Bill Cosby’s rape allegations have dominated news media coverage and rightfully so.
The 77-year-old comedian is once again facing media attention for allegations of sexual assault raised in the early 2000s, the Washington Post reported.
Whether or not they are true still remains to be seen, and while I hope they are not, at the same time I recognize and fully support the need to take these claims seriously and investigate them earnestly.
Someone’s beloved celebrity status should not exclude them from punishment if they have committed a crime.
The comedian responded to the resurrection of accusations by posting on his personal Twitter a link to a meme generator with the caption “Go ahead. Meme me! #cosbymeme.”
I love “The Cosby Show.” I watched “Little Bill,” and some of my favorite Jimmy Fallon interviews are the ones with Cosby.
I now am completely disgusted to have said any of that, even momentarily excluding whether or not the allegations are even true.
Whether or not they were true, which we’ll get to in just a hot second, Cosby is a well-known public figure and should have conducted himself in a professional and respectful manner, if for nothing else than for those who actually have been victims of abuse and rape.
Turning sexual assault accusations into a joke perpetuates a culture that allows people to abuse others with little to no repercussions.
We face serious problems in our culture when it comes to the stigma associated with victims of abuse and rape, male or female.
We ask questions about what the victim was wearing, doing or saying and respond primarily with victim shaming and ?faulting.
This situation is a prime example.
These women who have accused Cosby of abusive actions have all come forward with personal accounts of their ?assaults.
Some have spoken out multiple times.
Now, whether or not that is the result of the desire to gain media attention, money or to reveal what they have been too intimidated to say, it shouldn’t be taken into account until after Cosby is thoroughly ?investigated.
I am so sick and tired of the celebrity status of accused abusers being an invincibility mechanism, protecting them from any repercussions other than a tarnished reputation.
There is no reason for people to let Cosby once again respond to these events with just a shaking of the head.
This time around, these women deserve the investigation and in-depth situational analysis, which should always be administered in a situation of sexual assault.
cmcelwa@indiana.edu
