With each passing day, the family man, funny guy image Bill Cosby cultivated in the 1980s continues to crumble, each story chipping away at the man who changed television forever.
The latest piece of evidence almost functions as a confession – a confession that fills the void of the currently tight-lipped Cosby.
After several accusations have resurfaced, and all-new accusations come to light about Bill Cosby’s questionable interactions with young women, a comedy album released in 1969 is doing him no favors.
The album, literally titled “It’s true! It’s true!” includes a three-minute track entirely about a date rape drug one slips into a woman’s drink nicknamed “Spanish Fly.”
First, Cosby describes the drug.
“Only when you’re 13 till when you’re married, guys standing around talking about Spanish Fly.”
He details who to target.
“Well there’s this girl, Crazy Mary, you put some in her drink and she ‘WAHHHHAAA’!”
Initially, it sounds like something of a joke amongst 13-year-olds, not to be taken seriously. But then:
“Go to a party, see five girls standing alone, ‘Boy, if I had a whole jug of Spanish Fly, I’d light that corner up over there. Ha aha ha ha…’”
Cosby then discusses working on I Spy in the 1960s and learning that production was headed to Spain for an episode. This excited him, as he could finally get his hands on some Spanish Fly. He assumed co-star Robert Culp knew nothing about Spanish Fly, but he had.
Essentially, Cosby’s commentary on the subject revolves around the unattainable Spanish Fly, its mystery and apparent non-existence. The main punchline of the bit involves their Spanish taxi driver asking if they had heard of “American Fly.”
While standup comedy is often exaggerated or even entirely made up “real-life” situations, Cosby talks about the drug with admiration, never acknowledging slipping the drug into “Crazy Mary’s” drink and having one’s way with her would be rape.
The words are especially concerning, considering a recent accusation that involves a drugged bloody mary cocktail and took place in 1969 – the year the comedy album was released.
The allegations altogether are a very tough pill to swallow, partially because Cosby’s impact on American culture was and is massive.
The Cosby Show, which was initially rejected by ABC because “they felt that America was not ready to accept the concept of an intact, black middle-class family,” altered the public perception of what a black family could be, and opened the doors for several successful TV shows featuring black families (See: Family Matters, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The Bernie Mac Show Everybody Hates Chris, and many more).
If these consistent and numerous allegations turn out to be true, Bill Cosby’s legacy will be ruined. When forming your own opinion on the allegations, it’s important to separate the extremely positive impact he had on American television from his personal life.
Of course the fact a married man with young children was regularly at The Playboy Mansion should have sent out a Red Flag right there.