Jemele Hill and Marc Lamont Hill want people to stop talking about racial injustice when it comes to Bill Cosby.
As it’s been widely reported, the fallen comedian received a 3 to 10-year prison sentence for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004.
Afterward, many on social media brought up other celebrities who’ve been accused of rape, sexual assault and inappropriate behavior but haven’t been heavily punished or imprisoned — people like Harvey Weinstein, Donald Trump, Bill O’Reilly and Charlie Sheen.
However, Jemele said even though there’s a racial disparity in the criminal justice system, it doesn’t mean that Cosby should get away with rape.
“There is great imbalance in our criminal justice system. We know this,” she wrote. “But your position can’t be because Cosby is Black he should get the right to rape without repercussions like a white dude. Trash position.”
The sports journalist also agreed with those who said it hurts to see the 81-year-old locked up because of what “The Cosby Show” meant, but she’s able to separate the television character from the man himself.
“Sure, I mourn the idea of Cosby, as in the TV show that made me want to attend a Black college and heightened the importance of a Black family,” she wrote. “But my mom is a rape survivor, and I survived a rape attempt as a preteen. I have negative f—-s about what happens to Cosby.”
Marc Lamont Hill had pretty much the same stance as Jemele, and he tweeted his own message about Cosby after he spoke about him on CNN.
“Our first and biggest priority should be keeping track of Cosby’s victims,” he wrote. “This means honoring their stories but also prioritizing their healing in the aftermath of the trial. We must also reject arguments that try to absolve Cosby by spotlighting the unpunished crimes of privileged white men.”
“Yes, it is absolutely true that rich white men have done things as awful as Cosby, if not worse,” Marc added. “It’s just not the point. Our freedom dream should be to produce a world that dismantles rape culture and offers justice to everyone, not one that gives Black men the same patriarchal freedoms as their white counterparts.”
Both Jemele and Marc’s tweets sparked all kinds of comments.
“You know this trial was fixed, period.” one person wrote underneath Marc’s post. “It’s about ruining the Black culture while uplifting the white culture. You should be the first to know that since you went to a racist school.”
“First time I’ve ever disagreed with you on a point,” another person wrote to Jemele. “First, no one is saying he should get off. I don’t believe he has been proven guilty at all. This was a media circus that got the conviction and if that’s how it’s done, explain all the white men walking free who were proven guilty.”
“Y’all do know it took 13 years to get to this point with Bill Cosby?” a third person tweeted. “Folks act like he got arrested on Monday and sentenced on Wednesday. This was a very long time coming.”
