Thursday, March 28, 2024

W. Kamau Bell Calls Out Bill Cosby’s Defenders

w kamau bell - netflix
W. Kamau Bell Netflix debut on ‘Private School Negro’

*W. Kamau Bell seems concerned that defenders of Bill Cosby think more about protecting one man’s legacy than supporting the Black women he allegedly victimized. 

“I know some black people say, ‘Don’t tear down this black man,’” Bell tells Page Six.

“But a third of the survivors are black women. Why are we prioritizing one man over all these black women?”

Cosby was convicted of sexual assault in 2018 and sentenced to three-10 years in prison. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court vacated his conviction last June and Cosby was released. 

READ MORE: Trailer Drops for W. Kamau Bell’s ‘We Need to Talk About Cosby’ Documentary

Bell is behind the new four-episode Showtime documentary “We Need To Talk About Cosby,” which offers an in-depth look at the revolutionary career and personal descent of Bill Cosby.  The doc also includes candid interviews with many of his alleged victims.

Bell can’t quite wrap his head around the fact that many people believe in Cosby’s innocence. 

“I don’t know how you don’t reckon with the fact that over 60 women have come forward,” he says.

When women come forward to speak their truth about being victims of sexual assault, it “certainly does not benefit your life in any major way,” he says, noting that as a young man, Cosby “had a very big influence on my life — as he did for a lot of people, specifically for black people of that generation.”

“And then you find out about all the accusations of sexual assault and rape and eventually I realized I believed all those women to be telling the truth.”

“I am a child of Bill Cosby,” Bell says in “We Need to Talk About Cosby.” “You know what I mean: I am a Black man, stand-up comic, born in the ’70s. Bill Cosby had been one of my heroes. But this? This was f—-d up. What do we do about everything we knew about Bill Cosby, and what we know now?”

In a statement as part of Showtime’s official announcement of the doc, Bell added, “I’m not sure [Cosby] would want me to do this work, but Cliff Huxtable definitely would,” referencing the iconic protagonist from The Cosby Show.

All episodes are available across all Showtime streaming and VOD platforms. 

Bell hopes his Cosby doc leads “to a further conversation” about sexual assault protecting women who are afraid to speak out, saying “that’s not the case right now and how do we create a system that limits harm?”

We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!

YOU MAY LIKE

SEARCH

- Advertisement -

TRENDING