Has the world turned its back on comedian Bill Cosby? The 77-year-old has a long history of being accused of sexual assault or rape, but things came to a head last month after standup comic Hannibal Buress slammed Cosby during a show.
Buress dug up the allegations reminding everyone that the actor had been accused of allegedly raping at least 13 women. Shortly after a video of the standup routine surfaced, former aspiring actress Barbara Bowman came forward to once again share her story.
In an interview with the Daily Mail in October, Bowman claims Cosby sexually assaulted her when she was 17-years-old. On Friday (Nov. 14) she shared graphic details in an op-ed piece for the Washington Post.
Cosby has been dead silent about the allegations. The former star of "The Bill Cosby Show" hasn't confirmed, denied or even acknowledged Bowman's claims. There has also been reports of the comedian cancelling prescheduled interviews to, presumably, avoid talking about the sexual assault allegations.
Cosby and his team backed out of an appearance on CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman" for Nov. 19, according to Newsday. He also cancelled an interview last month on "The Queen Latifah Show." Producers said the interview with Cosby was postponed per his request, Oregonlive.com reports.
On Saturday, NPR's "Weekend Edition Saturday" aired an interview with Cosby from last week in which the comedian wanted to discuss art work. Host Scott Simon said, while it was uncomfortable, he had no choice but to ask Cosby about the allegations.
Nearly a minute went by in complete silence as Cosby refused to utter a word about Bowman's claims, according to OregonLive.
"This question gives me no pleasure Mr. Cosby, but there have been serious allegations raised about you in recent days," Simon said.
Cosby responded in dead silence.
"You're shaking your head no. I'm in the news business. I have to ask the question. Do you have any response to those charges?" Simon pressed.
Again, the comedian remained silent.
In Bowman's op-ed she said she looked up to Cosby as a mentor to help her break into the acting business but her time spent with him was nothing but a nightmare.
"Over the years, I've struggled to get people to take my story seriously. So last month, when reporter Lycia Naff contacted me for an interview for the Daily Mail, I gave her a detailed account. I told her how Cosby won my trust as a 17-year-old aspiring actress in 1985, brainwashed me into viewing him as a father figure, and then assaulted me multiple times," Bowman wrote in her op-ed. "In one case, I blacked out after having dinner and one glass of wine at his New York City brownstone, where he had offered to mentor me and discuss the entertainment industry. When I came to, I was in my panties and a man's t-shirt, and Cosby was looming over me. I'm certain now that he drugged and raped me. But as a teenager, I tried to convince myself I had imagined it. I even tried to rationalize it: Bill Cosby was going to make me a star and this was part of the deal."
You can listen to the audio here.
