Comedian/actor Bill Cosby has been accused of sexual assault by 15 women so far. The man Oprah Winfrey credits with setting the stage for Barack Obama’s election as the first black American president stands accused of serial drugging and raping of women over the course of his long career. One striking aspect about the accusations is that all the women who’ve accused Cosby, at least accused him publicly, are white. There are two potential reasons for this. Is this because women of color are, in this particular situation, even less comfortable coming forward than their white counterparts? Or is it that Cosby, if indeed he is a predator, only preys on white women?
The women who have come forth with allegations include: Joan Tarshis, a writer who worked on The Bill Cosby Show in 1969, model Janice Dickinson, California lawyer Tamara Green, director of operations for Temple’s women’s basketball Andrea Constand, and Barbara Bowman who wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post this week, among others. A regularly updated timeline of the abuse charges against Bill Cosby can be found at Vulture. Note: Cosby has never been charged for any of the alleged crimes, according to Reuters.
