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Bill Cosby biographer: 'I was wrong' to ignore rape allegations

Mark Whitaker, who wrote "Cosby: This Life and Times," said Monday he regrets not including sexual assault accusations against Bill Cosby in the biography.

By Kate Stanton
UPI/Kevin Dietsch
UPI/Kevin Dietsch | License Photo

NEW YORK, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Mark Whitaker, who wrote "Cosby: This Life and Times," said Monday that he regretted not including sexual assault allegations against Bill Cosby in the biography.

A number of journalists, including The Atlantic's Ta-Nehisi Coates and The New York Times' David Carr, have questioned their own coverage of Bill Cosby in the wake of renewed sexual assault allegations that date back decades.

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Carr pointed out Monday that Mark Whitaker's biography, Cosby: His Life and Times, published in September, failed to mention the women who had accused Cosby of drugging and raping them.

Whitaker responded Monday on Twitter, writing: "David you are right. I was wrong to not deal with the sexual assault charges against Cosby and pursue them more aggressively."

"I am following new developments and will address them at the appropriate time. If true the stories are shocking and horrible," Whitaker added.

Whitaker told The Daily Beast last week that he would include the allegations in future editions of his book, "if not sooner."

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He added that he didn't include assault allegations against Cosby -- first made public in a lawsuit in 2005 -- because he couldn't independently confirm them.

When you're writing a book, you want to make sure it's really accurate, that you can stand behind it, because once it's out it's not like a piece in a newspaper or even a news magazine that you can correct quickly. That was just the standard I used."

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