I agree with [MENTION=1425]Korg[/MENTION], it's hard for us to know the truth with only the media reports to judge. That being said, we're not on a jury so I'll assume that conjecture is OK to this question.
I was and am a fan of Cosby's comedy. My wife bought several seasons of his show and we re-watched the entire eight seasons just a couple of years ago on Hulu. We also own some videos of his stand up comedy. I would be lying if I said these allegations didn't damper my enjoyment of his show or my estimation of the man; a person who does the sorts of things he's accused of doing over and over should not be admired, and so I don't.
I'd like to believe you could separate the "work" from the "worker", in this case the comedy from the comedian. And then, whatever demons the comedian is accused of having or has been proven to have do not effect what he's accomplished. But whether or not some level of suspension of disbelief a reasonable person can be expected to have, there are definitely limits.
I believe most people, if not everyone entirely, has secrets that could embarrass them if made public, and if you require absolute purity of the worker to enjoy the work they do, then you may be sorely disappointed over and over. So, you have to accept that an actor you may admire may have a secret drug or alcohol problem; a teacher that inspires students may also be having an extra-marital affair; a police officer that has a shining, peerless record may, in private, be racist or abusive. We've seen this happen over and over with stars, celebrities or even politicians who, once their life is under public scrutiny, are revealed to be flawed, just like most of us.
But there has to be a limit. What Cosby is being accused of is activity that goes way beyond what I would consider to be a reasonable limit. Being unfaithful or even a known womanizer is one thing; drugging, raping, and intimidating women over and over is something completely different. And to acerbate that by using his fame or status to perpetrate these acts is completely inexcusable.
This is kind of a example case of a very human phenomenon: being forced to confront that something you enjoy has a much darker side. In a way, by buying Cosby's movies and watching them I have unknowingly helped him do these awful things: if he had not the money nor the notoriety from his comedy--something I had contributed to--he probably would never have gotten away with as much as he allegedly did. And knowing that makes me angry, and means I really can't enjoy anything he did now, unless he is completely exonerated, which seems unlikely. This is the same feeling a person gets when they learn a shirt they bought was made by a poor child laborer, or the diamond ring they gave someone was dug up by slave-laborers to support a vicious gang of murdering warlords, or that the coffee they drank was made possible by an industry that cheats and robs workers and farmers. It's an unfortunately common, and very uncomfortable feeling.
So how do you go on? How do you act towards this thing you enjoyed knowing its dark past? That's a really tough and personal question. Of course, I will probably never watch the DVDs my wife bought again, and I certainly wouldn't spend another dime on his products. But what about the diamond ring? Do you throw it out when you learn its past? Or what about the coffee your already drank?
I think we are capable of deciding, when we know better, to regret the darkness of a thing and not the thing itself. So, I regret Cosby's actions, but I can decide not to regret the time I did enjoy watching his comedy before I knew about these allegations and I can decide I do not regret that my wife bought his DVDs. I just will not do so again.
Whew. Sorry for the long post. This is something near to my heart for other reasons (not related to Cosby), so I had a lot of thoughts on it.