Though the allegations regarding Bill Cosby are becoming too numerous to count, many still rush to preserve their memories of the actor and comedian by ignoring the stories or attempting to defend him. Other fans hope that everything will soon blow over and fade from existence, so they may continue to enjoy the performer’s career without second thoughts.
But viewers need to reconcile that Bill Cosby the beloved actor and Bill Cosby the serial rapist are perhaps one and the same. Mass idolization of a person frequently prompts us to forget awful things they may have done in the past.
Sean Penn, who starred in Milk in 2008 and received an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance, tied Madonna to a chair and tortured her for hours in 1988. Laura Bush ran a red light and Matthew Broderick veered off the road, causing accidents that killed innocent people. Mark Wahlberg blinded a Vietnamese man, one of several racist attacks committed during his youth.
I don’t mean to propose that people can never ameliorate past transgressions or abuses. Wahlberg, for example, has expressed serious regret over his criminal activity in his youth and has strived throughout adulthood to make amends for his actions. Bill Cosby, on the other hand, refuses to answer questions—including remaining completely silent during an NPR interview when pressed.
We so often overlook terrible actions to preserve our romanticized ideas about the people we admire. It’s a riff on selective hearing—we choose to believe only what we want to believe.
Such abject adoration for celebrities is hopeful at best and intentionally ignorant at worst. When we choose to overlook offenses for the sake of our own notions, we allow these instances to disappear, along with the people who were hurt by them.
If we allow the people we admire to get away with murder, rape and abuse, then what standards are we setting for ourselves? Celebrities always claim to “be people too,” but if they cannot abide by the same moral values or be punished like the rest of society, this cannot be true. In effect, we are claiming that our idols do not have to play by accepted rules.
Celebrity status should not be a “Get out of jail free” card. Ignoring Cosby’s alleged misdeeds not only cements his position as impervious to rightful punishment, but allows him to continue on as a successful performer. Not to mention, such inaction potentially supports the current rape culture of the United States.
Excusing those we idolize, if proven guilty, amounts to ingrained classism to some extent. Those who are most successful and considered top-tier are regarded as untouchable and “above it all.” People are willing to lend support to a person that they perceive as rich and talented, yet never fail to stigmatize those who commit the same actions who are coded as impoverished.
Though it may be done by someone we think to love, a crime is still a crime. We shouldn’t be so willing to protect our own beliefs and romantic ideals that we are unable to recognize injury when we are confronted with it.
Though it is unlikely that Bill Cosby will suffer adequate consequences if his alleged horrific wrongdoings are proven true, hopefully we as a society will come closer to seeing that celebrity status is not a sufficient answer to criminal offense.
