Doesn’t it seem like every time Bill Cosby’s name comes up in conversation somebody has to tell a pudding joke? They know that they have the impression nailed and, thus, must bless you with a Cosby pudding joke.
But as tired as the pudding jokes are, wouldn’t it be a shame to see them replaced with sneering retorts about sexual impropriety?
Cosby has been in the news lately for the sort of thing you hate to see a benevolent comic legend go through. Cosby was accused by a former female “acquaintance” of drugging and fondling her at his Cheltenham, Pa., home last year.
The Montgomery County district attorney has said that he does not plan to press charges against Cosby because of insufficient evidence, but irreparable damage may already have been done to Cosby’s reputation.
And then the jokes start.
How many people have you heard dogging Kobe Bryant in the past year? The jury is still out as to whether Bryant can repair his image, and the media may eventually forgive him. But even now that the charges against him have been dropped, Bryant gets no mercy from mockery.
Or, look at Michael Jackson. Back in the early ’90s Jackson was put through hell from comedians for his hair catching fire and his chameleon skin tone changes. These days Jackson would probably give away Neverland, his rights to the Beatle” catalogue and his monkey to go back to those days, before his name was coupled with child molestation.
I would be disappointed to see Cosby treated that way. It would be disconcerting to listen to my friends laughing at him. But Cosby doesn’t get discussed much among my friends and peers because, up until lately, he’s been one of those untouchably mundane celebrities. Even after being the target of a “Saturday Night Live” skit that made fun of him for his indignant remarks at the 2003 Emmys about the improper use of English on television, he’s managed to stay off the celebrities-who-must-be-laughed-at list. He did draw fire again in 2004 for criticizing low-income African-Americans for irresponsible parenting and a lack of focus on education. But, whether or not you agree with his stance, you can’t hate a man for doing what he thinks is best for his community.
But a criminal accusation is different than voicing a controversial opinion.
It doesn’t take much to get celebrities convicted in the court of public opinion, and once people have labeled them, it’s hard for the celebrity to shake that stigma. Just ask O.J. Simpson or Paul Reubens.
I’m biased toward Cosby, though. I can’t bring myself to believe that he isn’t really like his television persona. And Cliff Huxtable wouldn’t drug a woman and fondle her, would he? Despite Rudy’s performance in the Chingy video, I refuse to believe that being on “The Cosby Show” didn’t have a lasting positive impact on those actors’ souls.
Of course, the possibility exists that Cosby is actually guilty. It’s convenient to say that the woman who brought the charges is only out to get paid, but what if she’s telling the truth? Would he deserve to be ridiculed forever?
A lot of talk goes around about how America seems to thrive off of watching celebrities fall only after placing them at such lofty heights, and that’s true to a certain extent. But nobody seems to notice how willing we are to forgive a celebrity even after their reputation has taken severe damage. R. Kelly, for example, continues to sell records even with charges still pending and his dilemma immortalized in a Dave Chappelle skit.
But if any celebrity can bounce back after being accused of a crime, it’s Cosby. His name alone is synonymous with wholesome entertainment. From “The Cosby Show” to “Kids Say the Darndest Things,” Cosby is entertainment for the family. Even back in his stand-up comedy “Uptown Saturday Night” days, Cosby kept it mellow.
So with any luck, this will all be swept under the rug soon. We don’t need any more fallen stars, and certainly none of Cosby’s stature.
Hopefully 10 years from now the meanest Cosby jokes will still just be about pudding.
Jason Browne is a senior communication major. He can be reached at [email protected].