How Bill Cosby's comeback unraveled as rape allegations resurfaced - UPDATED

This year was supposed to mark Bill Cosby’s return to the spotlight. After his Comedy Central stand-up special aired, he got a new NBC sitcom and a Netflix special was scheduled. He even got a new biography on his life published. But now, the roof is caving in, with four women telling their stories, alleging that Cosby raped and drugged them.

While each woman said that Cosby sexually assaulted them decades ago, the story really begins in 2006, when he settled a civil lawsuit from Andrea Constand, a Philadelphia woman who claimed she was assaulted and drugged in 2004. At the time, Constand’s attorneys claimed that they would have the testimony of 13 women who would tell similar stories. The case never went to trial though, since Cosby settled with Constand for an undisclosed sum.

In early October, comedian Hannibal Buress told his audience that Cosby was a “rapist” and told them to look up the case online. However, as Salon points out, before Buress, there was Mark Whitaker’s authorized biography of Cosby, which received criticism for glossing over the 2006 case.

After Buress’ comments, Barbara Bowman told her story to the Daily Mail, but it didn’t get any online traction. Then, there was the now-infamous social media meme experiment gone wrong, in which Twitter users posted images of Cosby that referenced Buress’ comments.

Then, Bowman came forward again, telling her story in a Washington Post op-ed on Nov. 14. Finally, her story was gaining traction and that was the spark that allowed more women to come forward.

Over the weekend, Joan Tarshis told her story, which she says took place in 1969. Supermodel Janice Dickinson came forward Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Cosby’s team has pulled him out of appearances on The Queen Latifah Show and The Late Show with David Letterman. He did not cancel an NPR interview, which was disastrous. In it, he just shook his head when given an opportunity to respond.

While Cosby himself hasn’t said anything, Cosby’s attorneys have been out in full force. Marty Singer has particularly gone after Dickinson, the most famous accuser. Part of Dickinson’s story includes the claim that she wanted to include her incident with Cosby in her 2002 memoir, but her publisher was pressured by Cosby’s team and it didn’t make the final printing.

Singer has tried to discredit Dickinson’s story. He sent a long letter to BuzzFeed, claiming that everything she said was “fabricated.” He also wrote that her story about them contacting her publisher wasn’t true.

The letter ends with the statement, “You proceed at your peril,” and Singer tells BuzzFeed that it should not be published and is a confidential document.

Clearly, Cosby’s team is hoping to get a hold of this story before it gets worse. But of course, it already has. His Netflix special was delayed. The NBC show isn’t happening. TV Land has even stopped airing reruns of his beloved Cosby Show series.

Today, the Associated Press also released footage from an interview on Nov. 6 with Cosby and his wife about their African-American art collection. In the video, posted at Time, Cosby tries to stay silent, like he did in the NPR interview.

“No, no, we don’t answer that,” Cosby told the AP’s Brett Zongker. “There’s no response. There is no comment about that. I think you were told. I don’t want to compromise your integrity, but I don’t talk about it.”

Zongker tires to be as respectful as possible without losing his integrity, but after the interview, Cosby asks him if the footage will be cut out. Zongker says that it’s up to his editor and that Cosby never said prior to the interview that anything had to be off the record.

Cosby’s career and his legacy are already in danger, but he really is planning on soldiering on. Bizarrely, TMZ is reporting that he will not cancel any of his upcoming performances.

Image courtesy of INFphoto.com