The circus is in town. Friday night, Katie Couric unveils the contrite Stephen Collins.
And what has he gotten for it? Angry victims who don't like his apology, various people who are demanding juicier details, and fans disappointed and disgusted with him.
Who won? Couric did, and so did Collins' wife, who had leaked personal tapes made during therapy sessions. Leaking tapes is legal if it's for a good cause. Maybe? The point isn't whether Collins is guilty (proven), or whether Cosby is guilty (no convictions, one settlement).
It's the fact that in some situations, "No comment" makes the most sense, and anything else makes it worse.
"I'm a human being with flaws" is not cutting it, any more than the Republican politician who is against homosexuality but got caught propositioning some guy in a men's room. On Couric's show, she pointed out that he played a Protestant minister on "7th Heaven." How dare he.
The moment you start defending yourself, you show a weakness that will be exploited till you bleed. And you better bleed vividly to the point of near-death, otherwise nobody is going to be satisfied.
What did Gloria Allred's posse scream last week? That aside from money to be pulled from his bank, Cosby's Emmy awards should be pulled from his home. Anything else? An apology, too. Except an apology would open Cosby up to more lawsuits for damages real and imagined. Some would demand personal apologies, not just a blanket one. Shouldn't each be personalized? To ones he merely "tried to kiss," to those who thought they were drugged but weren't, etc? 20 or 30 apologies with more on the way for anyone who happens to want one?
Again, this isn't about whether or not some of these women have a good reason for anger. It's about what the public falsely thinks the answer is: a huge mea culpa that is somehow devastating enough and degrading enough to be satisfying.
We see this in courtrooms all the time. People who've done nothing, and people who've done heinous things, both have to be brilliant actors in an apology before the judge.
In this case, Cosby's lawyers have wisely told him to just zip it. He doesn't HAVE to appear before a judge. Issuing any kind of apology is going to create more complaints, animosity and questions.
Woody Allen issued one final "I didn't do it, and I won't be discussing this ever again" in the case of Dylan Farrow. By that time, Dylan was demanding that Cate Blanchett somehow apologize for appearing in a Woody Allen film, and insisting nobody should ever work in one of his films again. Cosby's wife and one of his daughters have made breif statements insisting the Cliff Huxtable character is the real deal. Perhaps if they were hounded as much as Woody Allen, they'd have to revert to "No comment," or "I won't be discussing this ever again."
Collins' apology has only drawn ire and opened him up for more questions, and fueled the controversy. It's doubtful the Couric show will sate enough people to let him go back and earn a living. Should he be shunned and NOT allowed to earn a living? Interesting question...one of many that are only sparked and re-sparked every time the story is once again in the papers.
More interesting questions: should every song Phil Spector produced be banned from the radio? Forever? Should Mark David Chapman be banned from conjugal visits with his wife? Should Manson's marriage be prohibited? Should all of O.J. Simpson's records be given an asterisk or removed entirely from the football record books? Should the movie studios Photoshop his face out of the "Naked Gun" movies and insert...oh, the face of a football player who merely beat up his wife, was a drunk driver, or exposed himself?
One day we'll have the technology to Photoshop a movie ourselves, if we want to. Maybe the decision should be left to individuals. Is it American to demand that theaters refuse to book Cosby? Judd Apatow suggested just that...that theaters NOT book Cosby and NOT give the public a chance to decide by buying tickets or not. Apatow Tweeted yesterday that people should go see "The Interview" and defy anyone telling them what they can or can't see.
Derek Jeter mentioned the other day, that the best thing a celebrity can do to "stay out of trouble" is to say "No Comment" and "I don't know."
On this topic, I'll now only state "No Comment." How long I'll stick with that, "I don't know."
