Bill Cosby Kamaka ukulele thread

I received a PM today from someone who said they were from Kamaka Ukulele. They stated that they wanted to clear up any rumor or innuendo that was the result of a prior thread. The prior thread (which has since been closed/locked) was visible here: http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/f...by-gets-a-Kamaka-ukulele&highlight=bill+cosby

The jist of the thread was that Bill Cosby was presented with a Kamaka ukulele while he was in Hawaii. The article inferred that it was given to him as a gift, but instead it appears in fact, that he actually bought the instrument. I would not have brought this thread back into discussion (as it got fairly contentious and speculative) but Kamaka has requested that the facts (or perceived facts) be corrected.

The PM that I received requested that I clarify, "Bill Cosby is a Kamaka Hawaii, Inc. customer. He purchased the ukulele. He did not receive it as a gift."

As that thread is locked, hope this sets the record straight on this issue. I don't want this to lead to speculation or attacks on either Kamaka or Cosby, or the re-dredging of all the drama that this thread initiated the first time. This notification was purely to provide the information as was requested by Kamaka today.

Man I couldn't make heads or tails of those threads, other than backstage intrigues which always read as silly on any forum. Since we were left to draw our own conclusions, I conclude it has something to do with allegations of alleged things Cosby may or may not have done, and how they can't be talked about here.... for whatever reason. Certainly it's possible to look up outside the realms of UU, having nothing to do with ukes. It's not like google hasn't been invented, or Yahoo before that, or webcrawlers before that, or veronica to search gopher before that. What a weird chapter that was!

Glad he paid for at least one of the ukes though!

Jeez who cares even if it was a gift! I like to give gifts when I can, it's great fun to do and it makes people happy.

I think people need to not worry about this sort of thing.

Hey, I'm not trying to start controversy guys. I'm just doing as I was asked. So I fulfilled what Kamaka's employee asked me to do so I'm locking this thread now. They wanted the record corrected, and it has been.

Let me please add one thing: I have gotten some PMs from members regarding this posting. In no way was I acting on UU's behalf. I was not acting as a moderator either. UU had no involvement in the posting of this information, and I apologize to the UU staff if they feel I should not have done so.

I got this information sent to me because I was the original poster in the initial thread. That is the only reason why. In no way should anyone feel as though I, or anyone else, was "caving to pressure from a manufacturer" as I was told by one member. It maybe the case that after the initial article was published in the paper that Kamaka asked for a clarification. I don't know. All I know is that I was asked to set the facts straight in a post I made, as they did not want the rumor and innuendo they felt the article implied.

I actually don't see where it affects their reputation either way...whether the uke was a gift or a purchase. But I respect their wishes to have that clarified.

If I was in error in putting their side forward, I apologize.