Quote: (11-19-2014 02:16 PM)Days of Broken Arrows Wrote:
However, as I wrote in my ensuing article about Bill Cosby, “the tension in the air was remarkably thick” as Cosby immediately took control of our interview by treating me to a fairly hostile 14-minute discourse on why he distrusted the press. (You can find the article online.) Cosby’s attitude was especially bewildering because he usually got good press. He was for years one of the most beloved performers in show business.
“Tell me what you want to ask and we’ll see how it goes,” he told me, speaking slowly and measuring his words. “If it doesn’t go well, I’ll give you a piece of fruit. I’ll give you an apple or pear and you can be on your way.”
My questions apparently passed muster, although as I wrote, Cosby “controls the interview by stretching each answer into a lengthy soliloquy.”
The interview was so unusual and uncomfortable that it seeped into the article I wrote. It’s hard to know how else I could have written it. The substance of what he said took a back seat to the atmosphere Cosby created between us. He was a very scary guy.
Cosby still acts like that whenever he is on The Tonight Show now. Fallon can't even get a proper question out. Cosby dictates the entire exchange, with Fallon tripping over himself to placate to Cosby's every last whim. Some people have magnetic, powerful, intimidating personalities. Cosby is one of them.