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Cosby Lets Wife and Attorney Do all the Talking
by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700
Copyright
December 14, 2014
All Rights Reserved.
Refusing to
speak to the media after slew of drugging and rape allegations, 78-year-old
Hollywood comedian Bill Cosby sent his 70-year-old wife Camille to raise doubts
about some 20 women accusing him of the same thing. “An accusation is published and
immediately goes viral,” said Camille, hoping to defuse the media maelstrom that
promises to sink what’s left of her husband’s career. Cosby has refused to speak about the
growing drugging and rape allegation by some 20 women, all breaking silence after some 20, 30 or 40
years. Cosby refused to answer any
questions about alleged rape Nov. 15 with NPR’s Scott Simon. Since then, Cosby’s let his attorney
Martin D. Singer do the talking, saying the allegations are “becoming
increasingly ridiculous.” Showing
that Simon’s statements are designed to obfuscate, he hasn’t denied the
allegations only discredited the messengers.
Simon’s public defense of growing numbers—now exceeding 20—of women that
have come forward accusing Cosby of the same thing: Drugging and rape. Simon offers as proof of his
client’s innocence the fact that no criminal or legal action were taken against
the former star of “I Spy” with Robert Culp and “The Cosby Show.” Singer forgets there was an action
brought against Cosby for drugging and raping victim Andrea Constand in 2004. Singer also knows that two of the
victims, Barbara Bowman and Tamara Green, testified in Constand’s case against
Cosby. “And it is completely
illogical that so many people would have said nothing, done nothing and made no
reports to law enforcement or asserted civil claims if they thought the had been
assaulted over a span of so many years,” insisted Simon, ignoring the out-court
settlement that paid hush money to one of Cosby’s victims in 2006.
Sending his wife Camille out to refute the charges takes Cosby’s
depravity to new lows. He refuses
to defend himself to the media or protest his innocence, instead letting his
lawyer and wife do the talking. “A
portrait of a man I do not know,” acting clueless but knowing there must be some
truth to the multiple corroborated reports of her husband’s sexual predator
behavior. Drugging and sexually
assaulting his victims, Cosby’s alleged behavior was egregious criminal conduct. “There appears to be no vetting of
my husband’s accusers before stories are published or aired,” insisted Camille,
knowing full-well that before the Washington Post published Barbara Bowmen’s
op-ed Nov. 14, they scrutinized her story carefully. Where there’s been little or no vetting is on Cosby himself, who, because of his iconic
Hollywood image, has been given a free pass for years with media.
If Cosby’s accusers were really bearing false witness on an innocent man,
Singer would have slapped defamation and slander suits on every one of his
accusers. Sending Camille out to
talk for her husband is no substitute for the kind of vociferous protest from
false accusations. Cosby’s silence
and his attorney’s lack of defamation and slander suits tell the real story
about the veracity of allegations.
Truly false allegations can’t pass unnoticed or responded to legally by
individuals standing falsely accused.
Calling her husband a “kind man, a generous man, a funny man,” Camille
stops way short of refuting the false allegations. “The new never-before-heard
claims from women who have come forward in the past two weeks with
unsubstantiated, fantastical stories about things they say occurred 30, 40 or 50
years ago have escalated past the point of absurdity,” said Singer Nov. 21,
never directly denying the charges.
Cosby’s attorney and wife have a real problem explaining away all the
similar stories of women claiming to be drugged as raped by the comedian. When women step forward as expose
themselves—and their stories—to media scrutiny, it’s a kind of vetting that
finds common themes and experiences.
If there were really no truth to the allegations from now over 20 women,
you’d bet Cosby would be filing defamation and slander suits against the women
and certainly the media organizations telling their stories. “There’s never been a shortage of
lawyers willing to represent people with claims and rich., powerful men,” said
Singer, not denying the charges but raising more doubts about the victims coming
forward. Singer claims as proof of
the bogus nature of the allegations that none of the women came forward with
charges at the time of the alleged sexual assaults—some when they were teens.
Sending his wife Camille out
to clear her husband’s good name shows how low Cosby is willing to go to save
his hide. There’s no one more capable to
dispelling these specious allegations more than Cosby, if he chose to protest
his innocence. Since he’s chosen silence
and prefers to send his wife and attorney to do the talking, the 78-year-old
comedian’s credibility has vaporized.
“This situation is an unprecedented example of the media’s breakneck rush to run
stories without corroboration or adherence to traditional journalistic
standards,” said Singer, again blowing more smoke for his client. No media outlet has tried and convicted
Cosby in the court of public opinion.
Sending his wife and attorney out to do all the talking isn’t enough to clear
his name. If Cosby really wanted to
clear his good name from all the scurrilous allegations, he could simply sit
down with a respected journalist and deny the charges
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