Disney removing Bill Cosby bust at DHS

[dinolounger]

An online petition requesting Disney to remove this bust at has reportedly succeeded. The firm announced that the bust, which is located in the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame Plaza will be removed.

http://www.clickorlando.com/news/pe...y-statue-at-disney-hollywood-studios/34038650

I understand this decision, but wonder if we will eventually also see petitions requesting the George Washington and Thomas Jefferson figures be removed from the Hall of Presidents, since they were both slaveholders.

 

[Bolt4Life17]

Sigh.

Vocal minority wins again.

 

[OKW Lover]

I'd be very surprised if the on-line petition was the reason Disney removed the bust. Those things don't really carry much weight with companies. Way to easy for folks to click on one of those links. Instead people need to just sit down and write a letter (or email) when trying to persuade a company to do something.

 

[mort1331]

Just finished reading about this in our morning paper and jumped on to see if it was here already. Now I am waiting for them to get rid of Captain E and MJ, refuse to go see this.

 

[SalutemyShorts]

I sure hope nobody is upset by Disney removing the bust of a man who admitted in court to buying drugs to give to women in order to trick them into having sex with them.

 

[Jess_S]

I agree with SalutemyShorts. Cosby has now admitted to doing pretty much exactly what he was accused of doing. I have no objection to him being included in the hall of fame because he still had an important role in television history -- even if he is a rapist. There have been plenty of horrible people who were still great artists. But I understand why Disney would not want to be affiliated with him in any way, so I understand the decision.

 

[dinolounger]

I sure hope nobody is upset by Disney removing the bust of a man who admitted in court to buying drugs to give to women in order to trick them into having sex with them.

Neither I nor anyone else here who has posted is defending Cosby.

What is of concern -- which I hope nobody here is excusing -- is the increasingly slippery slope we seem to be getting into where anything that "offends" anyone has to be banned/removed. Or put another way, I'm more than willing to wager that this "remove the presence of" initiative (in this case in the form of a petition) is just the first of many more actions pressure groups will exert to steam clean Disney parks/films/whatever of symbols/images etc. they find "offensive." Or put another way, I don't trust those who say "don't worry, there are limits to how far requests of this nature can go."

That's wrong: the cultural cleansers are fanatical zealots who will never stop.

 

[maltdizzy]

Neither I nor anyone else here who has posted is defending Cosby.

What is of concern -- which I hope nobody here is excusing -- is the increasingly slippery slope we seem to be getting into where anything that "offends" anyone has to be banned/removed. Or put another way, I'm more than willing to wager that this "remove the presence of" initiative (in this case in the form of a petition) is just the first of many more actions pressure groups will exert to steam clean Disney parks/films/whatever of symbols/images etc. they find "offensive." Or put another way, I don't trust those who say "don't worry, there are limits to how far requests of this nature can go."

That's wrong: the cultural cleansers are fanatical zealots who will never stop.

I don't think that's comparable. A performer with an ever-mounted evidence that he was a sexual predator, including his own admission that he sought drugs for non-consensual sex? Why wouldn't a business remove the likeness from a theme park people attend to escape everyday life? It's really not an issue of political correctness, cultural sensitivity, or sanitation as much as maintaining a service level for guests; no one is put out by the loss of Cos. It is one pointless park decoration and, at this point, far from the edge of slippery slope.

And "fanatical zealots?" Thankfully, we live if a world where most people are at least culturally aware enough to know to grimace and squirm at things like the outdated racial stereotypes of the crows in Dumbo, Mickey Rooney in "yellow face" in Breakfast at Tiffany's, while still comprehending important subversive satire in the overt racial humor in Blazing Saddles and I'm Gonna Get You Sucker.

 

[Reddog1134]

I'm actually surprised that Disney waited until there was definitive proof that he did it before removing the bust.

 

[ajjoplin1]

I sure hope nobody is upset by Disney removing the bust of a man who admitted in court to buying drugs to give to women in order to trick them into having sex with them.

I agree with SalutemyShorts. Cosby has now admitted to doing pretty much exactly what he was accused of doing.

I could not agree more. For me, Disney has always been symbolic of quality FAMILY-FRIENDLY entertainment. Now that he has basically admitted his guilt (which i'm glad he did that at least) it was right for Disney to disassociate. Either way, though, it was their call to make! They have the right to keep or pull the bust, and no one else should be able to stop them. Just my 2 cents worth...

 

[ChipnDale79]

Neither I nor anyone else here who has posted is defending Cosby.

What is of concern -- which I hope nobody here is excusing -- is the increasingly slippery slope we seem to be getting into where anything that "offends" anyone has to be banned/removed. Or put another way, I'm more than willing to wager that this "remove the presence of" initiative (in this case in the form of a petition) is just the first of many more actions pressure groups will exert to steam clean Disney parks/films/whatever of symbols/images etc. they find "offensive." Or put another way, I don't trust those who say "don't worry, there are limits to how far requests of this nature can go."

That's wrong: the cultural cleansers are fanatical zealots who will never stop.

The bust was an honor, but sorry, you don't honor rapist. It's pretty simple.

 

[Pemeberly]

Neither I nor anyone else here who has posted is defending Cosby.

What is of concern -- which I hope nobody here is excusing -- is the increasingly slippery slope we seem to be getting into where anything that "offends" anyone has to be banned/removed. Or put another way, I'm more than willing to wager that this "remove the presence of" initiative (in this case in the form of a petition) is just the first of many more actions pressure groups will exert to steam clean Disney parks/films/whatever of symbols/images etc. they find "offensive." Or put another way, I don't trust those who say "don't worry, there are limits to how far requests of this nature can go."

That's wrong: the cultural cleansers are fanatical zealots who will never stop.

The way you're putting offends in quotes concerns me. Who wouldn't be offended by someone admittedly buying drugs with the intent to rape? That's not political correctness... it's just wrong.

 

[Kobey]

The way you're putting offends in quotes concerns me. Who wouldn't be offended by someone admittedly buying drugs with the intent to rape? That's not political correctness... it's just wrong.

Yes, what he did was wrong. But in his deposition, he admitted to buying drugs to give to women he wanted to have sex with. That isn't the same as buying them with the intent to rape. I know it sounds like the same thing, but really is not so different than a guy buying drinks for a woman at a bar he hopes to take home later. There's a difference between being impaired and not being able to give consent. He never admitted to giving any women drugs without their knowledge. So the only crime he admitted to was giving the women drugs for which they had no prescription. I'm not defending him, but I am defending his right to be innocent of the crime of rape until proven guilty. Yes, he did some shady and reprehensible things, but "intent to rape" hasn't been proven or admitted to yet.

As far as removing the bust, I agree with it. It's a Disney park. To have the honor of being represented there, your image should be up to their standards, both on screen and off.

 

[Pemeberly]

Yes, what he did was wrong. But in his deposition, he admitted to buying drugs to give to women he wanted to have sex with. That isn't the same as buying them with the intent to rape. I know it sounds like the same thing, but really is not so different than a guy buying drinks for a woman at a bar he hopes to take home later. There's a difference between being impaired and not being able to give consent. He never admitted to giving any women drugs without their knowledge. So the only crime he admitted to was giving the women drugs for which they had no prescription. I'm not defending him, but I am defending his right to be innocent of the crime of rape until proven guilty. Yes, he did some shady and reprehensible things, but "intent to rape" hasn't been proven or admitted to yet.

As far as removing the bust, I agree with it. It's a Disney park. To have the honor of being represented there, your image should be up to their standards, both on screen and off.

To avoid getting TOO off topic, we'll have to agree to disagree.

 

[Dfan79]

There is no slippery slope, it's not like he jay walked. The guy has been drugging and raping people for decades. So he deserves to be shunned and thrown in jail.

Him and all the other scum bags in the world deserve everything they get and more.

 

[WillJenDisney]

"Slippery slope" seems to always be the last defense of the indefensible.

 

[peg110]

While I can understand the decision, it does not change his accomplishments which got him in there in the first place.

Good people can go bad. In fact, I bet if you had the foresight to see it, almost every successful high profile person (Political, business, etc...) has more than a few skeletons in their closets. How many successful people climbed to the top on the backs of others, had backroom deals, committed crimes (or had them done for them) to get where they are.

Don't misunderstand me, I am NOT condoning any of that, but if you are going to do it for ONE, why not do it for ALL?

Personally, I think the BETTER solution, is to continue to HONOR them for their accomplishments, and then as their crimes (or whatever) arise, Display them too, so that people can make up their own mind.

Bill Cosby made me laugh growing up. He was very intellectual and presented himself (in my eyes) as a model citizen for everyone to try and strive to. More importantly he was also a strong advocate that other black (African American, people of color, I am sorry I don't know the proper PC way to describe it now so please don't be offended, that is not my intent) people work to make their lives better and not blame everyone else for their problems or circumstances and that they need to rise above it. I thought this was great.

Now that he is a Womanizer (who drugged and abused woman) that doesn't change that he still tried to do good and he did do good. It just means that he abused his fame/power (such as it was) like many before him. He should also be punished appropriately as well.

So I do partially defend him for the good he has done, although I am offended by his other, less than desirable activities.

 

[WillJenDisney]

While I can understand the decision, it does not change his accomplishments which got him in there in the first place.

Good people can go bad. In fact, I bet if you had the foresight to see it, almost every successful high profile person (Political, business, etc...) has more than a few skeletons in their closets. How many successful people climbed to the top on the backs of others, had backroom deals, committed crimes (or had them done for them) to get where they are.

Don't misunderstand me, I am NOT condoning any of that, but if you are going to do it for ONE, why not do it for ALL?

Personally, I think the BETTER solution, is to continue to HONOR them for their accomplishments, and then as their crimes (or whatever) arise, Display them too, so that people can make up their own mind.

Bill Cosby made me laugh growing up. He was very intellectual and presented himself (in my eyes) as a model citizen for everyone to try and strive to. More importantly he was also a strong advocate that other black (African American, people of color, I am sorry I don't know the proper PC way to describe it now so please don't be offended, that is not my intent) people work to make their lives better and not blame everyone else for their problems or circumstances and that they need to rise above it. I thought this was great.

Now that he is a Womanizer (who drugged and abused woman) that doesn't change that he still tried to do good and he did do good. It just means that he abused his fame/power (such as it was) like many before him. He should also be punished appropriately as well.

So I do partially defend him for the good he has done, although I am offended by his other, less than desirable activities.

In my opinion, by continuing to honor him, it gives the impression the good he did makes him worthy of honor regardless of the horrendous things he did. He should be punished for what he did, and removing his honors is part of the punishment.

And if you display his crimes alongside it, now I'm being asked to take time out of my Disney World vacation to explain to my child what a date rapist is? No thanks.

 

[ChipnDale79]

Bill Cosby made me laugh growing up. He was very intellectual and presented himself (in my eyes) as a model citizen for everyone to try and strive to. More importantly he was also a strong advocate that other black (African American, people of color, I am sorry I don't know the proper PC way to describe it now so please don't be offended, that is not my intent) people work to make their lives better and not blame everyone else for their problems or circumstances and that they need to rise above it. I thought this was great.

Here's where you kind of hit it out of the park for me, in my eyes his honors are for being funny and also being the model citizen that people thought the was. Hell, people called him "America's Dad" for a long time.

This kind of really tosses that the "America's Dad" and model citizenship out the window, which honestly is one of the reasons why he's received so many honors.

 

[mcjaco]

Yes, what he did was wrong. But in his deposition, he admitted to buying drugs to give to women he wanted to have sex with. That isn't the same as buying them with the intent to rape. I know it sounds like the same thing, but really is not so different than a guy buying drinks for a woman at a bar he hopes to take home later. There's a difference between being impaired and not being able to give consent. He never admitted to giving any women drugs without their knowledge. So the only crime he admitted to was giving the women drugs for which they had no prescription. I'm not defending him, but I am defending his right to be innocent of the crime of rape until proven guilty. Yes, he did some shady and reprehensible things, but "intent to rape" hasn't been proven or admitted to yet.

As far as removing the bust, I agree with it. It's a Disney park. To have the honor of being represented there, your image should be up to their standards, both on screen and off.

Sorry, but it's exactly the same thing. Being impaired limits your ability to consent.

I was a fan of his growing up. Loved the Cosby Show, Fat Albert (totally un-PC), and Picture Page. I even saw him my freshmen year at college as he was the star they brought in for Parent's weekend. I was two rows back, front and center. Still a highlight for me. He's become irrelevant the past ten years, so this makes no difference to me, other than taints his image in a reprehensible way.