W. Kamau Bell: ‘We Need to Talk About Cosby’
The Last Laugh
The Daily Beast
4.6 • 661 Ratings
🗓️ 1 February 2022
⏱️ 66 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
W. Kamau Bell returns to the podcast to go deep on his illuminating new four-part documentary series ‘We Need to Talk About Cosby.’ And with his career as both a comedian and filmmaker on the line, he holds nothing back. This sprawling conversation covers everything from Bell’s early admiration for Bill Cosby to the shattering of those illusions when his rape allegations came to light to why he thought his big project might be dead when Cosby was suddenly released from prison last summer. We also talk about why ‘The Cosby Show’ cast members have been so reluctant to speak out against “America’s Dad,” whether Bell is able to separate the art from the artist and still appreciate Cosby as a comedian and so much more.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | W. Camel Bell was one of our very first guests on this podcast all the way back in the spring of 2019. |
| 0:07.5 | But the second I heard about his latest project, I knew we had to have him back. |
| 0:13.9 | Bill Cosby had been one of my heroes. |
| 0:17.3 | I'm a black man, stand-up comic. I was born in the 70s. |
| 0:21.6 | But this? |
| 0:22.6 | More trouble for Bill Cosby. |
| 0:24.6 | The accusations just keep coming in. |
| 0:27.6 | This was complicated. |
| 0:29.6 | How do we talk about Bill Cosby? |
| 0:33.6 | It's complex come out, you know. |
| 0:36.6 | Bill Cosby was our teacher. |
| 0:39.3 | Center of morality all throughout his career. |
| 0:41.3 | Made my grandmother laugh, made everybody in the house laugh. |
| 0:44.3 | You can't speak about Black America in the 20th century and not talk about Bill Cosby. Thank you. |
| 0:59.7 | This is the Last Laugh. |
| 1:02.2 | I'm Matt Wilstein from The Daily Beast, |
| 1:06.8 | and that was just a small taste of We Need to Talk about Cosby. |
| 1:13.8 | W. Kamau Bell's new, unflinching, four-part documentary series about the life and legacy of Bill Cosby premiered at Sundance last week, and will be rolling out every Sunday night on showtime |
| 1:19.4 | over the next few weeks. And let me tell you, it is not to be missed. Kamau is one of the most |
| 1:26.6 | simultaneously thoughtful and provocative comedians I know, |
| 1:30.8 | and there really was no one better to handle this massive undertaking. We really get into everything |
| 1:37.3 | in this episode, from why Kamau wanted to tackle this subject in the first place, to the many |
... |
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