By Kieran Butler
An estimated 20 demonstrators gathered outside of The Lyric in Baltimore on Friday to protest against Bill Cosby’s scheduled performance that evening.
Photo by Kieran Butler
The rally, which was organized by Slutwalk Baltimore, was designed to draw attention to the sexual assault accusations that have been made against Cosby by more than 30 women. Cosby has denied attacking anyone.
“Our main goal is to inform people of how many people are accusing him,” said Rachel Perry-Crook, a leader of Slutwalk Baltimore. “I want to inform those giving their money to Bill Cosby what he’s been accused of. We don’t want a serial rapist performing in Baltimore.”
The protest was organized at least partially through Facebook and was scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. The gathering started slowly, but eventually totaled around 20 people who held signs and urged people not to attend the event.
“I think it’s really great that people are gathering,” said Corey Atten, a Greenbelt, Maryland, resident who came to participate and observe the protest. “I think it’s a lack of judgment on The Lyric. He’s been charged with some pretty serious allegations.”
Perry-Crook said that to her knowledge, a representative outside of The Lyric’s immediate administration could have decided to cancel Cosby’s performance.
![CosbyProtest2IMG_5205[1] (3)](http://baltimorewatchdog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/CosbyProtest2IMG_52051-3.jpg)
A representative from The Lyric could not be reached for comment, but many venues have not canceled performances that were scheduled before the allegations were made public because they would lose money.
Some protestors, like Katherine Bruce of Baltimore, said they were there to show support for those who are victims of sexual assault. Others, such as Julia Griffin, had a more personal perspective.
“I was raped at college in western Massachusetts,” Griffin, 19, said. “It was by my boyfriend at the time. Now I’m out here protesting because I believe we need to listen to the voices of sexual assault victims.”
Some attending the show were upset that the public has chosen to forget about the positive side of Cosby’s past.
“It’s kind of a tragedy that people are losing sight of that,” Ryan Preston Palmer, a lawyer in Baltimore, said. “I don’t have enough information to make a decision.”
Cosby has yet to face trial for the charges against him. Allegations date back as far as 1965 up through 2008.
1 Comment
It must be noted that these protestors screamed at the women who wanted to go see the show. Perpetuating violence against other women is never helpful. Also, the racial element — an all white group screaming at a predominantly black audience is problematic. One black woman who protested across the street because she was disgusted by the slutwalk folks said the scene was reminiscent of the fight to desegregate theaters in the 1950s with a white crowd screaming at a black one. The lack of sensitivity to race, and the tactic of behaving with violence towards other women, puts this group in a special category.
Cosby walked away with his pockets full. Slutwalk, while pronouncing 1 in 3 women will be raped in their lifetime screamed constantly at all the women as if the women patrons were responsible for Cosby’s alleged actions. Their behavior was disturbing on many levels.
The press not noting these concerns is irresponsible.