Recently, famed comedian Bill Cosby has been bombarded (again) by sexual assault and rape claims that have spanned his career and reared their heads time and time again; the difference this time being that people are finally taking them seriously and he might finally face some sort of consequence for his predatory actions. The resurgence of the rape claims and the unearthing of all the previous claims began when comedian Hannibal Buress made a joke at a performance about Cosby being a rapist. This led to a number of old stories getting uncovered and scrutinized as well as known victims, as well as new ones, coming forward to tell their painful stories again in the hope of finally finding some sort of justice.
Obviously, all of this renewed scrutiny has led to the (possibly) permanent tarnishing of Cosby’s reputation as America’s favorite family man comedian. Multiple entertainment outlets have pulled reruns of shows as well as new projects that had Cosby on board and he has also been offering refunds to tickets on his current world tour. Interviews have bombarded him with questions over the allegations and he has done nothing but maintained a shameful silence, all but proving his guilt in the minds of many. But what people don’t realize is that there’s another, more complicated, victim in this story. What is happening when it comes to Cosby and all of his charitable and philanthropic donations?
Bill Cosby and his wife, Camille, are huge philanthropists. From donating money to high schools and colleges to finding individual students, the Cosby’s have put massive amounts of time, effort, and money into improving the lives of thousands across the country. And so now all of these educational institutes are faced with an unpleasant situation: either support Cosby and get his money but have everyone turn against you or turn on Cosby and gain everyone’s support but lose his gigantic monetary donations. While what Cosby did is indefensible by any stretch, it’s so unfortunate that the money he has donated to so many good causes has also been tarnished by his foul legacy. With millions of dollars hanging on this decision, many financially-pressed colleges and universities might be forced, by circumstance, to not withdraw their relationships with Cosby; something that many would rightfully see as an ultimate betrayal. However the world is never that simple and so these institutions need to weigh what is worth more, the money or what’s right.
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