After an alleged sexual assault conviction was overturned by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in June, actor/comedian Bill Cosby (Fat Albert, I Spy) has his eyes set on making a return to the comedy stage, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The comedian and TV star insinuated at his return to touring in 2023 during an interview with Scott Spears on his WGH Talk radio show on Wednesday, December 28, 2022.
“Yes. Yes because there’s so much fun to be had in this storytelling that I do. Years ago, maybe 10 years ago, I found it was better to say it after I write it,” the comedian said during the interview.
“When I come out of this, I feel that I will be able to perform and be the Bill Cosby that my audience knows me to be.”
Not surprisingly, some people were unhappy with the comedian’s decision and took to Twitter to express their opinions on the matter:
Comedian Mohanad Elshieky (Conan, Unprotected Sets) did not underplay words with his own opinion, suggesting that Cosby “should tour hell” in a since deleted tweet, according Newsweek.
In 2014, Cosby was accused by more than 50 women who came forward with sexual assault allegations. The following year, Cosby was charged with the alleged assault of Andrea Constand, a former director of operations for Temple University’s women’s basketball team. In 2018, the comedian was convicted and sentenced to up to 10 years in prison, but was released last year after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the prosecution against Cosby was an unfair violation of due process, according Entertainment Weekly.
Unbeknownst to the comedian, earlier this month five more accusations surfaced from five different women accusing the comedian of alleged assault, alleged battery, and alleged infliction of emotional distress and alleged false imprisonment in encounters spanning the past few decades. Cosby’s accusers are actresses Eden Tirl (The Cosby Show), Lili Bernard (Golden Years , The Cosby Show), along with Cindra Ladd, Jewel Gittens, and Jennifer Thompson. All five women had already come forward with their allegations against the comedian, but the new civil suit was filed under New York’s freshly-passed Adult Survivors Act, which gives sexual abuse survivors a one-year window to sue even if the statute of limitations on their allegations has expired, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Cosby had denied the new allegations and his legal team has criticized the suit as “frivolous.” Cosby’s publicist, Andrew Wyatt, proclaimed in a statement to Entertainment Weekly, “As we have always stated, and now America can see, this isn’t about justice for victims of alleged sexual assault; it’s ALL ABOUT MONEY. We believe that the courts, as well as the court of public opinion, will follow the rules of law and relieve Mr. Cosby of these alleged accusations. Mr. Cosby continues to vehemently deny all allegations waged against him and looks forward to defending himself in court.”