People generally fall into two categories when celebrities are accused of criminal behavior. There are people who are blinded by the spotlight and quick to defend the celebrity and those stuck in the dark believing all the rich and famous do wrong.Recently, Bill Cosby has been accused of allegedly raping 51 women. On Jan. 6, Cosby was released on a $1 million bail after two cases were dropped against him.

However, Cosby still faces charges held against him in Pennsylvania. According to ET Online “he was formally arraigned on one charge of aggravated indecent assault.” Society faces conflict between whom to believe, Cosby or the victim.

The world often perceives Cosby as the lovable father, Heathcliff Huxtable from The Cosby Show, and forgets to differentiate the character from reality.
Counselor intern Stephanie France admits to the difficulty of separating Cosby from Huxtable.
“It’s hard to believe Bill Cosby would have raped anyone… he’s Cliff Huxtable! This goes to show I really don’t know who ‘Bill Cosby’ really is, and maybe I do have a heavy image in my mind of him as Cliff Huxtable from The Cosby Show,” France said.

France also has a theory as to why this is the case.

“I just had an ‘ah-ha’ moment – the show was called The Cosby Show, but his name on the show was Cliff Huxtable. This may be one reason why it’s hard to separate the fictional character from Bill Cosby’s true self,” France said.
However, that’s not the case for counselor Andrea Ball-Ryan, who clearly differentiates character from person.
“I greatly enjoyed watching The Cosby Show while growing up; it is honestly something I associate with my childhood,” Ball-Ryan said. “As an adult, however, I know that Bill Cosby is Bill Cosby… not Heathcliff Huxtable or the Pudding Pop man.”
Ball-Ryan said the allegations Cosby face are of serious matter.
“While I can’t say whether or not the allegations are true, I do know that claims of sexual assault must not be taken lightly and should be investigated, be it 51 accusations or just one,” Ball-Ryan said.
Bill Cosby isn’t the only celebrity dealing with severe accusations. Both Chris Brown and Tyga entered the new year facing allegations by women.Entering the first week of January, Chris Brown was accused of punching a woman at a Vegas party he was hosting in his hotel room.
Meanwhile, Tyga was accused of sending inappropriate messages to a 14 year-old over Instagram direct messaging.
Senior Aja Bailey, a huge fan of Chris Brown since the age of eight, defends all three celebrities and views them as victims.
In defense of Chris Brown, “there’s no proof, there’s no info, and Chris Brown is in turn pressing charges against her,” Bailey said. “Chris Brown said that this year he would begin to press charges on anyone who lies on him.”
In regards to the Tyga incident, Bailey also believes that “he’s an easy target.”
In general “people want to see black men go bad,” Bailey said. “They love to paint an image where black men are in the negative light.”

She comments in dismay on how this affects our generation.
“Our generation, they believe anything that they hear and they’re quick to [say] ‘oh they said this, so it’s true,’” Bailey said.
For Tyga, the incident is simply gossip with no serious legal actions taken.

As for Bill Cosby and Chris Brown, the court will be analyzing over the next few months whether or not they are victims or criminals.