Accused rapist Bill Cosby makes rape joke, audience gives him a standing ovation

Bill Cosby did a show at Budweiser Gardens in London, Ontario last night, where protestors gathered outside the venue to show their support for the over 20 women who have accused him of sexual assault. But inside, according to tweets from reporter Richard Warnica, the mood was all fun and games and rape jokes. 

A woman in the front row got up to go get a drink. Cosby asked her where she was going. She asked him if he wanted a drink.

— Richard Warnica (@richardwarnica) January 9, 2015

He said no, he already had one (a bottle of water). Then he continued “You have to be careful about drinking around me.”

— Richard Warnica (@richardwarnica) January 9, 2015

“You have to be careful about drinking around me,” Cosby just said to a woman in the crowd. Loud gasps from the audience.

— Richard Warnica (@richardwarnica) January 9, 2015

The gasps then changed to cheers and applause.

— Richard Warnica (@richardwarnica) January 9, 2015

What does it take for someone who has been publicly accused of drugging and assaulting dozens of women to feel comfortable publicly joking not just about rape but specifically about the allegations against him? I think probably nothing more than a lifetime of learning, over and over again, that sexual violence is not actually considered the serious crime we claim it to be; a lifetime of being assured that the gasps will always quickly give way to cheers. I think we have a name for that.