Bill Cosby is the very opposite of the man of the hour at this point.
As more companies pull support and distance themselves from the embattled TV dad in light of unsealed court documents in which Cosby admitted to buying drugs for women for the purpose of sex, a sexual-violence awareness group is now petitioning the White House to revoke the comedian’s Presidential Medal of Freedom, Time reports.
PAVE: Promoting Awareness Victim Empowerment started the petition Wednesday, stating adamantly that Cosby did “not deserve to be on the list of distinguished recipients.”
“The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest award bestowed on civilians for their contributions to society. Bill Cosby does not deserve to be on the list of distinguished recipients,” the petition reads. “Cosby admitted to procuring drugs to have sex with women. … He has been accused of serial rape by dozens of others. We cannot yet give his accusers their day in court, but we can fight back in the court of public opinion. We urge the administration to take the unprecedented action of revoking this award.”
As of 2:15 p.m. Thursday, the petition had 2,537 of the required 100,000 signatures needed to prompt a response from the White House.
Cosby was given the medal in 2002 by President George W. Bush.
When asked about the petition during Wednesday’s press briefing, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said that he was unaware of the particular statement.
“I haven’t at this point heard any discussion of taking that step. But I can tell you that, as a general matter, this administration has been very focused on countering sexual assault, and doing so in a variety of settings,” Earnest said, referencing the administration’s work in promoting an end to sexual violence in the military and on college campuses.
When asked if revoking a medal is legally possible, Earnest said, “I don’t know the answer to that, but we can look into that for you.”
Read more at Time.