<p>^^^^^I didn’t see it either, but the article references a couple of her comments:</p>
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<p>Whoopi also questioned why the women didnt get rape kits, as if to question their credibility. I admire Whoopi because she stands by her friends, sometimes too much. She steadfastly defended the person who is the voice of Elmo, even when it was quite evident he was a sexual predator. [Mod edit: in the poster’s opinion]</p>
<p>It is hard to put these issues together in one’s head. Upsetting to think about.</p>
<p>Conclusions cannot be drawn about the validity of an accusation based on the fact that the victim continues to have contact with the accused after an incident. What Emeraldkity said is heartbreakingly true. Especially about women. Many are raised to doubt their perceptions and mistrust their own instincts. Victims return to the abuser because they don’t even believe their own understanding of what happened. Why would they think anyone else will believe them?</p>
<p>Upsetting to have happen to you, too…</p>
<p>If I compare this crime to others, you can see more clearly how confused/wrongheaded our reactions to sexual assault often are, despite our best intentions. If someone is robbed, beaten, or scammed, we don’t ask the victim to provide proof. We don’t say maybe they got the injuries from a friend, or maybe they deserved to have their life savings drained away. Of course the police investigate, of course sometimes the kidnapper or burglar turns out to be fabricated – but the vast majority of the time, it’s just what the victim said. </p>
<p>We think of these celebrities, these coaches, these people as someone we know. And the thought that they are capable of something so awful, so abhorrent makes us question our OWN judgement and ability to be safe, because we think we’d “know”. We’d have to know, right? So we question the victim in a bad attempt to deflect and feel safer, personally. We’d all be safer if we learned the signs of grooming, abuse, set appropriate limits and then believed victims instead of shaming them. If every assault victim felt that society backed him/her up, and they all came forward, criminals would loose their strongest weapon – secrecy.</p>
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MODERATOR’S NOTE: I did not see the episode, so I cannot say with any certainty, but when I have seen past examples of Whoopi’s controversial remarks, she is very careful to qualify her statements with phrases like “allegedly” and “in my opinion.” Such qualifiers should also be used here when stating something that has not been proven factual.</p>
<p>I watch the view on a regular basis, and in my opinion, Whoopi has a habit of defend first, then when facts come out she will add qualifiers.(Mel Gibson, Kevin Clash, just to name a few).</p>
<p>Well, the simmering pot of accusations is certainly beginning to boil.</p>
<p>I hold the view that it will be very difficult for him to recover from this. Times have changed and even Hollywood has been forced to be less forgiving of these transgressions - and rightfully so. NBC has gone silent on the planned sitcom. It will be interesting to see what Netflix does with the special already filmed.</p>
<p>Nothing about the sexual conduct of celebrities surprises me. </p>
<p>I remember Carly Simon describing walking into Redd Foxx’s dressing room when she was young and he stood up so his robe would open right in front of her. That’s a minor one. </p>
<p>And I remember a story told by a JFK relative that he’d have sex with a prostitute in a tub and would have her head pushed under water because the struggling turned him on. And that he’d have a secret service agent do that. A famous journalist started a column a decade or so ago about how she went to a party right after having sex with JFK in the White House and told people she’d just come from the President’s bed.</p>
<p>Celebrity does things to people and lets celebrities do things to people.</p>
<p>This is beginning to resemble the ‘Law & Order’ episode where Dr. Olivet’s abuser indignantly denied the allegations and rubbed the lack of proof in the D.A.‘s face. Well, ol’ ADA Jack McCoy lured the guy into a press conference where the perp’s hubris was on display for all to see. At the perp’s next meeting with the D.A., Jack pulled out a stack of affidavits from victimized women whom had seen the press conference on TV. Bump, bump. Roll credits.</p>
<p>Looks like Cosby’s new projects are not going anywhere.
<a href=“Comeback by Bill Cosby Unravels as Rape Claims Re-emerge - The New York Times”>Comeback by Bill Cosby Unravels as Rape Claims Re-emerge - The New York Times;
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<p>In other words, sounds like he did rape Ms. Constand, but then bought her off. I bet Cosby is more satisfied with that result than Constand.</p>
<p>Yes, it does. And, she probably figured she would lose anyway and needed the money. Most of these women were very young aspiring actresses. I believe all of it but it is also all very, very old news and not really all that surprising. The part about the rape drugs is especially disturbing.</p>
<p>I was surprised when I heard about it. Hadn’t heard the stories before. It is so hard to reconcile his image and my own perception of him with these crimes. I believe the women. And I agree with some of the previous posters who never found him funny. His schtick just never appealed to me. Never really liked the Cosby Show either.</p>
<p>I thought his show did a lot to show middleclass black families. There was a spectacular episode where he talks to his son about a budget and how much he would need to live in his own apartment. That being said he flopped when hired to speak at a cousin’s company party. His TV image is one thing. Cast mates use to say he was a wonderful father figure. all so sad.</p>
<p>Right, I appreciate what the show did for black families although I felt that it was over the top in a lot of ways. The Huxtables where not representative of a middle class family (black or white). But, as a white woman, I can’t say whether it had a positive effect on black culture. I just didn’t really enjoy the show very much. I felt like it was just trying too hard.</p>
<p>I always loved Cosby, even back in the stand-up days. My cousin had several of his records we would listen to. </p>
<p>That said, I believe these women. For those of you who don’t, imagine for a moment that they are telling the truth and that you are in their shoes. How would you feel knowing, probably from the outset, that many, many people would say you were lying? I wouldn’t have said anything either and I applaud their courage for coming forward now.</p>
<p>I didn’t love The Cosby Show but it was enormously popular and ran for 8 years, plus over ten years of reruns which have now been suddenly pulled. I believe everyone including Janice Dickinson who is a bit of a flake so I’m a little surprised I believe her but I do. What baffles me is that he used the pill in a drink thing since he had plenty of power and could easily have gotten young wanna-be actresses to service him without resorting to that sort of criminal activity. These rumors aren’t new though and one woman did attempt to prosecute but there was insufficient evidence. Still, most of the stories are 20 years old and he’s 77 and rich enough so not much can really happen now. I do wonder about his wife. She was sitting right next to him when this scandal started up again.</p>
<p>He has publicly acknowledged that his wife has long known of his philandering. Whether she was aware of the circumstances before now, who knows? I think Jerry Sanduskys wife truly believes in his innocence. Must be very difficult to be faced with these sorts of realities about someone you have been married to for decades. Some people believe what they have to believe in order to survive. I try not to judge these women as I have never walked in their shoes.</p>