Six women have now publicly accused Bill Cosby of raping them. This is a story that was rumbling around the underbelly of news and pop culture, perhaps because it was so difficult and uncomfortable to discuss.
But the situation ignited last weekend on NPR’s Weekend Edition when host Scott Simon directly asked Cosby about the allegations during an interview, to which the comedian responded with silence. (Cosby was appearing on NPR to talk about African art he loaned to an exhibit in Washington D.C.)
That pushed this story into the national consciousness, with all of the morning and cable news shows discussing Cosby’s case. (In my case, that means my mother knows about this stuff now and is asking me about it.)
As the number of women accusing Cosby seems to increase by the day, the networks with which he was creating new entertainment are pausing to consider current events. Netflix announced on Tuesday that it is postponing a Cosby comedy special that was scheduled to debut on Nov. 27. Amid the latest news, that could have made for some uncomfortable Thanksgiving family viewing. On Wednesday, NBC decided to cancel a family sitcom Cosby was developing.
Can Cosby continue to remain silent? If he’s hoping all of this will pass and people will forget, that doesn’t seem likely to happen.
[UPDATE: TV Land has pulled reruns of The Cosby Show from its schedule, effective immediately, according to The Hollywood Reporter.]
