Bill Cosby - Oh Boy...Say it Ain't So

Okay, I admit; I like Bill Cosby; I do not want to picture him as a man who would do harm to anyone, let alone rape a woman. With that being said, watch the video on the link...here. .

Here is another interview from Barbara Bowman. In addition, her story - in her words, can be found here.

Bowman, sort of a Sharon Stone-looking gal back in the day. 

When the news and allegations first came out about Bill Cosby, they seemed to surface and disappear as quick as they came. This was years ago. I think it's fair to say that the public at large assumed the matter was settled and that the claims were either false or that conceptual sex had taken place instead rather than rape.

Now, years later some comedian Hannibal Buress, calls out Bill Cosby and claims he's a rapist. He tells his audience:

When you leave here, Google ‘Bill Cosby rape.’ It’s not funny.

Back in 2004, a victim of Bill Cosby's Andrea Constand, came forward and sued. Bowman joined her in this action. She was prepared to make a statement, as were several other women. 13 women in total, 10 of them choose to remain anonymous. Bill Cosby settled out of court for a undisclosed amount of money and the woman was instructed not to speak any further. 

Cosby has not responded to the allegations, nor has he been charged with anything.

Bowman says that she was an aspiring actress. She had managed to find herself being groomed by Cosby himself. Her agent and Cosby had promised to help her become a success in the business. Her stories are very similar to the other women. She was drugged and raped by Cosby.

Bowman has a few different stories about the rapes. The details are still very vague. She seemed to carry on her business relationship with the man since it was him and her agent who were paying to keep her in New York. She says this happened 30 years ago - well almost thirty years ago. She says she met Cosby in 1985.

30 years ago, Bill Cosby just started doing his show, The Cosby Show. Sept 20th 1884 marked the day of the premiere.

Barbara says that a final incident occurred Atlantic City.

 I was staying in a separate bedroom of Cosby’s hotel suite, but he pinned me down in his own bed while I screamed for help. I’ll never forget the clinking of his belt buckle as he struggled to pull his pants off. I furiously tried to wrestle from his grasp until he eventually gave up, angrily called me “a baby” and sent me home to Denver.

It is unclear how long this abused carried on for but it would not be until 1989 that Barbara would visit an attorney who (according to her), laughed at her.

Here are my questions and I'm not sure why nobody asked them:

1) If you were willing to speak up, why didn't you go to the hospital or go to the police?

2) Where were your parents?

3) Was there any indication that he was doing this to other women at the time? Did you know if he was helping other aspiring actresses at the same time?

4) What was the time frame? How long did the abuse occur?

5) I also have to wonder why the lawyer "laughed at her"? What exactly did she tell the lawyer?

I realize that the 80's were indeed a different time period but, it was the 80's and rape was always discussed. People all over were telling women to make sure and come forward. People also would advise to go the police - get a record, get physical evidence in order to prove what had occurred. Make a report, press charges. Go the hospital. Anything. If her blood had been taken and semen had been collected, it is possible that doctors could have indeed proved she was drugged and sexually assaulted.

As for the rest of the women, I don't know. Even though Bowman has come out and knows that the statute of limitations has passed, her story still seems to leave more questions. I am wondering just how much she really remembers or how much she may have blocked out?

It doesn't surprise me that she would continue to stay for a bit. I'm sure she was scared and didn't know what to do. She does indicate she went to her agent who also did not believe her. This type of abuse is nothing new from good old Hollywood folks, although we usually here that it's children who are drugged and passed around like sex toys.

As much as I don't want to think bad of Cosby I have to say, one or two allegations and it could just be greedy people but anything past that number ...oh say...13 - that's a sign that this man is a rapist. Furthermore, they all seem to have very similar stories. Cosby drugs them and then sexually assaults them. They all appear to have been quite young at the time as well. Now add to this that none of the women had anything to gain by the time they said they would testify. The statue of limitations had run out for them BUT they were willing to stand behind another women they did not know because they believed her; they knew she was telling the truth.

No, Bowman was not a child, nor were the other women but being young - 18 and 19, that's still such a vulnerable age. It's hard to imagine being that young and enduring that type of abuse from someone you trusted, someone you thought was trying to actually help you. It's very easy to picture why she felt so helpless and alone.

Again, Cosby has not responded to anything. Maybe he thinks things will go away again but I'm not sure they will. It's too bad that none of these women went directly to the police or to a hospital. This type of abuse by high powered actors/producers/directors and other people in the entertainment field will never end if people do not immediately come forward.