This story is world wide headline news. People everywhere are still in shock. Not because of race, as some folks on twitter would like to believe, but simply because of celebrity. It was Cosby’s celebrity that caused these women not to report in a timely manner and it’s celebrity that kept this from getting out over the last 50 years. And it’s celebrity that keeps us shocked. This is why we didn’t beleive the multitudes of female accusers, preferring to call them fame whores or gold diggers. It’s specifically his particular brand of celebrity. For example, we wouldn’t have been as shocked if the same news was accredited to Redd Fox or Freddy Prinze or Don Rickles,, but because Cosby was a clean comic who was known for touting education and portraying the ultimate dad, we are shocked. It would be the same kind of shock if this story was about Danny Thomas or Alan Thicke . Nothing to do with race, all about celebrity brand. It’s the same reason we are shocked about 9 year old Drew Barrymore out drinking or any child star gone wrong. It’s because we believe the hype and ignore the person. And Cosby is banking on his brand. His denial of wrongdoing, his suing for defamation, these are the acts of a desperate man clinging to the belief that enough people still buy the hype. I sincerely hope that they don’t.
