Unsurprisingly, the claims, accusations, and lawsuits keep piling up for the former star of The Cosby Show. Most recently, Cosby is being sued by an alleged victim named Tamara Green, but not for his reported sexual assault and drugging of her. Rather, Green is filing defamation charges against Cosby because of how she's now being perceived.
In the '70s, Cosby reportedly sexually abused Green while the two worked together on finding investors for a club. As horrible and tragic as the situation is, Green apparently feels the things currently being said about her, like being called a liar by Cosby through his publicist and lawyer, are harmful to her character. In recent months, Green believes her reputation has been tarnished, and she is now seeking justice like many of other Cosby's reported victims.
However, unlike the other Cosby accusers, Green is going in a different direction with her claims. Some might find it odd that she seemingly doesn't want justice for being assaulted, but I don't think that's the case at all. If suing Cosby for sexual assault can't be done, especially if the statute of limitations comes into play or if the allegations can't be proven, than maybe these reported victims will bring him to court for other reasons, like Green is doing with her defamation lawsuit.
Green's case also brings up something important: Cosby's accusers have been and will continue to be affected by their sexual assault allegations, the media attention, the scrutiny, the lawsuits, and so on, for the rest of their lives. How much will it affect their reputations? Unfortunately, a great deal. Whether any of these reported victims wins or loses her case, they will forever be judged and looked at differently by some. Sadly, especially in light of the University of Virginia's campus rape story and The Newsroom 's highly-criticized rape story line, more and more women are being scrutinized on whether they are just "crying rape."
The Cosby sexual assault allegations, among all of the aforementioned rape cases, shouldn't be tearing the victims' lives apart. Rape victims are already suffering greatly, so to ruin their reputations along the way is something that should most definitely be avoided. Rape is a serous matter that should never be taken lightly. In response to the claims of sexual assault, Cosby's team has previously issued the following statement:
Over the last several weeks, decade-old, discredited allegations against Mr. Cosby have resurfaced. The fact that they are being repeated does not make them true. Mr. Cosby does not intend to dignify these allegations with any comment. He would like to thank all his fans for the outpouring of support and assure them that, at age 77, he is doing his best work. There will be no further statement from Mr. Cosby or any of his representatives.
