One of the great things about the past few years has been having it come to pass that, if you build a long, respected career in the public eye, yet simultaneously act like a lecherous scumbag behind closed doors, you're going to pay for it. Hard.
Days after Bill Cosby was convicted on three counts of aggravated indecent assault for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand 14 years ago, the hits to his legacy keep coming.
Almost as soon as the verdict in Cosby's case was announced, universities and colleges that had given the comedian honorary degrees over the years began to take them back. Five days ago, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, less than thrilled with the optics of having a convicted sex criminal among its members, kicked Cosby's puddin' pop loving ass to the curb. But the best was yet to come: yesterday, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts followed suit by revoking Honors that its board had bestowed on the tranquilizer-and-rape-happy celebrity over the years. Cosby is the first honoree in the Kennedy Center's history to have his awards rescinded.
That should look real nice on Cosby's Wikipedia page.
From the Washington Post:
In a statement released Monday, the arts center said that Cosby’s conviction eclipsed his decades-long performance career.
“The Honors and Mark Twain Prize are given to artists who, through their lifetime of work, have left an indelible impact on American culture. As a result of Mr. Cosby’s recent criminal conviction, the Board concluded that his actions have overshadowed the very career accomplishments these distinctions from the Kennedy Center intend to recognize.”
That quote, in my mind, is the literary equivalent of a throat punch.
Given that Cosby still hasn't even been sentenced yet, the fallout that's come of his crimes being exposed and validated by the courts is astounding – and so very apt. No amount of public embarrassment, shame or even the 30 years in the clink that Cosby may be facing can ever make up for the emotional and psychological pain that's been endured by his victims over the years.
Image: The World Affairs Council of Philadelphia – The World Affairs Council and Girard College present Bill Cosby, CC BY 2.0, Link
