A widely circulated clip of Hannibal Buress, one of Chicago’s recent successes in stand-up, shows the rising star calling out one of comedy’s sacred cows: Bill Cosby.
Taking issue with Cosby’s moralizing about saggy pants and cursing, Buress reminds an audience in Philadelphia last week that several women have accused Cosby of sexual assault.
” ‘I was on TV in the ’80s. I can talk down to you because I had a successful sitcom,’ ” Buress says, paraphrasing Cosby. “Yeah, but you raped women.”
He says people seldom believe him when he dredges up the “upsetting” claims about Cosby. So why talk about them? Because Buress hates Cosby’s “smuggest old-black-man public persona.”
Also, he adds, “I want to just at least make it weird for you to watch ‘Cosby Show’ reruns.”
A Chicago stand-up in the early 2000s who went on to write for “Saturday Night Live” and “30 Rock,” Buress this year taped a Comedy Central special at the Vic. He appeared in the hit summer movie “Neighbors” and recently was announced as a voice actor in the “Angry Birds” movie.
