No Ma’am, We Will Not Forget: Phylicia Rashad, Bill Cosby, and Tamar
They are forgotten, shunned, hushed up. Their stories are covered up, and their testimonies are disbelieved. Sexual assault survivors are often forgotten women. Silencing survivors and offering unflagging support of accused rapists are textbook elements of rape culture. Today, Phylicia Rashad provides Exhibit A.
Phylicia Rashad is a Tony Award-winning actor with a distinguished stage and screen career. This month, she is receiving the Theatrical Arts Award at the BET Honors. She is most well-known for her role on the hit series “The Cosby Show.” She played the beloved Claire Huxtable, wife of Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable, played by Bill Cosby. More than 20 women, including Beverly Johnson and Janice Dickinson, have publicly accused Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting or sexually harassing them. In an exclusive interview with Roger Freedman of Showbiz 411, Rashad spoke out about the allegations against Cosby.
“Forget these women,” said Rashad. “What you’re seeing is the destruction of a legacy. And I think it’s orchestrated. I don’t know why or who’s doing it, but it’s the legacy. And it’s a legacy that is so important to the culture.” Rashad defends Cosby and dismisses his accusers without addressing their claims. She focuses on Cosby’s importance as a cultural icon and suggests that a conspiracy is at work against him. Also, Rashad acknowledged her relationship with Cosby and feelings for him by saying “I love him.”
In instances of sexual assault, there are often institutions, accomplices, fixers, and other supporters of the accused. Such is the case of the rape of Tamar in the Hebrew Bible. In 2 Samuel 13, Amnon, son of King David, claimed that he loved Tamar, David’s daughter and Amnon’s half-sister. After he raped Tamar, Amnon’s alleged feelings of love for her turn to loathing, and he orders her to be put out of his house. No longer a virgin and thus no longer a desirable marriage candidate, Tamar remained “a desolate woman” in her brother Absalom’s house. Another forgotten woman.
Like so many women, although Tamar was forgotten, others knew of her rape. For instance, Amnon had an accomplice, Jonadab, who assisted Amnon in cooking up a scheme to trap Tamar. Also, other people had to know what happened. Amnon calls to his servant to put Tamar out and to bolt the door after her. Tamar leaves Amnon crying aloud with ashes on her head and wearing with a torn robe signifying that she was no longer a virgin. A royal princess in distress would not have gone unnoticed. In addition, Tamar’s full brother Absalom asks Tamar about what has happened and counsels her to remain quiet. Absalom takes matters into his own hands and kills Amnon in 2 Samuel 14.
David is somehow informed about the rape and does not punish Amnon although the patriarchal culture of biblical Israel would typically require it. The Hebrew text indicates only that David became angry when he heard what happened. Perhaps anxious to provide some rationale for David’s inaction, the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, includes “but he did not rebuke his son Amnon, for he favored him, since he was his first-born.” The text emphasizes that Amnon is David’s son but not the fact that Tamar is David’s daughter. She is a forgotten woman.
Of course, David himself forced Bathsheba to have sex with him in 2 Samuel 11. He staged an elaborate cover up to kill her husband Uriah and married Bathsheba who was pregnant with David’s child. There’s always a reason why powerful men are not punished–family, reputation, sports championships, legacy, money…
The backlash against Rashad has begun. On Twitter there is already a #ByePhylicia hashtag expressing contempt for Rashad’s support of Cosby. Yet, to focus on Rashad is to take attention away from Cosby. This is a distraction. Do not forget these women and do not forget that it is Cosby who stands accused.
Note: Since the writing of this piece, although she maintains her vigorous defense of Cosby, Rashad claims that she was misquoted and that by “forget these women” she meant that “this is not about the women.” Friedman claims that he did not misquote Rashad but that he understood her to mean “those women aside.”
Resources:
National Sexual Violence Resource Center
Monica A. Coleman, The Dinah Project: A Handbook for Congregational Response to Sexual Violence
Carol Newsom and others, Women’s Bible Commentary
Phyllis Trible, Texts of Terror: Literary-Feminist Readings of Biblical Narratives
Nyasha Junior teaches biblical studies at Howard University School of Divinity in Washington, D.C. She is a CrossFitter, a grits enthusiast and a red-pen grader. Visit her website and follow her on Twitter at @NyashaJunior.
For more conversation on the Bill Cosby controversy, see Grace Ji-Sun Kim’s post “Uncovering Bill Cosby’s Feet of Clay with Allegations of Sexual Assaults.”