The case, which has riveted a nation that once viewed Cosby as the All-American Dad through his long-time running television series and a successful comedian who entertained audiences over the years, has proven to be a sad capstone to a career that has spanned decades.
In the next round of court proceedings, prosecutors want the court to grant them permission to use his deposition testimony about giving pills and alcohol to a series of women before sex. The problem for prosecutors is the judge in the case, Steven O'Neill, has already ruled the women themselves can't testisfy.
Cosby, 79, is accused of assaulting Andrea Constand, who was employed by the Philadelphia-based university in 2004. He claims the sex was consensual.
The case is set for trial June 5 in Montgomery County, where he was charged as the assault reportedly occurred at his suburban-Philadelphia home.
The issue for prosecutors is whether the damaging testimony he gave as part of a civil lawsuit Constand brought against him more than a decade ago will be admissable in court. Cosby admitted at the time that he gave quaaludes to a 19-year-old he met in a hotel gift shop before having sex with her. He also admitted to giving alcohol to a teenage actress at his townhouse in New York before seeking oral sex from her.
In all, prosecutors had hoped to have 13 women testisfy in trial about his alleged behavior spanning 50 years. To the credit of his legal team, the judge ruled last month that the jury will only hear from Cosby's former agent at the William Morris Agency, who said Cosby drugged her and subsequently assaulted her during meeting in 1996.
But when is a win really a win? In this case, it doesn't matter. For Cosby, life and the career he has enjoyed came to an abrupt end once his accusers came out of the woodwork. Too many. Too much corroboration.
For the many fans he may have had over the years, they fled like a herd of gazelle running from a lion as fast as they could. And just like O.J. Simpson, who himself is serving a stint in prison for a Vegas armed robbery, once the glory is gone, it's gone forever.
For him, it's way past gone. And once lost, it's nearly impossible to get it back.
He won't be back
So, the Terminator's stint as the head honcho on NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice" has fired himself.
Who didn't see this coming?
Arnold Schwarzenegger announced on Friday that he won't be returning to the long-running reality show, in part because he said the show has too much baggage.
Trump, baggage, that is.
Schwarzenegger informed the network's execs on Friday, citing a ratings drop that he associated with President Trump.
“I loved every second of working with NBC and Mark Burnett,” Mr. Schwarzenegger said in a statement released to the Washington Post. “Everyone — from the celebrities to the crew to the marketing department — was a straight 10, and I would absolutely work with all of them again on a show that doesn’t have this baggage.”
What made things weirder following that announcement was his statement on the Michael Smerconish Program Tuesday morning, when he said Trump was obsessed with him on Twitter.
"I think he's in love with me," Schwarzenegger said.
When Smerconish said, “You’ve had a long relationship with him,” Schwarzenegger replied, “Oh, yes.”
Wow, where do you go from here?
There's no doubt a feud between the two has been brewing since January, when the episodes featuring Schwarzenegger began airing. The back and forth led the former Republican governor to release a video after Trump's asked for prayers for the show at a White House event, saying, "You take over TV, because you're such an expert in ratings, and I take over your job." He added. "Then people can finally sleep comfortably again."
It's not unusual to have celebrities take jabs at each other amid a public dispute. It's also not unusual for politicians to do the same. With these two, it seems like you have the worst of two worlds.
