Walter Kamau Bell, April 2019
W Kamau Bell has made a career of embracing uncomfortable conversations. The kind others might choose to sidestep. Or run from entirely. When asked how hes doing these days, the comedian, television host and now first-time director responds, Im holding on to my mental health by my fingernails.
With his new Showtime docuseriesWe Need To Talk About Cosby, debuting January 30, Bell again dives deep, and wide, into his preferred kind of topicthe messy kind. Informed by Ezra EdelmansOJ: Made In Americaand Dream HamptonsSurviving R Kelly, Bells lens is on grappling with another fallen Black heroone of his own personal and professional heroes for decadesin the context of whats widely believed to be glaring misconduct.
As Bell puts it, How do I reckon with the fact that I still feel the presence of the good of Bill Cosby in me, while I reckon with the awfulness of the truth I believe from these women. Cosby was convicted of sexual assault in 2018; he has denied all accusations.
People of all races are dealing with this, and a lot of Black people dealt with it in a very different way because we dont have as many role models as white folks do. Some Black people felt like hes too valuable to throw away, and some people felt like, What are we saying if we dont throw him away?
So there are all these different conversations but oftentimes they are silod, he says. Either you have the assault and rape conversation or the heres the good work he did conversation. In my work its always about having the biggest, messiest, most inclusive conversation you can have because thats the only way to get to a new place.
Aside from sparking conversation, Bell hopes his work will move some needles. This is a film about, how do we create a situation where if you are a victim of sexual assault you know you can tell somebody and they will help you instead of, I dont believe you, why would you make this up? Or, I believe you but dont tell anybody. That is certainly not a mentally healthy society that does that. But that is the society we currently live in.
In fact, the society we currently live in isnt giving Bell much to smile about.
Riffing off his signature signoff, Were doomed, the multiple Emmy winner for his CNN showUnited Shades of Americagrimaces as he reflects on the past 20 months since George Floyd was murdered and a whole lot of white people pledged to be better anti-racists.
Ive grown more cynical in the past year and a half than I ever have been, and I dont know if I started out too optimistic to begin with, Bell says. Then, after a pause, Cynical is not the right word. But really clear. And maybe this is what happens to everybody whos engaged in trying to look at racism in America. We are so far away from solutions. Its just really clear this American experiment really might not work out.
If I was to give a letter grade judging white peoples intentions of what they said they were going to do in the summer of 2020 until now, its very much an incomplete grade. But class is ending soon, so get your homework in. You could get an F. I feel like we have to understand that racism is an active and an always growing concern.
Befuddled the term woke has been demonized in some circles, Bell says, All woke means is pay attention and be aware, specifically through a lens of Black folks. I talk to people, and you can look at that critical race theory thats taught in schools and say, Oh thats just some school board, blah blah blah and Im like, No, that is a key thing thats working its way through all levels of society. Its just starting there.
Noting police interactions with Black people remains a dangerous proposition, he says, Thre are still Black people being killed by the police for no good reason. If I saw a Black person having a mental health crisis theres no way Im calling the police. We are still in the same place. Even though weve talked about it, even though in some cases families have sued the city and gotten some money, its not structural change. Were always looking for a band aid or putting a black box on Instagram. But we need structural change in society to create the America many history books in Texas want to tell us we already have.
There are a few rays of light.
One thing Ive seen happen more is that those of is who have therapists, like me, feel more free to claim it out loud, Bell notes. But theres also a caveat.
We also know the people who probably need the most therapy are the people who are dealing with the brunt end of racism and Americas oppression of women. They arent getting access to therapy the same way I have access to it. So I think we have to not judge it by those of us who have privilege, we have to judge it by the people who have the least privilege.
He finds other glimmers in his own backyard, the entertainment industry: I look at Issa Rae. She has completely transformed and rebranded HBO as a network for Black women, which is not what it was known for before she got there.
And he remains determined to use his own station to create pockets of hope. Case in point, while he was filming forUnited Shadesseveral years ago he noticed a field producer, a Latina woman, getting the run-around from a co-worker.
Shes really good, and I saw the way she was being treated by another producer, a white man. The way she was having to fight for things other people wouldnt have to fight for, Bell recounts. So it became part of my job to make sure she doesnt get stuck in this job. That woman, Geraldine Porus, is a co-executive producer onWe Need To Talk About Cosby.
And so for me the hope I see is when I take the privilege I have and the opportunities I have to really pull people in who would not be looked at, and really tell those stories. It doesnt mean anything if Im not keeping that door open for people who that door would not normally be open for. That makes me feel hopeful.
Hollywood & Mind lives at the intersection of entertainment and wellbeing, and features interviews with musicians, actors, sports figures and other culture influencers who are elevating the conversation around mental health.
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Hollywood & Mind: W Kamau Bell On His New Cosby Doc, And Racisms Ongoing Toll - Forbes