by AMY LASSITER Section Editor
Everyone knows stand-up comedian and star of “The Bill Cosby Show”, Bill Cosby, but recent allegations of sexual assault may prove that our nation does not truly know the man we love.
The most recent claim of assault came from former model-actress Angela Leslie on November 17. Leslie says that Cosby attempted to drug and assault her in 1992 at a Las Vegas hotel room.
Leslie says Cosby targeted her after receiving a fan letter with her photograph attached, explaining that her dream was to become an actress. After inviting her to his hotel room, Cosby asked Leslie to act as if she was intoxicated, even offering her a drink to help her play the part.
Once she declined, however, Cosby forcefully made Leslie pleasure him, and threw her out instantly afterwards, since she was fully awake and sober.
“I felt so used. I felt that he didn’t get what he wanted, and he threw me out… He didn’t make me feel special in any way. He said, ‘Come here, put your hand here, do this… He is that type of person, a predator. It doesn’t matter your age, he’s going to put his hands on you and degrade you,” Leslie said in an interview with the Daily News.
Leslie is not alone in these accusations. In fact, in 2005, Andrea Constand, the director of the women’s basketball team at Temple University, claimed Cosby drugged and molested her inside of his home only a year prior.
However the question still remains, why are these accusations only being reported on now? Why not back in 2005?
Recently, fellow comedian Hannibal Buress had a show in Philadelphia, where one joke referenced Cosby’s rape accusations. You can watch the video of his act here.
It is disturbing that our media only now chose to shine a light on the situation, but at least Buress’ act has allowed 13 other victims to build the confidence to come forward.
“The other day I turned on my TV and the news was on, and they were reporting on Bill Cosby. I grew up with ‘The Bill Cosby Show’ and obviously, until recently I was a big fan of his work. So I sat down to see what they had to say and I almost cried. It’s just so disturbing that a man I loved and idolized is so much darker than I ever thought he could be. I want all of this to be untrue, but the fact is that false rape accusations are extremely rare. It proves that who you think you know may not always be the right version,” said an anonymous student.
Cosby has remained silent on the issue, refusing to answer any press questions. His attorney, however, did reference the accusations by calling them “decade-old, discredited” claims.
“The fact that women are making the allegations,” he said in a statement released on November 16, “does not make them true.”
Cosby’s scheduled appearances at Las Vegas and Tucson casinos were cancelled on November 21. Netflix is scheduled to release a documentary about the comedian November 28, and NBC is currently setting up a brand new sitcom based off the original Cosby show. Neither companies have yet to change their scheduled release dates.
How do you feel about the Bill Cosby controversy? Tell us in the comments.