Bill Cosby is Not the Victim: These Women Are Not on Trial!

By dominique DiPrima

Iconic comedian Bill Cosby is facing criminal charges stemming from an alleged sexual assault on a young woman in Pennsylvania in 2004.  The indictment comes on the heels of months of controversy as dozens of women, close to fifty at this writing, have come forward with similar allegations against Mr. Cosby. After posting a million dollar bail, and handing over his passport Cosby was released. A judge may require Camille Cosby to testify about her husband. The case appears to divide opinions among race, gender and legal lines. Is Cosby a serial offender who has used his enormous wealth and popularity to get away with his crimes? Or is he a powerful African American man, targeted by gold diggers or worse a conspiracy to ruin him? Is he the ultimate hypocrite- lecturing the Black community on morals, while preying on vulnerable young women? Or is he a symbol of African American success unfairly destroyed by a Hollywood witch-hunt?

Whatever your position, I hope you will remember that, guilty or not, Bill Cosby is not the victim here. While there is no denying that this scandal is taking a toll on his career, his prestige and his financial picture (although it’s safe to say he is and will remain a very, very wealthy man.) And certainly a convincing case could be made that there is a double standard in terms of media coverage. (It is hard to miss the fact that neither Roman Polanski nor Woody Allen is having their work erased from TV or their stars on the Walk of Fame destroyed.) But nevertheless let’s remember that Bill Cosby has not been drugged, assaulted, raped, groped, silenced, statutorily raped nor stalked.

Even if you are one of the many walking around saying that these women are liars, in it for the money, consensual partners, Hollywood hoes, social climbers or that it was the way of a bygone sexually promiscuous era please remember that the women are not the ones on trial. They are the (alleged) victims. Bill Cosby is the (alleged) perp. And even if 90% of them were liars that would still make him a serial sexual offender with five known attacks.

Most of them are white you say. So what?

I’m not discounting the long history of white women accusing Black men of rape in this country. And for all I know it could be (as many call in to my radio show and insist) a conspiracy to bring Cosby down in order to prevent him from owning a network or to take his money.  But does that mean he’s not guilty?

No they shouldn’t get rid of his star on the Walk of Fame unless they are gonna take down the stars of Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis, Polanski, Allen and heck, probably half the sidewalk.

Yes, Cosby reruns should be available for those who can still stomach them.

Yes, Hugh Hefner should be charged to be a purveyor of underage girls.

And no, Janice Dickenson is not my new BFF.

But these women, regardless of race, gender issues, sexual orientation, plastic surgery or career choice deserve to be heard. Let’s not blame the victim, slut shame, dismiss or diminish them. That would make us all a kind of perps as well.