I have to be honest. I love Bill Cosby. My daughter had the chance to see him a few months ago, prior to all of the sexual allegations, and I told her she would be a fool not to go. She is studying comedy and Bill Cosby is the master of comedy.
The innocent kind of comedy.
Remember, that look he used to give Clair Huxtable, on The Cosby Show, when they were about to get romantic? Remember the Bill Cosby, who did the voice of Fat Albert, who taught kids educational lessons through comedy and song. Remember the Bill Cosby, who convinced us all to try Jello Pudding Pops in the 80’s. That’s the Bill Cosby I love. The Bill Cosby who truly loved innocent comedy and children.
Then the mid-90’s arrived and Cosby became a distant comedic memory for me, as I was busy creating a family, and television took on a more rigid, less innocent type of comedy. To be honest, that’s when I stopped watching television for enjoyment.
For some, including myself, it’s hard to believe that he could have been a sexually assaulting women while he was giving so much happiness and laughter to the rest of the World. A wolf in sheep’s clothing, many would say, as over 28 women step forward claiming that Cosby sexually assaulted them as far back as the 60’s.
At the last minute, I was granted access to the Bill Cosby performance in Kitchener, ON. As a blogger (and had this been a regular occasion without incident), I probably wouldn’t have been allowed to go at all. He would have been too big for this entertainment blogger.
Upon receiving my pass, my husband and PR agent friend told me that it wasn’t “right” to go. I thought to myself, but it is my right to go. As I tried to decide what to do, my mind went back to the days of Cosby’s innocent jokes. I believed that it would be nice to see him to give myself closure to the man that was. But honestly, did I really need closure? Yes, he was a comedic hero of mine, but closure? Not really necessary.
I thought it would be interesting to see the buzz, that was anticipated, and talk to some of the protestors that arrived in the frigid winter temperatures to protest the event. Was that really necessary to report? We all know sexual abuse, done by anyone, in any form is wrong. Whether there was protests or not, I think the majority of the world gets it.
I was also interested to see if anyone would be brazen enough to disrupt the event inside the venue. Was I really up for that uncomfortable confrontation between protestors and this man? Not really. Did I want to bear witness to a person, who probably suffered sexual abuse in some form, get removed from the premise or have legal action taken against them? No way.
I am not going to judge Bill Cosby. As a human being, who lives in a society of innocent until proven guilty, it is not my right. I do have an opinion, but I will not judge. I still love the man that was perhaps a figment of my imagination (and countless of other people too!).
I believe that if he is guilty of these allegations and the courts don’t get him, a higher power will. A wolf in sheep’s clothing will always get their due. Maybe in his own mind, he has already paid a huge cost through personal loss.
So why didn’t I go see Bill Cosby, the man who I viewed as a mentor back in my childhood days?
The reason I didn’t attend the event was that, if by chance, one of these women proves that he did those awful things to them, I would feel that I attended an event to sensationalize their predator and their personal tragedy. I could not live with myself had I tweeted the night away, in order to fill the guts of those curious online, while one person was grieving at the same time.
It’s as simple as that. No followers, no notoriety, or no advancement is worth it.
