How Cosby's 'Pound Cake' Speech Helped Lead to His Downfall
In federal court and the public consciousness, his moralizing accelerated the cultural backlash against him and provided evidence that would be used against him at trial.
On Thursday, “America’s Dad” was convicted of sexual assault.
Cosby’s image as a wholesome sitcom dad and moral exemplar had been irreparably tarnished in the past few years by dozens of women who had come forward with stories of drug-induced sexual assault—some new, some raised a decade ago. But the conviction will define his legacy forever, even if he never spends a day in prison. He went from selling pudding pops and gelatin, from being a comedian who told “clean” jokes and coaxed children into saying funny things, to becoming a symbol of how society allows sexual abuse by powerful men to go unpunished.
If it
