Bill Cosby, not a big fan of consent rules? Go figure.
The scandal-plagued comedian, who’s recently been besieged by a slew of rape and sexual assault accusations, mocked colleges’ “affirmative consent” rules in a 1999 book aimed at recent college graduates, the Huffington Post reports.
In the book, titled “Congratulations! Now What?” Cosby reflects on the positive aspects of graduation — for instance, not being subjected to “campus sex police” who are “ready to charge you with sexual harassment if you put your hand on any woman besides one who had asked you for help in crossing the street.”
In a chapter titled “No More Pre-Caressing Agreements,” Cosby concocts a scenario set in “a leafy college lane,” in which a male and female student attempt a date. After the guy tells the girl that she looks good in the moonlight, she hoots back, “Max, I don’t want you to have a record, so I’ll pretend you didn’t say that without permission. Do I have to quote the Supreme Court on Ruddy v. Weinstock and Kansas State?”
The male replies, “Sorry. OK, Simon says: May I look at your face?”
Later, the couple haggles over whether they should hold hands, with the woman eventually compromising and offering “a couple of knuckles.”
To be fair, the affirmative consent rules were the target of widespread ridicule, with “Saturday Night Live” mocking Antioch College, one of the early adapters of the rules, in a skit called “Is It Date Rape?” But for those looking for another reason to eye Cosby suspiciously, the passage offers a semi-plausible excuse to finger-wag.
In recent months, the embattled comedian has been accused of sexual assault by dozens of women, with a common thread of the allegations being that he had drugged the women beforehand. Earlier this month, excerpts from a 2005 deposition surfaced, revealing that Cosby had admitted to obtaining Quaaludes to give to women that he wanted to have sex with.
Cosby’s attorney, Martin Singer, has denied such accusations.