Nearly two dozen women have publicly accused Bill Cosby of drugging and raping them since 2004, with many coming forward recently to tell their stories. None of those stories, however, were included in Mark Whitaker's recent biography of the comedian, "Cosby: His Life and Times," which manages to mention Cosby's multiple "infidelities" without a nod to the allegations, and results in a generally favorable portrait. Recently, Whitaker conceded that "the story has changed" with regard to Cosby's public image, saying he will likely "have to address" the sexual assault allegations in future editions of the book. As recently as September, though, the biographer stood by his decision not to include the allegations the first time around.
On Monday evening, however, Whitaker reversed course, admitting on Twitter that he "was wrong" to leave out the rape accusations entirely. The biographer was responding to a recent piece by New York Times columnist David Carr, who charged the media -- including himself, but also Whitaker -- of "enabling" Cosby to escape the sexual assault claims for so many years. On Twitter, Whitaker agreed, tweeting directly to Carr:
@carr2n David you are right. I was wrong to not deal with the sexual assault charges against Cosby and pursue them more aggressively.
— Mark Whitaker (@Marktwhitaker) November 24, 2014
@carr2n I am following new developments and will address them at the appropriate time. If true the stories are shocking and horrible.
— Mark Whitaker (@Marktwhitaker) November 24, 2014
(h/t BuzzFeed)
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