Bill Cosby is now in the center of a media firestorm after allegations of him committing rape have resurfaced. Recently, Cosby’s attorneys released a blanket statement on their website saying that, “decade-old, discredited allegations against Mr. Cosby have resurfaced. The fact that they are being repeated does not make them true. Mr. Cosby doesn’t not intend to dignify these allegations with any comment.” On Monday, November 17, Cosby’s representatives released another statement clarifying that this does not pertain to the allegations of Andrea Constand. Constand’s civil lawsuit against Cosby was settled back in 2006.
The statement was released jointly with Constand’s lawyer and says, “The statement released by Mr. Cosby’s attorney over the weekend was not intended to refer in any way to Andrea Constand. As previously reported, differences between Mr. Cosby and Ms. Constand were resolved to the mutual satisfaction of Mr. Cosby and Ms. Constand years ago.”
Will rape claims destroy America’s national treasure? Pressure mounts on Bill Cosby: http://t.co/Tol4AEeCEq pic.twitter.com/YpeXTHQlnL
— The Sun (@TheSunNewspaper) November 18, 2014
In 2005 Constand filed a lawsuit against Cosby and she claimed that other women would be willing to testify. Those named in the filing were Tamara Green and Barbara Bowman, two women who also accused Cosby of raping them. The latest woman to come forward is a publicist named Joan Tarshis who claims that Cosby drugged and raped her when she was 19 years old.
Cosby has remained silent about the recent allegations. It’s been reported that these incidents go as far back as the 1960s. In a recent interview with NPR’s Scott Simon, Cosby only shook his head and kept quiet when asked about the scandal. Eric B. Denzenhall, a Washington-based crisis consultant, discussed Cosby’s strategy in dealing with the matter.
Denzenhall said, “In the current culture, no matter what you do to defend yourself in one of these high-profile media vortexes, it generates multiple waves of new and negative coverage. Cosby has got to be thinking, ‘is the better of my very bad options to remain silent?’”
Recent TV show appearances by Cosby have been canceled since the news broke out about the new allegations. Cosby canceled his appearance on the Queen Latifah Show, an interview with Alternative Press, and a guest spot in The Late Show with David Letterman. The comedian was supposed to do a promotional tour for his new Netflix comedy special. Netflix executives are still quiet about whether or not the release of the special will push through on its intended date.
A new NBC show is being developed that stars Bill Cosby as a patriarch of a multi-generational family. There is no news yet on how the scandal will affect the show’s development.
