Cosby... icon or i-con man?
COSBY: FALL OF AN AMERICAN ICON
BBC2, 9pm BILL Cosby truly was an American icon. Finding fame as a stand-up comedian in the 60s, he became an Emmy award-winning actor and one of the first black performers to conquer US mainstream popular culture.
In the 80s, he was the creator and star of one of the biggest hits in television history – The Cosby Show. It was a series that attracted hundreds of millions of viewers globally, genuinely helped to change attitudes and turned Bill into “America’s dad”.
He was indistinguishable from his on-screen alter ego Cliff Huxtable – the perfect father, everyone’s best pal or role model, a man who could do no wrong.
And he was a philanthropist, donating huge sums to worthy causes.
But behind the scenes in his private life, Cosby was allegedly drugging and raping women with impunity – and using his incredible fame and power to help keep it all secret.
Today, he is due to face trial, charged with indecent sexual assault. The accusations were first made by Andrea Constand in 2004.
But prosecutors decided to take no further action, with the district attorney saying it would have been a case of “he said, she said”.
But when Andrea then took out a civil case and waived her anonymity, 13 more women came forward to claim Cosby had drugged and abused them.
Despite this, the star continued to be celebrated and nothing happened for a further decade – until a black stand-up comedian called Hannibal Buress openly called Cosby a rapist on stage.
This time, America finally paid attention. Dozens more women came forward, Cosby’s new shows and tour were cancelled and a new legal battle started.
And, as attorney Gloria Allred says: “It’s no longer a ‘he said, she said’.
“It’ll be a ‘he said, she said, she said, she said, she said…’”