A guilty verdict in the media almost always amounts to an irrevocable label; sometimes justly and sometimes unjustly. But should personal affairs damn the good someone has done? For example, I argue that Bill Clinton's transgressions personally did not correlate with his Presidential capabilities. Bill Clinton may have been a cheater but he was also a great President. However, when the media finds one guilty their accomplishments are overshadowed by their faults, when one has nothing to do with the other.
One of the most recent controversies is the Bill Cosby case. According to a Fortune article, the controversy took rise in October of 2014. A comedian by the name of Hannibal Buress accused Cosby of being a rapist during his stand-up routine, which went viral in a matter of days. Shortly after the video emerged on YouTube, women one by one emerged accusing Cosby of everything from sexual assault to rape. By November TvLand decided to cancel reruns of "The Cosby Show," which has grossed nearly 2 billion dollars in royalty fees in the past 20 years. In the meantime, Netflix also cancelled a new emerging show Bill Cosby 77 and NBC cancelled plans to continue developing a new sitcom with Cosby. NBC executives later stated, “there was no way we could move forward and they would never pursue another deal with Cosby again.” By May of last year, 47 women emerged accusing Cosby of various lewd acts involving the use of Quaaludes. Two months later 2 women jointly decided to push to make a 2005 civil deposition public. In this deposition, Cosby admitted to using Quaaludes “for young women that [he] wanted to have sex with.” During the past year Disney also decided to remove his statue from Disney World in Orlando, Joseph C. Phillips (a fellow actor who has worked with Cosby) openly stated, “Of course Bill Cosby is guilty,” and Whoopi Goldberg accused Cosby of being a “serial rapist” during the nationally syndicated talk show "The View." Overall, since 2014 Cosby has been charged, convicted, and labeled as a rapist in the public eye.
With the inclusion of various stand-up routines where Cosby made jokes about drugging women, the 2005 deposition, and over 45 accusations, the question isn’t whether he is guilty or not. The question is does his legacy deserve to be destroyed. In 2006, Cosby settled the 2005 civil case outside of court and the Prosecutor decided not to pursue any criminal actions. All 47 accusations have emerged after the statute of limitations has passed, and Cosby has no criminal background. So I ask, is the cancellation of such an uplifting and revolutionary sitcom as "The Cosby Show" justified? Whether or not Cosby is guilty does not reverse the impact of Cosby’s legacy. From "The Cosby Show," to "Little Bill," and "A Different World," Cosby has created a legacy numerous African Americans can be very proud of; a legacy combating various stereotypes regarding African Americans. A legacy that taught many African American children that we too can be lawyers, doctors, engineers, politicians, actors, and writers; We too can succeed! Cosby’s impact on African American culture is unquestionable; Unfortunately, Cosby is not the only victim of accusations regarding rape but his rapid downfall has been like no other. In correspondence with an article by Madam Noire, up to 15 Hollywood males have been accused and or charged with rape, but of those only accused their legacy still remains. Cosby is nearly 80-years-old, the accusations are nearly 40 years old if not older; his legacy is timeless and does not determine nor disprove guilt, so why not let it remain?
