Ebony Magazine recently released their November 2015 cover featuring a ‘shattered’ picture of the iconic Cosby Show cast.
The cover shot has garnered way more attention than the article itself, which Ebony claims ‘separates’ Cliff Huxtable from Bill Cosby.
To date, more than 50 women have come forward accusing the comedian of drugging them and, in most cases, sexually assaulting them.
[FLASHBACK: Bill Cosby Accusers Cover NY Magazine + Victims Share Details in Audio Excerpts]
Fans of the 80’s sitcom are outraged about the disrespectful way Ebony chose to cover their story, and many feel that the mag is exploiting the positive image of The Huxtables to sell magazines.
Ebony Magazine sparked outrage with readers after releasing the cover of their November issue ? which featured a fractured image of ?The Cosby Show? cast for a story on broken families in the African American community.
The the in-depth cover story, written by Goldie Taylor, grapples with that hard truth, straight, no chaser. It demands that we?sit with all?that which is uncomfortable.
?Debuting in September 1984, The Cosby Show was based on the stand-up comedy routines of Bill Cosby, already a celebrated Hollywood staple, and loosely mirrored his family life. For eight seasons on NBC?five of which it was the country?s most-watched program, according to Nielsen ratings?Cosby?s portrayal of Heathcliff Huxtable?a physician, loving husband and doting Black father-reinforced the widely held virtues of the nuclear family, if not also unwittingly illuminating the hazards of respectability politics (the notion that if Black people simply act ?good? and ?behave,? the world-at-large will treat them as such.)
Now, some three decades later, as Cosby stands accused of sexually assaulting at least 40 women, Black America is left to grapple with his once-unimpeachable legacy. If Bill Cosby is finished, what does that mean for Cliff, and the rest of the tribe called Huxtable??
Many feel that the cover is disrespectful and demeans the positive legacy of the SHOW… but didn’t Cosby do that already? Should Cosby’s personal issues be a reflection of the popular 80’s show?