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Bill Cosby has been accused of rape by several different women over many years (the total is around 13, according to Gawker), but until now accusations have all been swept under the rug or made (read paid) to go away.
In fact, I didn’t even know about the rape allegations against Cosby until last week when he asked fans to “meme” him on Twitter with a link to a meme generator on his website.
Instead of it being a funny, nostalgic homage to the actor, it derailed pretty quickly and became a giant social media failure as twitter users used the opportunity to comment on the rape allegations against him with a series of memes commenting on these allegations, rape culture, and rape in general.
These are just a few of the images that were shared:
.@BillCosby This is fun! #CosbyMeme pic.twitter.com/O1ScpMBzqA
— Matthew Bramlett (@matthewbramlett) November 10, 2014I could do this all day. #CosbyMeme #cosbyproblems pic.twitter.com/A8hXSXeh6D
— sideshowRaheem (@sideshowRaheem) November 10, 2014Oh Cos! #Cosbymeme @BillCosby pic.twitter.com/ahFX7LFgVg
— Trill Withers (@TylerIAm) November 10, 2014The allegations (they remain allegations, as Bill has never been charged) resurfaced over the past few months after it was first announced that NBC would be developing a sitcom with him and comedian Hannibal Buress called Bill Cosby a “rapist” during a comedy performance.
Only now, suddenly, has the world woken up to the rumours.
This has upset his alleged victims, as evidenced by an essay published on the Washington Post called “Bill Cosby raped me. Why did it take 30 years for people to believe my story?”
The essay, written by Barbara Bowman who has been quite vocal about her alleged sexual assault tells of how when she first tried to speak out about it, she was met with disbelief and victim blaming. She told her agent, who did nothing. Then went to a lawyer who said she had fabricated the entire story. This obviously made Barbara wary of contacting the police, as she was just an unknown actress up against an American comedic hero.
Instead of being helped, Barbara was shunned by people who were meant to help her. She was victim-blamed and made to feel guilty about something someone else allegedly did to her. No one took her seriously so instead of being able to confront her alleged attacker, and deal with her trauma, she had to “move on”.
And this is a perfect example of rape culture.
Luckily, she found her voice again after nearly 20 years when Andrea Constand accused Cosby of drugging and fondling her. Barbara was willing to testify that Cosby had raped her too, but then the suit was settled outside of court for an undetermined amount of money.
She didn’t let that stop her however, and has now become a volunteer ambassador for PAVE (Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment), a victim advocacy group that seeks to shatter the silence around sexual violence.
But one question still remains… Why after so many years of the world hearing about the allegations against Bill Cosby are people only angry enough to listen now?
As Barbara says, why didn’t the stories of the women who say they have been raped by him go viral, like the comedian’s did? Is it because a man said it? Is it because it was said in a joke? Or is it just because the internet needed something new to obsess about that week?
Whatever it is, we need to realise that there are too many people who haven’t been prosecuted for their crimes, and far too little people speaking out about it, and that we all need to do something about it.
In a recent interview with NPR, Cosby refused to say a word about the allegations which he has vehemently denied in the past, according to Washington Post. He also cancelled appearances on both The Late Show with David Letterman and The Queen Latifah Show, according to Channel24.
The world needs less rapists and less victims and more people to believe that rape, rape culture, and victim blaming are serious issues that need to be addressed.
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