As sexual assault claims against Bill Cosby continue to pile up, Mark Whitaker has been called out for not acknowledging the 2006 civil settlement between Cosby and a woman who claimed she was raped and drugged by Cosby. Now, Whitaker is acknowledging that it was wrong for him to do so.
On Monday, David Carr of the New York Times wrote a piece about how the media continued to not ask Cosby about the 2006 case and other women who claimed they were raped by the Cosby Show star. Carr called himself out for not asking questions in a 2011 interview he did for United Airlines.
He noted that Whitaker, whose 500-page book Cosby: His Life and Times was set to be a major part of Cosby’s comeback, didn’t even reference the claims, initially saying that he didn’t want to include unconfirmed rumors.
Whitaker, who still has a picture of himself with Cosby as his Twitter profile header, tweeted to Carr, expressing his regrets.
“David you are right. I was wrong to not deal with the sexual assault charges against Cosby and pursue them more aggressively,” Whitaker wrote.
He then added, “I am following new developments and will address them at the appropriate time. If true the stories are shocking and horrible.”
Whitaker’s book was widely publicised in September, with cosby even appearing on The Colbert Report to push the book. Since then, though, Cosby’s comeback effort has been derailed by the claims.
Over the weekend, more women came forward to tell their stories. Even Law & Order: SVU actress Michelle Hurd said that Cosby was “inappropriate” with her while she was a stand-in on The Cosby Show.
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