Posted at 9:00 a.m.
It was in December 1991 on the set of Larry King at CNN. Bill Cosby, relaxed, laughing, joking, recounts his experiences with the spanish fly, a hallucinogenic and aphrodisiac substance that he repeatedly used to have sex with women. Cosby laughs. Also Larry King.
We are, remember, in 1991. However, Cosby evokes the powers of the spanish fly since a long time. He spoke about it in his humorous 33-laps It’s True! It’s True! released in 1969. And he talks about it in his book childhood, which he promotes on host Larry King’s set.
Later, Cosby would use a drug called Quaalude to drug and rape women, which would lead to his conviction. Several of these women bear witness to this in front of the camera in the documentary series We Need to Talk About Cosby, airing beginning Sunday night on Showtime and Crave following its launch at Sundance.
The documentary doesn’t just stop at Cosby’s abuse. He chronicles the immense impact that his career had on the black community. Some have discovered through this career the possibility for a black person to register within American society. Revelations about him were met with anger, horror and a sense of betrayal.
“I’m both happy and not at all happy to be here,” director W. Kamau Bell said of his documentary at Sundance. Because as a kid growing up in the 90s, I’m a Cosby kid. He showed me that a guy like me can be funny and brilliant. »
The documentary filmmaker brings out this famous scene from the series The Cosby Show (1984-1992) where all family members sing the piece Night and Day of Ray Charles in a liberating atmosphere. “Anyone could identify with either character,” Bell says.
The strength of her documentary lies not only in the number of women who testify, but also in the weight of their words. This set forms a striking critical mass.
In addition to the victims, W. Kamau Bell gives voice to actors, producers, sex therapists, television critics, etc. Their comments converge on a responsibility of Cosby, but also that of the entertainment industry, which turned a blind eye. A member of the production of Cosby Show tells for example that at each of the recordings, in front of an audience, a modeling agency sent several young women who then went to Cosby’s dressing room.
The first two episodes of the series look back on the first 20 years of his career. In the 1960s, as blacks marched in the streets for equality rights, Cosby became the first black star in a series (I Spy).
Later, in the 1970s and 1980s, he went on to film and television roles (the voice of fat albert) while defending several causes: education, the fight against drugs, a place for blacks in American history.
But behind the scenes, especially during his comedy shows, Cosby attacks several women repeatedly. The victims remain silent.
The third episode focuses on The Cosby Show. A few participants in the documentary widen their eyes when they remember that the good doctor Cliff Huxtable was an obstetrician and practiced … in the basement of his comfortable house in Brooklyn.
The last episode focuses on the last years and the many denunciations made against Cosby. The film returns to the comment launched on October 16, 2014 by comedian Hannibal Buress who, in performance, called Cosby a rapist. Thereafter, everything fell into place. We can also see how Cosby reached out to his detractors directly and threatened them when comments about him did not suit him.
While the last interviews were completed, at the end of June 2021, Cosby was released. On the documentary set, there is consternation.
One of the speakers mentioned how things take time to change and gave the many Pantages theaters as an example. Their name refers to Alexander Pantages (1867-1936), actor and producer arrested and convicted for the rape of a 17-year-old young woman in 1929 and acquitted in a second trial.
For her part, journalist and critic Maureen Ryan is scathing: “We will not change the culture of rape without changing the culture. »
We Need to Talk About Cosby will premiere in four episodes, Sundays at 10 p.m., beginning Jan. 30 on Showtime andt Crave.