In a startling turn of events, vilified comedian and actor Bill Cosby has now been released from prison after serving only a three-year term as his verdict was overturned by the State Supreme Court due to a series of prosecutorial technicalities. Now, his celebrity friends, accusers and the entire Internet are taking opposing sides while trying to make sense of the outcome.
Notably, Phylicia Rashad who famously played Cosby’s wife on the critically acclaimed television series The Cosby Show has come out on Twitter to praise the release of Bill Cosby, her former on screen husband. While many were turned off by her point of view, some have openly embraced it.
As one example, the management of BlackMen.com stepped forward to offer Bill Cosby a premium spot on their popular live streaming community for black men. “We wanted Mr. Cosby to know that Black Men is where most voyeurs come to enjoy BBC cam shows and he could actually do some good now that he has his freedom back,” said Rod of Blackmen.com. “We would like to have him as a nightly broadcaster on our platform and are willing to make the arrangements to have a portion of any proceeds he earns from entertaining his new fans go directly to the National Women’s Coalition Against Violence & Exploitation.”
Of course the opposite side of the equation is also being powerfully represented by high profile attorney for the plaintiffs in the cases against Cosby, Ms. Gloria Allred who said in a statement that “My heart especially goes out to those who bravely testified in both of his criminal cases. I represented a majority of the prior bad act accusers who testified. Despite the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision, this was an important fight for justice and even though the court overturned the conviction on technical grounds, it did not vindicate Bill Cosby’s conduct and should not be interpreted as a statement or a finding that he did not engage in the acts of which he has been accused.”
That sentiment was quickly echoed online by popular social media platforms and dating sites like Sex Book taking steps to ban Cosby from using their services. “We are outraged by the verdict being overturned on a technicality,” explained Vernon Trask of SexBook.
“It would be one thing if someone discovered exculpatory evidence to disprove the claims made against Cosby, but to acknowledge no change in his guilt and then let him out anyway was a tragic mistake made by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania,” said Trask. “We can’t do anything about their decision but we can take steps to protect our community from Cosby and others like him. For that reason we are specifically banning Mr. Cosby and will be prohibiting him from ever utilizing Sex Book to find dates online as part of our Terms of Service. It isn’t as harsh a punishment as a full prison sentence, but it does at least deny him access to hundreds of thousands of amazing people seeking no strings attached arrangements with other open-minded adults.”
While it appears clear from the ruling that Cosby cannot be retried for the same crimes in court, the possibility of him being tried again does remain open for other crimes and the court of public opinion is certainly in session right now. Will he eventually be embraced by society at large once again the way he was when he was a pitchman for pudding pops, or is he destined to be a pariah of every community the way OJ Simpson’s legacy has evolved? It’s an interesting case study worth watching.
