Bill Cosby Joke: Did Tina Fey And Amy Poehler Go Too Far With Golden Globes Monologue?

The Bill Cosby joke was the talk of the 2015 Golden Globe Awards after hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler took aim at the embattled comedian during their monologue, but not everyone is finding it so funny.

For years, Cosby has been dogged by allegations of rape and sexual assault, and though they were largely ignored by the mainstream media they haven’t been overlooked by Fey and Poehler. They made fun of Cosby all the way back in 2005, when they used their post on Saturday Night Live‘s “Weekend Update” to bring light to the early allegations against Cosby.

They were back at Bill Cosby again on Sunday night, attacking the comedian for the allegations made by more than a dozen women who claimed Cosby drugged and raped them.

Here is a full transcript of the joke the included in their Golden Globes monologue (via Decider.com):

AMY: In Into The Woods, Cinderella runs from her prince, Rapunzel is thrown from a tower for her prince, and Sleeping Beauty just thought she was getting coffee from Bill Cosby.

TINA: You know, actually, I don’t know if you guys saw this in the news, but Bill Cosby actually has spoken out about the allegations against him. Cosby admitted to a reporter, [in Cosby voice] “I put the pills in the people! The people did not want the pills in them.”

AMY: Oh, Tina, hey! That’s not right. That’s not right. It’s more like [in Cosby voice] “I got the pills in the bathroom and I put ’em in the people.”

TINA: You’re right. It’s like [in Cosby voice] “I put the pills in the hoagie.”

The joke drew a decidedly mixed reaction from the crowd, and afterward many people were upset by the Bill Cosby joke. While a few people still defended the comedian and his lack of charges or convictions, most people took issue with turning allegations of serial rape into a monologue joke.

Spencer Kornhaber of The Atlantic saw it differently. He believed the Bill Cosby joke was actually a show of support for Cosby’s alleged victims.

“But shock was just a byproduct. This was a rape joke with a point—a statement of support for accusers who have been maligned and had their motives questioned. Cosby has maintained his innocence and been convicted of nothing, but Fey and Poehler’s joke asserts that even if lawsuit settlements and statutes of limitations keep the issue from ever being aired in court, regular people can hear the accusations of 24 separate women and make their own call.”

But Tina Fey and Amy Poehler aren’t the only ones making a joke from the situation. Bill Cosby himself even joked about it, telling a woman at his standup show to “be careful about drinking around me.”