Recently, "The Cosby Show," "7th Heaven," and "19 Kids and Counting" have been removed from multiple television channels. Each series was tarnished by the very public legal struggles of the stars of each series. Bill Cosby was accused by countless women of rape, audio tape revealed that Stephen Collins (the start of 7th Heaven) admitted to sexual assault of a minor, and it was revealed that Josh Duggar (one of the Duggar family’s many children) had sexually assaulted several of his younger sisters as a teen. What are the implications of removing these shows from the airwaves? What do audiences expect from television stars? Television is a hugely collaborative effort: how do the actions of these stars effect the rest of the people involved in the production of the series? How does our knowledge of these details change the way we view these series?
For Cosby in particular, the reason his reputation was tarnished was because he painted his self as a harmless person. His comedy was safe and family friendly, and he usually frowned upon other comedians using such bad language. But now, no one can watch him be a fun loving dad on The Cosby Show without thinking of him as the vile monster we know him today. His hypocritical statement of being a good person is what hurt the most, as there is nothing worse than realizing than your hero is an awful human being. – Aaron Hatch9 years ago