into a persona non grata — at least with a major part of our population. The name “Forrest Park” had already given way to the unoffending and somewhat antiseptic moniker, “Health Sciences Park.” But, a year ago, nobody was threatening to move the Confederate general’s statue or transfer his grave back to Elmwood Cemetery. Now both goals are established parts of the political agenda.

And it wasn’t long ago that we were reading articles celebrating the positive moral influence of comedian Bill Cosby on minority youth, and touting his then forthcoming revival tour as a wholesome experience for family audiences. Now, the man is in utter disgrace as an alleged serial rapist, unable to show himself in public for fear of derision — or encountering another process server.

And, hey, you local Democrats who look forward to buzzing up to Nashville for the next ceremonial Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner, be aware that by the time you get there, the names are likely to have been changed to reflect society’s suddenly unforgiving attitudes. Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, is lately fallen from favor, due to his status as a slave-owner. And Andrew Jackson? He’s lucky that it was Alexander Hamilton, and not himself, that was recently bumped off his spot on a currency note. Not only was Jackson a slave-owner, he was guilty of massacres of native Americans in Florida and of “ethnically cleansing” that territory for the sake of white folks wanting to move in. Democratic parties in Connecticut, Missouri, and Georgia have already purged the two names from the title spot for their annual banquets. And Tennessee state Democratic chair Mary Mancini has just sent out an email to party cadres informing them, via an official missive titled “The Legacy of Andrew Jackson,” that the Tennessean whose Hermitage mansion is still a much-visited tourist site may be about to lose his lease as a state hero.

Here’s Mancini’s clincher: “In 2015, we may very well decide to name our annual event after someone who better exemplifies who we are today. We may not. But either way, let’s not shy away from the conversation.”

Forrest, Jefferson, Jackson, and Dr. Huxtable! All gone from the icon list. Who’s next? George Washington?

The bottom line is that, in an age when social media have opened up everybody’s closets for inspection, nobody gets away with anything. Not even historical figures. We don’t know whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing. But it’s a thing, and we’d better get used to it.

Categories
Letters To The Editor Opinion

What They Said (December 11, 2014) …

CREDIT: Greg Cravens

Greg Cravens

About Jackson Baker’s Politics

column, “State Democrats Down But Not Out” …

Oh, what a sad, sorry spectacle is the Tennessee Democratic party. No doubt, they realize now they need to be even more conservative if they have any hope of delivering the first absolute majority in the Re-unreconstructed Confederacy.

But I do hope my fellow Baptists in Germantown, Bartlett, Cordova, and parts unknown see Brian Kelsey dancing and finally see him for the unrepentant sinner that he truly is. Dancing, as we all know, is an abomination in the eyes of God and makes the baby Jesus cry. Any man who would dance in public (and at the birthday party of a godless Democrat!) has no business representing the good people of these communities.

Jeff

About Ruth Ogles Johnson’s Viewpoint, “Hail the Man” …

We have to degrade other professions we feel are beneath us, performed by people we feel are beneath us, so we feel better about the jobs we don’t like but that afford us the lifestyle that justifies said job that we don’t like.

MTBlake

Too bad our sanitation workers can’t clean up the mess some of our politicians make.

Pamela Cate

About Wendi C. Thomas’ Truth Be Told column, “The Cosby Show” …

In addition to the fact that all of these [Cosby] stories are so similar, there are a couple of other things that convince me Cosby is a serial rapist. One, although his lawyer does, Cosby never disputes the validity of the claims. He just remains silent. That makes me wonder whether the settlement he reached out of court with one of his victims has a clause whereby if he denies the truth of the matter asserted he will owe additional monies. Also, if the claims are untrue, why is his lawyer not bringing slander and libel claims against some, or all, of these women? Maybe some of them don’t have enough money for him to bother suing but, clearly, some of his victims do.

Robert Rawson

Even more disappointing to me than the crumbling of my respect for this man, after decades of crafting some of the best humor ever created in America, bar none, is the way I have to explain to my kids, who see this on television, what it is that we are discussing in such angry tones. Because it’s everywhere. And even my 4-year-old asked me what all the adults were upset about.

OakTree

About Chris Davis’ post, “Atheists Launch Christmas Billboard Campaign” …

Certainly atheists have a perfect right to put up any billboard advertising they wish, as do religious groups. Such advertising is undoubtedly free speech.

But what this billboard is trying to accomplish, I don’t know. The purport is to stop parents from taking their children to church on Christmas, manifestly a private event among the worshippers who are present. What about that is so important that a group would go to the time and expense of erecting a billboard to fight it? And further to denigrate someone else’s heartfelt belief as a fairy tale?

Arlington Pop

I think maybe if you don’t like the billboard you should ignore it. I ignore all the Bellevue billboards and such. Even when I’m on my way to church.

And kids deserve freedom of (and from) religion just as much as anybody else. There’s no age limit specified in that First Amendment. 

I suspect the billboard’s authors wanted to see the Christian right with their panties all in a wad. By that measure, it’s a rousing success.

B

Categories
News News Feature

The Cosby Show

In October 2006, a month before Bill Cosby settled a civil suit filed by a woman who accused him of sexual assault, I interviewed him backstage at the Orpheum.

He was in town to perform at a benefit for Hurricane Katrina-damaged Dillard University. I can’t remember who set up the meeting, but it was presented as a special treat: “Do you want to talk to Bill Cosby?”

How could I say no?

I would get to meet the creator of The Bill Cosby Show, the patriarch of the black familial perfection that was the Huxtables, to which my family was often favorably compared.

I remember being nervous before the interview. I worried that he’d think my questions were dumb, that he’d think I was dumb, that my pen would run out of ink and he’d wonder aloud about how dumb you had to be to show up to an interview with an inkless pen.

This was in Cosby’s “call out” days — when he’d plod about the country, scolding black audiences and preaching the salvation found in personal responsibility. All of black America’s woes would disappear if we’d parent better, polish our grammar, and, of course, pull up our pants.

By October 2006, the tally of Cosby’s accusers stood at six.

I took a tape recorder to the interview, so I could be sure to capture every word. Backstage, I waited my turn while Cosby talked to a mom and her kid.

Someone got me a chair, and I sidled up to ask some questions.

Words came out of Cosby’s mouth, but they didn’t relate to the questions posed. Nor were his responses formed in complete sentences that would make decent quotes. He was a rambling mess of disjointed thoughts.

More than once, I rephrased my question in an attempt to get something usable. My forehead crinkled in confusion, but Cosby got frustrated, as if I were the one being willfully obtuse.

Intimidated and anxious, I backed down. I thought: If what this rich, powerful Ph.D. is saying is clear to him and not to me, maybe I am dumb.

The column, which had two partial quotes from Cosby, stunk. (To be fair, it stunk not just because of Cosby’s refusal to cooperate but also because, back then, I foolishly bought into the respectability politics rhetoric on which Cosby’s call-outs were based. For that I apologize.)

In the past month, 14 women have publicly come forward to accuse the 77-year-old comedian of sexual assault, bringing the total number of accusers to 20.

Some of the incidents go back more than 40 years, and the women’s accounts are eerily similar: Cosby offers them a drink or pills, and when the woman comes to, she’s being groped or penetrated.

His shows are being cancelled, and organizations with any connections to Cosby are severing ties.

After I interviewed Cosby, I told my parents that I was so disappointed by how incoherent he was that I never wanted to interview any other famous person I admired. I didn’t want to mar the image in my head with reality.

The reality is that Cosby is either a serial rapist or the unluckiest guy on the planet. I’m certain it’s the former.

The testimony of these 20 accusers was persuasive. Any lingering doubts were erased after I saw how Cosby treated an Associated Press reporter last month.

In a brief snippet of the videotaped interview, the AP reporter awkwardly shifts his line of questioning from Bill and Camille Cosby’s art exhibit to the allegations of sexual assaults.

Bill becomes a manipulative bully, calling into question the reporter’s character for broaching the subject.

“I don’t want to compromise your integrity, but we don’t — I don’t — talk about it,” Cosby said, before asking that the video be “scuttled.”

“I think if you want to consider yourself to be serious, that it will not appear anywhere,” Cosby said.

He suggests that the reporter has reneged on an implicit agreement.

“The reason why we didn’t say that upfront was because we thought that AP had the integrity to not ask,” Cosby said.

The reporter makes no promises, but he’s clearly uncomfortable and the interview ends.

In the two-minute exchange, Cosby puts on his most convincing performance ever — as a predator accustomed to using his power and influence to intimidate others into submission and silence. It’s a role Cosby has played for decades, but it looks like the show is about to end.