Bill Cosby was thought of as an American icon for many years. From “I Spy” in the late 60s to “The Cosby Show” in the 80s and many movies and commercials more recently. In fact, His wholesome and loveable character, Cliff Huxtable in the “The Cosby Show” was so popular he earned the nickname “America’s Dad,” and he’s been credited with single-handedly revitalizing the sitcom genre. Everybody knew who he was, and we all loved watching his shows.
But, over the past few years, his reputation has been tarnished by accusations of sexual assault. He’s admitted to obtaining quaaludes with the intent of drugging women and has been accused by more than 50 women of sexual battery, drug-facilitated sexual assault, and even rape. For many years, there have been whispered allegations but his accusers claim that because of his wholesome reputation their complaints were ignored and they were discouraged from contacting the authorities.
In many of the cases, the statute of limitations has expired. However, an arrest warrant was issued in late 2015, although this lawsuit didn’t cause his public image much damage. It wasn’t until 2014 that his reputation and image began to falter when a new biography was published which made no reference to the accusations that surrounded the star, and then in October, standup comedian Hannibal Buress accused Cosby of rape in a comedy routine, a clip of which went viral.
Following the video clip, Cosby’s public relations team worked hard to recover his reputation, but asking his followers on Twitter to create affectionate memes didn’t help much. In fact, it made things worse when people came up with things like “My two favorite things: Jello pudding and rape” and “it’s not rape if you’re famous.”
Of course, Cosby and his lawyers responded by denying all allegations insisted that the victims knew they were taking drugs and even filing countersuits in some cases. His wife also defended him, but the damage had been done. Disney World, numerous universities and other institutions began distancing themselves and withdrawing honors from the once beloved star and Cosby’s planned comedy tour was canceled.
A later interview on National Public Radio where Cosby refused to answer questions about the allegations and simply shook his head. The cancellation of a high-profile television appearance and his withdrawal from appearing on The Late Show with David Letterman simply added fuel to the fire.
Today, many people, especially millennials don’t hear the name Bill Cosby and affectionately think of him as Cliff Huxtable or Fat Albert, they simply recognize him as the creepy old actor who used drugs to abuse women. And with entertainment news being mainly driven by Millennials, that’s the message the media are holding onto.
This is something that the Cosby public relations team must deal with if they ever want to begin repairing his image and reputation.
