Hasta La Ideas

There are two things that struck us most about Cindra Ladd’s familiarly terrifying Huffington Post essay about Bill Cosby. The first, per the screen grab at right, is how heavily this morning’s piece has already been shared.

The second is Ladd’s indirect answer to all those who will fail to fully read the essay and instead casually tweet or observe that here is another woman looking for some quick, opportunistic settlement bucks:

This is the first time I have chosen to speak out about that [1969 New York] night. It is also the last time I intend to address it publicly. I have no plans to sue, I don’t want or need money. I have no plans for a press conference or for doing any interviews.

So why speak out at all and why now? The simple answer is that it’s the right thing to do. The truth deserves to be known. As I write this, more than 20 women have come forward, many with stories that are remarkably similar to mine. In response to these brave women, I have read comments like, “What took them so long?” and “What are they after now?” I would ask these people to remember that up until relatively recently, prosecuting rape was a “he said/she said” proposition where the victim was blamed for having worn “suggestive clothing” or questioned as to why she went somewhere with her rapist.

FishbowlNY applauds Mrs. Ladd for having the courage to share these difficult recollections, a decade after revealing for the first time to anyone the details of the incident to husband Alan Ladd Jr.