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Will Bill Cosby’s Upcoming PPAC Performance Cause Controversy?

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Kate Nagle, GoLocal Contributor

Cosby slated to come to PPAC in June.

Comedian Bill Cosby, who has been subject to an increasing number of sexual assault allegations, is scheduled to perform in Providence at the Providence Performing Arts Center on June 26 -- and PPAC has refused to comment on the matter.

On Friday, PPAC referred all comments to Cosby's promoter Ed Atamian, who provided the statement put forth by Cosby's lawyer John Schmitt on November 15.

"Over the last several weeks, decade-old, discredited allegations against Mr. Cosby have resurfaced. The fact they are being repeated does not make them true. Mr. Cosby does not intend to dignify these allegations with any comment. He would like to thank all his fans for the outpouring of support and assure them that, at age 77, he is doing his best work. There will be no further statement from Mr. Cosby or any of his representatives," said Schmitt.

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"We have no further comment at this time," said PPAC's Caitlyn DiPompo.

In contrast, neighboring Hanover Theatre in Worcester, MA -- where Cosby is scheduled to play in February -- thought it was "very likely" the performance will be cancelled.

"As the performance venue, our contract is with the promoter, who rents the building and contracts with Bill Cosby to perform," said Lisa Condit with Hanover. "We think it’s very likely that the promoter (or Cosby himself) will cancel this performance, which would be far preferable to us as it would not open us up to legal action."

Condit continued, "Our audience and our image in the community are of the utmost importance to us, and we ask your patience to bear with us as the situation plays out."

Cosby Caught in Firestorm of Controversy

Cosby's upcoming performance is featured in the lower right hand corner of a recent PPAC mailer.

On Friday, Business Insider recapped some of the professional ramifications Cosby has incurred so far in light of multiple sexual assault allegations. Cosby has not been found guilty in the court of law, but did settle a civil lawsuit stemming from sexual assault allegations in 2006.

"While Cosby has never been criminally charged with sexual assault, these accusations have hurt his career recently. Netflix has indefinitely delayed the release of a Cosby stand-up special, NBC stopped development on a new sitcom starring Cosby, and TV Land is going to stop airing reruns of "The Cosby Show," wrote Business Insider's Pamela Engel.

The tickets listed on the PPAC website for Cosby's show run from $50 to $100, with PPAC billing the show as Cosby's "clean, true-to-life humor [that] has the unique ability to touch the hearts of many people."

Andy Beal, who is the author of Repped: 30 Days to a Better Online Reputation, told GoLocal that he viewed the intersection of Cosby's legal and public relations advice as being problematic for the performer.

"When faced with allegations of criminal conduct it's common that legal counsel recommend that you not comment. However, in the case of Mr. Cosby--someone that is vocal on many issues--his silence could be taken as a sign of guilt," said Beal. "A strongly worded statement of denial and an explanation that he expects to be vindicated by the judicial process, would help to fill the void that is currently being filled by speculation and rumor. The current attempts by his lawyers to run interference are not helping his situation."

Providence Women's, Advocacy Groups on the Record

Sierra Barter, who founded the PVD Lady Project, addressed the allegations of sexual assault made against Cosby -- and their ramifications.

"With the number of women coming forward, with their story, [it] speaks volumes," said Barter. "You also see his major partners pulling out-- NBC, Netflix, TV Land, which makes it feel like they know something that the general public doesn't know. Either way, we need to take these victims' reports seriously and not demean these accusations."

"The majority of rapes go unreported and most rapists are never punished for the actions -- these accusations range from happening in the 60's to as recently as 2004," continued Barter. "Society as a whole needs to stop blaming the victim and focus on the crime and the person who committed it, rather than dismissing these claims."

"This is a sad situation for the women at hand-- that they had to hide their stories for so long. I commend them for speaking up about these accusations and for sharing their story," said Barter. "I hope that others do not support [Cosby] by going to his shows and venues do not host him."

Peg Langhammer with DayOne, the sexual assualt trauma and resource center, said that the entire situation was refective of "everything changing."

"I think the real issue here is none of these facts are new, they've been out for decades. But what is new, and what has changed, is the public response and the heightened awareness of sexual assault, which is so encouraging," said Langhammer. "We know what the prevalance has been -- that hasn't changed -- but what has it that survivors now have the hope that their voices will be heard and believed."

"Part of what's made it so different is the Internet -- statments that are made, they will go viral," said Langhammer. "And so was Cosby's refusal to say anything during the NPR interview. His silence equally went viral. I think it's very difficult for some people to believe that America's family man, someone so beloved, could be accused of all these allegations. And I'm not going to comment on whether he is guilty, or not. But he does need to respond. His silence is not OK, and people are realizing that more and more."

Related Slideshow: Rhode Island’s Changing Media Landscape

Radio, print, television and digital - the faces in Rhode Islands's media has changed drastically over the past months... Let's take a look at some of the biggest moves:

Bob Kerr

The long time Providence Journal columnist Bob Kerr was sent packing by the new ownership group.

The unceremonious dismissal ended the tenure of the Projo's only true news columnist.

Kerr was talented and often controversial.

Howard Sutton

The long-time publisher was Belo's man in Providence. Howard Sutton was the man that implemented the changes that Dallas wanted to try and make the company more efficient and more profitable.

The results were dismal. Maybe no newspaper in the country lost a higher precentage of ad revenue than the Projo over the past decade.

He was the face of the paper in the community.

Andrew Gobiel

Andrew Gobeil has been named campaign manager for Republican candidate for Attorney General Dawson Hodgson.

Gobeil began his media career covering politics as a teenager for a Cape Cod radio station. He has served as one of the youngest NPR affiliate news directors in the country, Washington editor and national correspondent for a television station group, and managing editor and host of a statewide public affairs program.

Gobeil was the morning co-anchor at Providence’s ABC-TV affiliate and co-host of a morning news program on WPRO radio. He is currently working on a non-fiction book about the journalism business.

Rick Daniels

Rick Daniels has joined GoLocal24 as Chief Operating Officer.

Daniels is the former President of the Boston Globe. He also served as CEO of Gatehouse Media for New England and led a consortium of investors who attempted to purchase the Boston Globe from the New York Times Company in 2013.

Daniels then went on to play a key role at Empirical Media Advisors based in New York, focused mainly on Tribune Publishing, where Emprical’s co-founder and CEO, Jack Griffin, recently took the role of CEO.

Fred Campagna

Fred Campagna has joined FOX25 in Boston.

Before Campagna began working at FOX25, he served as the Chief On-Air Meteorologist at ABC6 for fourteen years.

After leaving ABC6 in July 2012, Campagna launched his own digital weather platform, Right Weather.

Karen Meyers

WLNE-TV has fired anchor Karen Meyers. She had been with the station since 2011.

Meyers had anchored the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. news with John DeLuca. Sources say station management opted not to renew her contract and decided to go in another direction.

Before Meyers joined ABC6, she was a reporter/anchor with New England Cable News and was a reporter in Washington, DC.

Felice Freyer

According to RIPR reporter Ian Donnis, Providence Journal's Health Reporter is leaving. Felice Freyer has been the sole reporter covering Rhode Island's largest businss sector.

Freyer leaves for the Boston Globe.

Her departure follows Phil Marcelo who recently left the Projo for AP in Boston.

Editor's note: An earlier version incorrectly had RIPR reporter Scott MacKay as breaking the story.

Flo Jonic

Veteran radio reporter Flo Jonic recently was fired by RINPR after she filed complaints against the station for gender-based pay discrimination.

Jonic is a 30 year veteran of New England news radio.

In her charge filed in February, Jonic wrote, "I believe that I have been discriminated against based on my sex by my employer," and referred to the difference in her pay and that of RIPR reporter Ian Donnis.

"Currently, [reporter] Ian Donnis earns at least $75,000 a year, while I make $51,000 per year. We perform the same duties, and I have 32 more years experience than he does," wrote Jonic in her complaint.

Phil Marcelo

After a seven year stint reporting for the Providence Journal's state house bureau, Phil Marcelo left the paper to take a reporting gig with the Boston office of the Associated Press.

Hailing from Long Island, New York, Marcelo came to ProJo in 2006, and covered everything from regional news, to Providence City Hall and the Statehouse. Marcelo's departure was first reported by WRNI's Ian Donnis.

Julie Tremmel

Formerly a nightly news reporter for WJAR, Tremmel was fired from the "Team You Trust" after two clips, one of her performing on-air handstands, and the other offering tips on what to do during a bear attack, went viral.

The video became an internet sensation, but long-time Channel 10 newsman Jim Taricani called Tremmel’s antics “a smudge on our station's reputation.”

Jim Taricani

A long-time staple of Channel 10’s news team, Taricani announced plans to retire after over three decades with the station.

Taricani has won 5 regional Emmy awards, an Edward R. Murrow award for investigative journalism and a Prestigious Yankee Quill Award from the New England Newspaper Association.

He was convicted to six months in prison in 2004 for refusing to reveal a source, and is the youngest person ever to be inducted into the Rhode Island Hall of Fame.

John DePetro

WPRO talk show host has come under fire for comments he made on air regarding women. Leading union organizations have called for DePetro to be fired.

Most recently, he has been on announced suspension.

DePetro apologized for his comments.

Helen Glover

Former star of the reality show Survivor, turned talk radio show host is out. Helen Glover departs and is replaced by radio Veteran Ron St. Pierre, who only months earlier was let go by 630 WPRO. St. Pierre is a radio Hall-of-Famer and former top sports anchor on WPRI-12.

Mike Stanton

Mike Stanton, the remaining reporter from the Providence Journal's once storied investigative team, is leaving Fountain Street for a teaching job at the University of Connecticut.

Stanton, who was part of the team that won the Providence Journal's last Pulitzer and is the author of the "Prince of Providence," the Buddy Cianci expose, departs leaving the Projo without an investigative reporter.

Dean Starkman

GoLocal named Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Dean Starkman as a contributor and editor-at-large.

"Dean Starkman has a tremendous track record in financial, media, and investigative reporting. His work at the Wall Street Journal as a reporter and as an editor and writer at Columbia Journalism Review (CJR), coupled with ground-breaking investigations of public corruption for The Providence Journal, is unsurpassed in the region," said Josh Fenton, Co-Founder and CEO at GoLocal24, the parent company to GoLocalWorcester.com.

Karen Bordeleau

Karen Bordeleau takes over for Tom Heslin as Executive Editor for the Providence Journal.

Before joining the newspaper in 1996, she worked at the Kent County Times and the Woonsocket Call.

She is a graduate of Northeastern University and a Rhode Island native.

Bob Whitcomb

Bob Whitcomb has been the editor of the editorial page of the Providence Journal since 1992 and Vice President since 1997.

His book, "Cape Wind" unveiled the business and political story behind Jim Gordon's effort to build a wind farm off of Cape Cod.

Prior to being a powerful voice at the Providence Journal, Whitcomb served as Financial Editor at International Herald Tribune.

He is slated to leave later this year according to RI NPR.

Tom Heslin

Managing Editor of the Providence Journal, Tom Heslin, is retiring.

Heslin who has been a journalistic leader of the Journal since the 1990's, led the paper's team the one their last Pulitzer Prize in the early 1990's and had to implement a series of staff cuts during the past decade.

Widely respected by journalists, Heslin has recently suffered from health issues.

Tara Granahan

The former co-host to the morning drive show is now Buddy Cianci's sidekick and co-host on the 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm drive time show on WPRO AM.

Granahan has had a host of assignments at WPRO and is the only woman on air at WPROAM.

Connie Grosch

She was the star photographer for the Providence Journal for better than a decade.

Her State House/Political photos made her one of the most influential members of the Providence Journal staff.

In late 2012, the Providence Journal let her go as part of the latest cost cutting ordered by the home office in Dallas.

In January, she was named press secretary to U.S. Congressman David Cicilline (D-1). She just announced she was leaving the Congressman's staff to return to photography.

Gene Valicenti

The co-host of Channel 10's 6:00 pm news is now doing double as the host for WPRO's 6:00 am to 10:00 am morning show.

Previously, Valicenti lost his 11:00 pm slot on WJAR.

Jennifer Jordan

One of the top Providence Journal reporters is leaving not only Fountain Street, but also journalism.

She was one of the guild members with the least longevity - more than 10 years.

She leaves for Boston-based Opportunity Nation - a not-for-profit.

Ron St. Pierre

The new guy at WHJJ - he takes over the morning show from the departed Helen Glover.

For decades, Ron St. Pierre has been a key player in the media industry in both local television and radio.

St. Pierre handled sports at WPRI TV, hosted morning drive at WPRO AM, and most recently, was Buddy Cianci's co-host in the afternoon.

(Photo: Alan Levine, Flickr)

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