7/10/2015
Lawyers for Andrea Constand filed a motion this week in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, PA to nullify the confidentiality agreement that was part of the settlement between Constand and comedian Bill Cosby nine years ago. If the motion is granted, Pudding Pop’s chilling secrets go public.
The settlement arose from a suit Constand filed in 2004 claiming Cosby sexually assaulted her in his mansion in Cheltenham. It included an agreement that no one involved, from Constand & Cosby to their lawyers and on down, could talk about the case. So why is Constand moving to go public?
Essentially, she seeks to promote the message that rape “is not just committed with a gun or a knife, but is also committed by mentors who engage in exploitative behaviors.” Beyond that, it’s a case of what’s good for the goose is good for the gander and the gander (and his team) have been flapping their bills lately in complete violation of the settlement agreement.
Some of these violations are listed below:
- November 2014: John P. Schmitt (a Cosby attorney) issued a statement calling Constand’s and 13 “Jane Does’” claims of sexual assault “discredited.”
- December 2014: Patrick O’Connor, chairman of Temple University’s board of trustees (Constand was Director of Temple Basketball in 2004) lent his voice to a New York Times article stating, “If this conduct is true, Bill Cosby has major issues . . . But maybe, if he’s innocent and the relations were consensual – wow.” In an email sent to Constand’s counsel, Bebe Kivitz, O’Connor said he wasn’t referring to Constand with that comment, that he couldn’t do so without violating the agreement.
- July 2015: A Cosby representative issued a statement on ABC News saying, “The only reason Mr. Cosby settled [with Constand] was because it would have been embarrassing in those days to put all those women on the stand and his family had no clue. That would have been very hurtful.”
We’ll get back to that last one, I promise.
The Cosby camp must be crapping a Jello brick this week. Not only has Constand’s motion hit the scene, but the Associated Press let loose that they have previously sealed court documents from Constand’s 2005 case. These documents contain Cosby’s admission of doping at least one woman with Quaaludes because he wanted to have sex with her.
In addition, Constand’s own motion requests full release of those documents, not just the snippet the AP got. Cosby’s legal team is vigorously protesting this, as it would “embarrass” Cosby.
We’re coming back to that one too, guaranteed.
Constand’s motion says, “These documents will assist women who have been victimized and bring awareness to the fact that the sexual assault is not just committed with a gun or a knife, but is also committed by mentors who engage in exploitative behaviors.”
Oh, how the mighty are already falling! Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love, decided that love may be one thing, but drug-based rape is quite another. There’s a mural on Broad Street near Indiana Avenue with Cosby next to Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela and Malcolm X. It’s fallen into disrepair since it’s 2008 Father’s Day installation and has been low on the city’s list of things to fix.
Not anymore. Due to all the negative press recently, Cari Feiler Bender, spokesperson for the Mural Arts Program, said, “We’ve moved it to the top of that list.” The self-styled paragon of morality’s image will be removed, it’s message as cracked and broken as the comedian’s reputation.
And you know it’s bad when Disney World makes a move. The statue of Cosby in the park’s Hollywood Studios section was quietly removed after the park closed Tuesday of this week. The reason given: too much controversy.
Granted, we live in the age of the fast buck and one way to get it is by accusing famous people of doing bad things. However, when a total of 14 people come forward with the same story, one must wonder if some kernel of truth exists in their allegations. Likewise, one must wonder why people would take this route to the fast buck since the “fast buck” in these cases is typically not fast and costs a lot in reputation points for both sides.
One assumes that those who would do this only for the money are not blessed in the brains department. That’s why I’m more likely to believe Constand and the 13 “Jane Does.” After all, if Constand wanted to play dirty, she could’ve easily written a tell-all book that would’ve sold millions of copies. Instead, she followed the terms of the settlement agreement.
Not so our paragon of morality, the Pudding Pop himself. His team (one must assume with his approval) broke that agreement six ways to Sunday and has the temerity to suggest that pertinent documents should be kept secret because they’ll embarrass their client.
Who. The. $%&#^. Cares!?!?
I give you this: “The only reason Mr. Cosby settled [with Constand] was because it would have been embarrassing in those days to put all those women on the stand and his family had no clue. That would have been very hurtful.”
And it wasn’t hurtful to those women, like Constand, who trusted Cosby? It wasn’t hurtful to them to be violated against their will and without the means to fight back because they were drugged?
So what, Cosby’s family had no clue! Do you think it was peaches ‘n’ cream for Constand’s family to have her name and face plastered everywhere along with accusations that she was just looking for an easy payday?
Full disclosure could embarrass Cosby, his lawyers argue. Oh, well! I can’t imagine Constand has sailed through this experience holding her head high every day.
We’re only human and as such, we do stupid things. Sometimes even illegal stupid things. While that constantly feeds me fresh topics for this blog, most of the time the ones doing the stupid (and oft illegal) things have no choice but to fess up and pay the piper. After all, they danced to the tune of their own bad decisions, didn’t they?
But wait! I forgot about the Cult of Celebrity! Any member of said cult gets an automatic exemption. Silly me! Famous? Do something dumb? Throw money at it and it will go away as quickly as pudding pops melt in the hot July sun.
I call BS! I used to be a Cosby fan and supporter. Not anymore, though. Look, there are court documents in which he states, under oath, that he used ‘Ludes to get women woozy so he could get his jollies. I abhor the Cult of Celebrity. However, there is one thing I hate even more: hypocrisy.
It would be one thing (still unforgivable) if Cosby was an old horndog with a reputation of mounting everything that couldn’t run fast enough, but he’s not. At least, that’s not his chosen public persona.
He set himself up to be the gold standard of moral conduct, pontificating on everything from marriage to childrearing and how we, the people, should be doing it. All the while, he’s spiking drinks so he can spike innocent women. Real morality there, eh?
Nope. No sympathy here, people. Will he be embarrassed if the truth comes out? You betcha! Should he be embarrassed? Oh, yeah! Will anyone ever look up to him again as a role model for moral society? Only if they’ve OD’d on pudding or accepted a drink at the Cosby house.
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