Interview With Bill Cosby
Aired December 10, 2003 - 21:00 ET
The Jackson segment from the Bill Cosby Interview:
========================================
KING: We're back with Bill Cosby.
I want to ask you about some things current, and then a little more on both books.
What do you make when you read about Michael Jackson, Kobe Bryant? Trouble. How do you look at it?
COSBY: I mean...
KING: And tabloid frenzy.
COSBY: Media and -- what I don't like, having lived it and having been there, I don't like the fun that people have with pundits who can get away with just saying anything because they believe something is going to happen.
There's a trial. And then we're going to have people judge. We're going to have them say, whether a person is guilty or not guilty.
I don't like that, so I don't watch. Because the media can dump you up and down. And of course, with media, it happens to be what they want the story to be about.
Michael Irvin, who used to play for the Dallas Cowboys, was accused of something with marijuana and something and a woman. And the media, the Dallas papers were--
And then, when it came back that he didn't do it, or that the person who made the accusation...
KING: Was nuts.
COSBY: ...was problematical, then Michael -- I remember, man. He -- he had his coat on his arm, and he pointed it through the camera. He said, "Now, keep up the intensity."
KING: Man.
COSBY: "Stay on the case. Come on. Keep it up now. Don't hold back." And there are times with the media might win. As a celebrity, we -- we know that we're right. We know that they brought people in who made accusations and then the things turn out to be not true. And then they -- you can hear them packing.
You know, you say, "OK. That's that."
And you say, "Wait a minute. What about -- you're going to let him go away for free?"
"Well, that's that."
And so there, I don't watch it. I don't like...
KING: Do you know Michael well?
COSBY: I don't know Michael.
KING: Don't...
COSBY: At all. I met Michael. He was a baby, and then I met Michael again at Clinton's inaugural...
KING: Ball?
COSBY: ...festive thing. And with Chuck Berry. And we took a picture with a giant poster-like Polaroid thing. And somebody -- I never got one, because I wanted one.
But he looked at me, and he said that I was a very, very nice person. And I said, "OK."
And I looked away. I never tried to Moonwalk.
KING: You know Kobe?
COSBY: No. No.
KING: But you were at the play-off.
COSBY: I've seen him play. I've seen Allen Iverson play. I've seen Magic Johnson play. I've seen...
KING: Do celebrities have an edge or a detraction when they come in the public limelight?
COSBY: They have -- they have the worst situation. Let me tell you something.
The lie that is put out. For instance, I've heard -- I've heard shows, as you know -- Larry, if you got caught in something, they would say, "You know, he's an actor. So when he's on the witness stand, he'll be able to really convince the people."
Hey, man, stop. There are people who have never done a TV show, never done a radio program or anything who can lie and make Orson Welles sound like Ebrow Bryson (ph). I don't know. I'm making up names now.
But I'm telling you, the way that they have access to free up on us, to just load up on us. And we can't get at them, because of some laws and whatever. And now, "The New York Times," the "L.A. Times," the "Philadelphia Inquirer"...
KING: The...
COSBY: I mean, respected places are now having things. But you can't tell their headline on a particular story from the "National Enquirer" or "The Star." And they're quoting each other.
So now this stuff also goes, "Larry King ate a persimmon. And the people are suing him." So now that's in the paper.
Now, I have a radio show. "Good morning, this is Hang 'em and Sell 'em (ph). And guess who was eating a persimmon in the thing. Well, he's a fool anyway. Who really likes the man? I'm telling you, ladies and gentlemen, give me the persimmon because Larry King is one of those persimmon eaters that this country does not need."
KING: We'll be back with our remaining moments...
Source: http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0312/10/lkl.00.html
Aired December 10, 2003 - 21:00 ET
The Jackson segment from the Bill Cosby Interview:
========================================
KING: We're back with Bill Cosby.
I want to ask you about some things current, and then a little more on both books.
What do you make when you read about Michael Jackson, Kobe Bryant? Trouble. How do you look at it?
COSBY: I mean...
KING: And tabloid frenzy.
COSBY: Media and -- what I don't like, having lived it and having been there, I don't like the fun that people have with pundits who can get away with just saying anything because they believe something is going to happen.
There's a trial. And then we're going to have people judge. We're going to have them say, whether a person is guilty or not guilty.
I don't like that, so I don't watch. Because the media can dump you up and down. And of course, with media, it happens to be what they want the story to be about.
Michael Irvin, who used to play for the Dallas Cowboys, was accused of something with marijuana and something and a woman. And the media, the Dallas papers were--
And then, when it came back that he didn't do it, or that the person who made the accusation...
KING: Was nuts.
COSBY: ...was problematical, then Michael -- I remember, man. He -- he had his coat on his arm, and he pointed it through the camera. He said, "Now, keep up the intensity."
KING: Man.
COSBY: "Stay on the case. Come on. Keep it up now. Don't hold back." And there are times with the media might win. As a celebrity, we -- we know that we're right. We know that they brought people in who made accusations and then the things turn out to be not true. And then they -- you can hear them packing.
You know, you say, "OK. That's that."
And you say, "Wait a minute. What about -- you're going to let him go away for free?"
"Well, that's that."
And so there, I don't watch it. I don't like...
KING: Do you know Michael well?
COSBY: I don't know Michael.
KING: Don't...
COSBY: At all. I met Michael. He was a baby, and then I met Michael again at Clinton's inaugural...
KING: Ball?
COSBY: ...festive thing. And with Chuck Berry. And we took a picture with a giant poster-like Polaroid thing. And somebody -- I never got one, because I wanted one.
But he looked at me, and he said that I was a very, very nice person. And I said, "OK."
And I looked away. I never tried to Moonwalk.
KING: You know Kobe?
COSBY: No. No.
KING: But you were at the play-off.
COSBY: I've seen him play. I've seen Allen Iverson play. I've seen Magic Johnson play. I've seen...
KING: Do celebrities have an edge or a detraction when they come in the public limelight?
COSBY: They have -- they have the worst situation. Let me tell you something.
The lie that is put out. For instance, I've heard -- I've heard shows, as you know -- Larry, if you got caught in something, they would say, "You know, he's an actor. So when he's on the witness stand, he'll be able to really convince the people."
Hey, man, stop. There are people who have never done a TV show, never done a radio program or anything who can lie and make Orson Welles sound like Ebrow Bryson (ph). I don't know. I'm making up names now.
But I'm telling you, the way that they have access to free up on us, to just load up on us. And we can't get at them, because of some laws and whatever. And now, "The New York Times," the "L.A. Times," the "Philadelphia Inquirer"...
KING: The...
COSBY: I mean, respected places are now having things. But you can't tell their headline on a particular story from the "National Enquirer" or "The Star." And they're quoting each other.
So now this stuff also goes, "Larry King ate a persimmon. And the people are suing him." So now that's in the paper.
Now, I have a radio show. "Good morning, this is Hang 'em and Sell 'em (ph). And guess who was eating a persimmon in the thing. Well, he's a fool anyway. Who really likes the man? I'm telling you, ladies and gentlemen, give me the persimmon because Larry King is one of those persimmon eaters that this country does not need."
KING: We'll be back with our remaining moments...
Source: http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0312/10/lkl.00.html