Chuck D Defends Bill Cosby Legacy, But Not The Man: Twitter Explodes
Chuck D, the socially conscious rapper responsible for classic rap group Public Enemy, has weighed in on the Bill Cosby controversy, and Twitter is not happy.
The artist formerly known as Carlton Douglas Ridenhour insisted that he wasn’t “defending” Bill Cosby, but found the movement to obliterate his accomplishments akin to book burning.
It all started with this bold Sunday morning tweet.
No way Im defending Cosby.But this wiping history out wit a swoop is akin to Nazi book burning.Context is everything.PhilSpector still plays
— Chuck D (@MrChuckD) July 12, 2015
From there, things got testy, with one user calling it a “dumb comment” and several more weighing in from there. “I don’t owe Bill Cosby a f***ing thing,” said one Twitter user. “God ppl are so dumb….” “I think comparing anything related to Cosby with nazi book burning is pretty stupid,” said another. Some didn’t see how the comparison of Cosby to Phil Spector, a convicted killer and prolific music producer, followed.
“Phil Spector never produced family programming and portrayed himself as a beacon of moral superiority…. You have to admit, Chuck, that since his work was so family friendly it’s almost impossible to separate it from his misdeeds.”
The point Chuck D was trying to make with his tweet, of course, was not an outright show of support to Bill Cosby, but instead his legacy. The rapper, and a few supporters on his Twitter feed, point out that the rise of Bill Cosby did something for legitimizing black culture and bringing it mainstream.
A society that automatically wants to throw all of that out because they can’t separate the man from the legacy could stand to be poorer because of it. Or, at least, that’s what he was shooting for, however well it landed. Chuck D later followed up his tweet with this.
I appreciate everyone’s opinion on here. I detest silence in society. Stand up, sht. Be a adult & fkn sPEak/type your minds don’t be a robot
— Chuck D (@MrChuckD) July 12, 2015
For all the piling on that Bill Cosby and his legacy have endured since more than 40 women came forward with accusations of being drugged and raped by the comedian, there are still a few out there willing to stand by him, though it’s a dwindling number. One of these individuals includes The View‘s Whoopi Goldberg, who had this to say on a recent episode of the daytime talk show.
“Here’s the deal: This is The View and that was my opinion. Not any of you threatening me or telling me you’re coming after me because you don’t like what I said is going to change the fact that no one has convicted him, he has not been arrested, and the bottom line is that’s the law — innocent, until proven guilty.”
As for Chuck D, do you think he’s right that society should learn to start separating its ire for a performer from the legacy that they create? Sound off in the comments section!
[Image via Wikipedia Commons]
