Why Bill Cosby really deserves it
You can spin it however you want, but the fact is it has now been proven beyond doubt that Bill Cosby is a sexual predator. He admitted it himself back in 2005, saying he bought Quaaludes, a brand of sedative pills, to give to victims he wanted to have sex with. And it was that admission that eventually brought him down on Tuesday, more than 13 years later.
The world is a very different place from when Cosby and Andrea Constand, his main accuser, settled their case in 2005 — a ruling that was taken note of and criticised in 2015 when the case resurfaced. The #MeToo movement has since unmasked powerful men who used their position to abuse, threaten and take advantage of the weak. And I am sure there are more to come.
But in the court of public opinion, it’s sometimes disheartening to see how some people, mostly men, take vague stances on the issue. Some of them were used to great effect during Cosby’s long-drawn trial: “He’s being victimised because of his colour”, “His victims wanted fame and money”, “This is sexism”, “He’s contributed so much”, “It was consensual” and the classic: “It was so long ago”.
There’s no doubt Cosby was an icon, revered for what he achieved and all the barriers he broke. His award and recognimessagetions,
many now rescinded, speak for that. But it is when people like him — no matter how much they did to get to where they are — use that very position for their own personal gratification, that a profound trust is broken. And if that person knowingly and consciously does that over a long period of time, then it warrants the harshest punishment. Cosby’s plea for mercy, owing to his 81 years and infirmity, was rightly rejected by the judge, who said the man was “still a potential danger, and still capable to drug people to override their lack of consent to sexual activity”.
“Mr Cosby, this has all circled back to you,” Montgomery County Judge Steven O’Neill said at the sentencing.
It’s actually shocking that it has taken this long for justice to be delivered. But for many of his 50-plus victims, it’s a powerful message of hope. And for others like him, a mighty forewarning.
It’s actually shocking that it has taken this long for justice to be delivered. But for many of his 50-plus victims, it’s a powerful of hope. And for others like him, a mighty forewarning.