美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Chasing Cosby' Author Says Covering The Cosby Case Was A Journey Of Disillusionment

'Chasing Cosby' Author Says Covering The Cosby Case Was A Journey Of Disillusionment

NICOLE WEISENSEE EGAN: Last Sunday, Bill Cosby's official social media account sent out a message wishing everyone a Happy Father's Day from America's dad. Not too long ago, this would not have raised many eyebrows¹. Bill Cosby was associated with the best of everything - not just a comedian², but a beloved one - not just a TV pioneer, but one of the most successful of his era - a major philanthropist, an educator, a mentor³, a father figure - as he put it, America's dad.

But now he is an inmate⁴ at a Pennsylvania prison serving three to 10 years for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand. And she is just one of the more than 60 women who have accused him of similar acts, which is why Cosby's post, which he apparently⁵ directed, sparked furious responses, as well as, it has to be said, supportive and appreciative⁶ ones.

And that really describes the purpose of Nicole Weisensee Egan's new book, "Chasing Cosby: The Downfall Of America's Dad." Egan was a reporter for the Philadelphia Daily News when Constand's allegations first surfaced. Her book describes how Cosby's icon⁷ status helped him avoid prosecution⁸ as a violent sexual predator⁹ for some 14 years. Egan's been following the accusations¹⁰ against Cosby from the beginning, and it has to be said that Bill Cosby still denies all of them. And Nicole Weisensee Egan is with us now.

Nicole, thanks so much for joining us.

EGAN: Thanks for having me on.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

And I just want to start by reminding folk that this is not a pretty story, and it may be challenging and even traumatic for some people to hear. So, with that being said, you start the book where so many other start when they think of Cosby. You know, you're watching reruns of "The Cosby Show." You're remembering how much you, like millions of other people, loved it when it came out in the 1980s. So be honest - when you were first assigned to report on Andrea Constand's story in 2005, weren't you skeptical¹¹?

EGAN: Oh, absolutely. You know, not only did I love him from "The Cosby Show" - I grew up watching "Fat Albert And The Cosby Kids" on Saturday mornings with my brother. And so yes, I was skeptical. I was, like, who is this woman? Because they weren't releasing her name.

MARTIN: So when did you start to think that the allegations could be credible¹²? Because the fact of the matter is the media sometimes does not report on allegations against public figures because people don't find them to be credible.

EGAN: Well, when I started digging into who she was, she was a very credible person, first of all. And really, I could not figure out a motive¹³ for making up allegations against a powerful and beloved man like Bill Cosby. Then I found out there were tapes that she had that supported her allegations. It turned out to be a taped phone call between her mom and Cosby. And ultimately, really, it was when the Cosby people began leaking lies about her to the other media about that phone call. If they're making up lies about her, that means they have nothing else to defend themselves with.

MARTIN: So he had this pristine¹⁴ image, which he used to his advantage. And in addition to that, he was quietly - not quietly - or behind the scenes extremely intimidating¹⁵. How quickly did other complainants come forward with similar acts? I mean, that was one of the other things that I learned from your reporting, is that other complainants started coming forward. But somehow, their stories disappeared.

EGAN: Yes. In fact, the first one - well, the other accuser to come forward in 2005 was attorney Tamara Green. She heard excerpts¹⁶ of the then-DA's press conference, and she could just tell from his tone that he was not going to be filing charges against Cosby. And so she decided¹⁷ to come forward with her own story of Cosby drugging and trying to sexually assault her 30 years prior. That's when another 10 or 11 other women come forward. The prosecution back then didn't even bother to interview most of them before closing the case.

MARTIN: But then the story seemed to end for years. I mean, you even put your own papers away and, you know, moved onto other things. What brought the story back?

EGAN: What happened was this incredibly strange turn of events where in October 2014, Hannibal Buress, a comedian, was performing in Philly. And a Philly Mag reporter decided to go at the very last minute. He's sitting there, and he hears Hannibal Buress start talking about Bill Cosby. So he gets his iPhone, and he starts recording¹⁸ him. And it's Hannibal Burress doing a routine about Bill Cosby lecturing black people about how to behave, basically, when he's - you know, he's a rapist. So the next day, Dan McQuade put it on Philly Mag's website. And that Monday, BuzzFeed picked it up, and then Gawker, and then the Daily Mail. And it just went crazy on Twitter.

MARTIN: So what happened then? I mean, are you telling me that the prosecutors¹⁹ decide to reopen a case 10 years later that they had declined to prosecute²⁰ because a comedian talked about it? Is that really the truth?

EGAN: No. That's how it exploded again. Then what happened after that is more and more women began coming forward. And then Associated Press decided to get some documents from Andrea's court case unsealed. There were motions that had excerpts from his deposition²¹ in the case. And a federal judge in July of the next year allowed those to be unsealed because he said Cosby had given up his right to privacy by all the public scolding he had done to people through the years, so that narrowed his right to privacy. And so in those papers, where Cosby admitting to using - giving drugs to women he wanted to have sex with, specifically Quaaludes. And that's what prompted the reopening of the case.

MARTIN: Wow. So then there was a trial. It ends with a deadlocked²² jury. Then it goes to a second trial, which ends with his conviction. What changed between the first trial and the second trial?

EGAN: I think the prosecution had a - ran a much better case the second time around. They put a sexual assault expert up first to testify about rape²³ myths and debunking²⁴ rape myths and, you know, all of the victim behavior that might seem odd to you, like waiting to report it to authorities or reporting it at all is the norm for sexual assault. So she kind of set the stage for the jury to say, you're going to hear some strange things, but this is the normal thing for sexual assault victims. And then, this time, five other women were allowed to testify as opposed to one from the first trial. And it was like one, two, three, four, five they testified, and then Andrea.

MARTIN: I find myself wondering how covering this story affected²⁵ you all these years. I mean, you were threatened by Mr. Cosby's representatives, according to your reporting - not just the fact of that, but also just engaging with this kind of conduct for all these years. And I did find myself wondering how it affected you.

EGAN: You know, it really affected me back in 2005 because I was completely shocked by it, and I was very disillusioned²⁶. And it was something I'd never experienced before working in journalism²⁷. You know, it was also the national media - you know, the coddling and the giving in to Cosby, you know? I was getting on all these national talk shows at night, and the bookers were telling me that Cosby's people were pressuring them not to have me on. And that's when I heard the phrase trading up, where you give up one story to give a better one. And soon enough, I wasn't on there anymore. So I was really disillusioned by the whole experience.

MARTIN: Well, you know, of course, as you report on this, to this day, Bill Cosby through his representatives denies this aggressively. His wife made this kind of a very aggressive argument that there's racial bias²⁸ at work. You know, but other people say no. Actually, his profile in American life is quite unique. To the degree that you can, having lived with this for so long, take a step back, like, what is this about? What does this say? Is it about wealth? Is it about what? What's it about, really?

EGAN: Well, I think - and I tried to examine this somewhat in the book - it's also about the inherent distrust we as a society have of sexual assault victims when they come forward. I think a lot of the men are in these journalism organizations making the decisions, and I - so I think that's a huge part of it.

As far as race goes, you know, many of the African-American women who came forward about what Cosby did to them struggled with that, too. And in the end, they concluded, as I conclude, that he's not your typical African-American defendant²⁹. He had seven attorneys at his second trial. How many do you know that could have the income level to afford that? It's about power and privilege and wealth, and that's what allowed him to escape justice for so long.

MARTIN: That's Nicole Weisensee Egan. Her new book is "Chasing Cosby: The Downfall Of America's Dad." We spoke³⁰ with her from member station WHYY in Philadelphia.

Nicole Egan, thanks so much for talking to us.

EGAN: Thank you.

1 eyebrows   

眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
• His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

2 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

3 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

4 inmate   

n.被收容者；(房屋等的)居住人；住院人

参考例句：

• I am an inmate of that hospital.我住在那家医院。
• The prisoner is his inmate.那个囚犯和他同住一起。

5 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

6 appreciative   

adj.有鉴赏力的，有眼力的；感激的

参考例句：

• She was deeply appreciative of your help.她对你的帮助深表感激。
• We are very appreciative of their support in this respect.我们十分感谢他们在这方面的支持。

7 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

8 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

9 predator   

n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者

参考例句：

• The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
• Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。

10 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

11 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

12 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

13 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

14 pristine   

adj.原来的，古时的，原始的，纯净的，无垢的

参考例句：

• He wiped his fingers on his pristine handkerchief.他用他那块洁净的手帕擦手指。
• He wasn't about to blemish that pristine record.他本不想去玷污那清白的过去。

15 intimidating   

vt.恐吓，威胁( intimidate的现在分词)

参考例句：

• They were accused of intimidating people into voting for them. 他们被控胁迫选民投他们的票。
• This kind of questioning can be very intimidating to children. 这种问话的方式可能让孩子们非常害怕。

16 excerpts   

n.摘录，摘要( excerpt的名词复数 )；节选（音乐，电影）片段

参考例句：

• Some excerpts from a Renaissance mass are spatchcocked into Gluck's pallid Don Juan music. 一些文艺复光时期的弥撒的选节被不适当地加入到了格鲁克平淡无味的唐璜音乐中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is editing together excerpts of some of his films. 他正在将自己制作的一些电影的片断进行剪辑合成。 来自辞典例句

17 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

18 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

19 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

20 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

21 deposition   

n.免职，罢官；作证；沉淀；沉淀物

参考例句：

• It was this issue which led to the deposition of the king.正是这件事导致了国王被废黜。
• This leads to calcium deposition in the blood-vessels.这导致钙在血管中沉积。

22 deadlocked   

陷入僵局的；僵持不下的

参考例句：

• The plan deadlocked over the funds. 这个计划由于经费问题而搁浅了。
• The meeting deadlocked over the wage issue. 会议因工资问题而停顿下来。

23 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

24 debunking   

v.揭穿真相，暴露( debunk的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The debunking of religion has been too successful. 对于宗教的揭露太成功了。 来自互联网

25 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

26 disillusioned   

a.不再抱幻想的，大失所望的，幻想破灭的

参考例句：

• I soon became disillusioned with the job. 我不久便对这个工作不再抱幻想了。
• Many people who are disillusioned in reality assimilate life to a dream. 许多对现实失望的人把人生比作一场梦。

27 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

28 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

29 defendant   

n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的

参考例句：

• The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。
• The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。

30 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。