Bill Cosby’s wholesome funny-man image is tarnished. The loving father-figure on “The Cosby Show” has been accused of raping several women.
For the past nine years, the 77-year-old has been faced with alleged rape charges by five named women.
Some may not have heard of prior incidents of the cases concerning Cosby in 2002 and from 2005 onward, but there is no escaping Cosby’s name in headlines today.
In past weeks, Cosby’s name has been on multiple headlines as more victims come forward to share their story, claiming that they are no longer “afraid of being silenced.”
Joan Tarshis, Janice Dickinson and Tamara Green are a few women that have come forward.
The following is an excerpt of each incident and when it occurred provided by CNN:
Joan Tarshis was an 19-year-old actress in late 1969. She met Cosby in Los Angeles. One night after taping “The Cosby Show” the actor invited Tashis back for a drink. He fixed her a “redeye.” The next thing she recalls was heading to his couch while being undressed. She was shocked that the man she idolized raped her.
Janice Dickinson was model who met Cosby for dinner in Lake Tahoe in 1982. He gave her a glass of red wine and a pill she believed was for menstrual cramps. The last thing she remembers is “Bill Cosby in a patchwork robe, dropping his robe and getting on top of me. And I remember a lot of pain.”
Tamara Green was an aspiring model when she met Cosby for lunch with a group of people in 1970. She was suffering from the flu and Cosby gave her two capsules to help. She said at first she felt “great,” but then the pills left her “almost literally face down on the table of this restaurant.” Cosby took her to her apartment. He groped, kissed and touched her. She forced him to stop and threaten him; he proceeded to back away and leave two $100 bills on her coffee table then left.
These stories all hold a similar storyline: they were young, beautiful women who felt honored and excited to work with such a big star. He promised them a ticket to Hollywood and a claim to fame.
But as the meeting progressed, the women realized that Cosby had bad intentions. Cosby proceeded to drug his victims and rape them.
Their experiences with him were traumatizing.
Many sought professional and legal help, but given the time period and Cosby’s squeaky-clean image, people refused to believe the victims. Moreover, when victims like Janice Dickinson who tried to tell their story (in her autobiography “No Lifeguard on Duty”), they were silenced by Cosby’s lawyers. This left them upset, angry and ashamed for a long time.
Cosby’s latest rebut to selected allegations is that none of it is true. He claims to not know a Tamara Green. He claims Barbra Bowman is not credible. He has “no comment” in regards to victim Beth Ferrier.
Bill Cosby better be sweating, cause this isn’t the 70s or 80s anymore.
In the 1960s to 1990s Cosby was untouchable. He was the “it” star and no one could say otherwise. He took advantage of women through his connections and power.
The sad fact for these victims was no one believed them when they sought help.
But now, justice can be served.
The uncanny parallels of each victim’s story leads me to believe their stories are true. How can all these women, who are all unconnected, have similar stories in the way that Cosby led to attack and rape them?
Research from the University of Minnesota Duluth further supports my statement.
According to the “Sociology of Rape” article, most rapists rape again, and again, and again- until caught. Also, most rapes are carefully planned, and are conducted in the same manner if the rapist does it more than once.
Bill Cosby has scarred women and proceeded to threaten them in order to get what he wanted for over 40 years. He sold empty promises to young, hopeful women and deliberately manipulated and abused them.
His actions must have dire consequences for the number of lives he has ruined.
There is no excusing his actions, and I am glad that these women have fought long enough to spread the word about this truly hideous man.
