So we’ve seen Bill Cosby’s perp walk, we’ve read the details of his arrest, and we’ve seen his mugshot. The initial reactions were strong, but now we’ve finally gotten our first word from Cosby himself — or at least his Twitter account — since the arrest.
https://twitter.com/BillCosby/status/682717158393024512
This did not prompt folks to respond calmly:
@BillCosby Wow. What about all of us ex-fans with an ounce of common sense and respect for women?
— Kyle (@stevespooner73) January 1, 2016
https://twitter.com/pattymo/status/683021809428606976
https://twitter.com/Seeker502/status/682718075960078336
@Seeker502 @BillCosby you have erased so much of my childhood.
— Seeker (@Seeker502) January 1, 2016
@BillCosby Im a former fan of yours..U r the real life version of Quagmire from #FamilyGuy,sick perv.I feel sorry 4 ur wife,not u.#BillCosby
— Rob's 🇺🇸 Polls (@Robs010101) January 1, 2016
@BillCosby You kidding, man?
— jim (@jamesmurtagh) January 1, 2016
https://twitter.com/leahflame/status/682717350831894528
(Likely the nicest one of the bunch)
The strongest response came from Cosby’s fellow entertainers, most who came out against the legendary comedian:
Bill Cosby has spent his life attempting to silence the women he has assaulted with threats, lawsuits and money. https://t.co/WQDSPbOc9f
— Judd Apatow 🇺🇦 (@JuddApatow) December 30, 2015
Hopefully now many of these women will get to tell their stories in a court of law and the people who supported him will get deposed.
— Judd Apatow 🇺🇦 (@JuddApatow) December 30, 2015
Cosby's attorneys could do a better job walking him into the courthouse.
— Judd Apatow 🇺🇦 (@JuddApatow) December 30, 2015
Grateful that Bill Cosby's criminal record will be marked forever, like the lives of the women he raped. They deserve justice and peace.
— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) December 30, 2015
If I believed in hell Bill Cosby would be going there.
— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) December 30, 2015
https://twitter.com/amyschumer/status/682310444044783616
What's this about Bill Cosby and Woody Allen?
— Mia Farrow 🏳️🌈 🌻🇺🇸💙 (@MiaFarrow) December 30, 2015
When I was a kid, and you heard the word "Cosby" and "booking" … it was in reference to him doing stand up in Cleveland. #smh #speechless
— Arsenio Hall (@ArsenioHall) December 30, 2015
https://twitter.com/RonanFarrow/status/682334924813156352
Happy holidays, @billcosby. May the new year bring you all that you deserve.
— (((Jew))) (@JoshMalina) December 30, 2015
But not everybody out there is against Cosby. While some of the tweets are jokes, there are plenty of real folks behind the #FreeCosby hashtag that has sprouted up.
— JNumba910🇺🇸 (@JNumba910) January 1, 2016
There are also still some entertainers willing to go out and defend Cosby to the public, like comedian Eddie Griffin. In an exclusive interview with DJ Vlad, Griffin talked about Cosby alongside Michael Jordan and Michael Jackson:
“There is a systematic effort to destroy every Black male entertainer’s image,” Eddie told DJ Vlad. “They want all of us to have an asterisk by our name.” Griffin believes, like Michael and Bill, that most African-American male entertainers are singled out for their illicit behavior. “Nobody leaves this business clean,” he stated while pointing out the cases of others. “You’re not going to die clean.”
Several on Twitter support this sentiment and have their own defense for Cosby:
@___Q__ @markevanst @BillCosby People jump on the wagon for money. Common sense says, let this man have his day in court, not in the media!
— Venita Williams (@LoverofmusicTwo) January 1, 2016
How he drug them and they remember everything some aint adding up 😑️#FreeCosby
— 💲 (@_TheRea1Cmoneyy) December 31, 2015
Slandering a man before any actual rulings of any case. #freecosby
— joe,fromMiami (@askjoseph) December 30, 2015
The Cosby allegations have turned ugly since their resurgence late last year — tip of the hat to Hannibal Buress — but now it seems that we’ve reached a point where part of it will play out in the courtroom. It should be quite interesting.
