--- description: "Will somebody please hospitalize Bill Cosby?" title: Watch Poet Nikki Giovanni Take Bill Cosby to Task in 2007 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt37206f396158f329/69876a4f3c16396189450222/nikki-giovanni.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [celebrities](/tag/celebrities/) ## celebrities Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Watch Poet Nikki Giovanni Rip Bill Cosby to Shreds in 2007 Speech by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 21, 2014 5:49 PM CUT  Dr. Nikki Giovanni reads a poem during ceremonies at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC on February 12, 2009. Dr. Nikki Giovanni reads a poem during ceremonies at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC on February 12, 2009.KAREN BLEIER—AFP/Getty Images by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 21, 2014 5:49 PM CUT Bill Cosby had plenty of critics before his latest scandal, and in a video from 2007 that has [circulated](http://qz.com/299942/video-poet-nikki-giovanni-calls-out-bill-cosby-seven-years-ago/ "undefined") on the Internet this week, poet Nikki Giovanni gave him a thorough skewering. The entertainer was [known](http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/11/the-cosby-show/382891/ "undefined") then for making conservative speeches on what he considers a lack of morality in the black community, and proposing changes that Giovanni took issue with. “They should buy Hooked on Phonics because _he_ doesn’t understand what they’re saying?” she asked in a speech at the Miami Book Fair International seven years ago. “He needs to listen. Park your limousine. “He’s mad because they drop their drawers? He’s mad because he has to look at the crack? It’s the only crack he’s mad at looking at, because he’s looked at a whole lot of other ones.” Cosby canceled a series of performances Friday, as allegations that he sexually harassed or raped various women over a period of decades continue to grow. His lawyer has dismissed the claims as false. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3599976/nikki-giovanni-bill-cosby/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3599976/nikki-giovanni-bill-cosby/"},"headline":"Watch Poet Nikki Giovanni Rip Bill Cosby to Shreds in 2007 Speech","datePublished":"2014-11-21T17:49:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:17:14.461Z","description":"\"Will somebody please hospitalize Bill Cosby?\"","url":"https://time.com/3599976/nikki-giovanni-bill-cosby/","keywords":["celebrities","Bill Cosby topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt37206f396158f329/69876a4f3c16396189450222/nikki-giovanni.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt37206f396158f329/69876a4f3c16396189450222/nikki-giovanni.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Dr. Nikki Giovanni reads a poem during c","caption":"Dr. Nikki Giovanni reads a poem during c","creditText":"KAREN BLEIER—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrities/","name":"celebrities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3599976/nikki-giovanni-bill-cosby/","name":"Watch Poet Nikki Giovanni Rip Bill Cosby to Shreds in 2007 Speech"}}]}] ```