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Former TV dad Bill Cosby was sentenced to 3-10 years in prison Tuesday for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Costand at his Pennsylvania home 14 years ago and the public expressed mixed feelings about it.
Costand is one of 60 women who accused the man who used to play Cliff Huxtable on the Cosby Show of sexual assault. Reactions were mixed to the sentence for Cosby, who is 81 and blind.
The Cosby case helped fuel the #MeToo movement.
Bill Cosby ushered out of court in handcuffs, headed for state prison. https://t.co/XAFeILtIHM pic.twitter.com/DMFPAuiiNw
— Dan Linden (@DanLinden) September 25, 2018
“For decades people maligned & decried his accusers as LIARS,” tweeted actress Debra Messing. “It took 60+ accusers to finally bring his survivors justice &vindication.”
But social media also was rife with comparisons between Cosby and President Trump, disgraced NBC host Matt Lauer, accused former Hollywood executive Harvey Weinstein and others accused of sexual assault or sexual improprieties but not convicted.
What is very tragic about this Bill Cosby verdict besides the women he harmed is the very real reality that so many black men still refuse to listen to black women and decenter themselves in this moment.
We need to improve our gender analysis to better better men. Period.
— Terrell J. Starr (@Russian_Starr) September 25, 2018
As a Philadelphian and fan of his shows and comedy, I can say that Bill Cosby deserves every ounce of that jail time. #dontdruggirlsmaybe #dontrapeperhaps
— Quinta (@quintabrunson) September 25, 2018
I’ll never say poor Bill Cosby. Sure other white men should be locked up too for sexual assault but that don’t exonerate and take away from what he did. If it was your daughter he did it to, it wouldn’t be “poor bill cosby”.
— HAZ (@HAZ_BK) September 25, 2018
Whew, Bill Cosby’s publicist went full “they trying to lynch this proud Black man” at the press conference.
Here’s the thing, this is the kind of DANGEROUS and sickening rhetoric that keeps Black woman victims of sexual violence silent. https://t.co/hbhk3yuOTb
— Britni Danielle (@BritniDWrites) September 25, 2018
The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce said it is unfortunate when public figures do not live up to behavioral expectations, but said Cosby’s star on the Walk of Fame would remain – in keeping with policy.
“The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historical record of entertainment figures past and present,” the chamber said in a statement published by CBS Los Angeles. “Once installed, the stars become part of the historic fabric of the Walk of Fame, a ‘designated historic cultural landmark,’ and are intended to be permanent. The stars only commemorate the recipient’s professional accomplishments. It is regrettable when the personal lives of inductees do not measure up to public standards and expectations; however, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce does not remove stars from the Walk of fame.”
Power 105.1, a radio station based in New York, asked listeners via Twitter what they thought.
@ThaLordPiper posted that 3-10 years was a good deal for the former entertainer. “Take the 3 and bounce,” the post read.
Tweeted @trisha_ciraso, “This is f—ed up! He should not be n JAIL.”