As allegations of long-ago sexual assaults continue to soil Bill Cosby’s image, Netflix has changed its mind about debuting his new comedy special next week.
“At this time we are postponing the launch of the new stand up comedy special ‘Bill Cosby 77,’ ” Netflix said in a statement released Tuesday to Deadline.com.
The streaming service had been scheduled to release the show Nov. 27. “Bill Cosby invites you in to share his birthday and 77 years of laughs, wisdom and hilarious insights in his latest stand-up special,” earlier Netflix publicity touted. “Dr. Cosby shares intimate and wildly entertaining stories from his childhood, first loves, and the endless adventure of parenthood.”
Though Cosby was never criminally charged in any case, he settled a civil suit in 2006 with a woman over an alleged incident two years before. Two other women have emerged as accusers, including Barbara Bowman, who wrote an online Washington Post piece, and model Janice Dickinson, who on Tuesday’s “Entertainment Tonight” said Cosby sexually assaulted her in 1982.
Cosby has remained silent, and his attorney, John P. Schmitt, issued a statement Sunday saying his client would not dignify “decade-old, discredited” claims of sexual abuse with a response. Schmitt later exempted the 2006 civil case from the blanket statement.
Attention to the legendary entertainer’s past flared suddenly in recent weeks after another comic, Hannibal Buress, called Cosby a “rapist” during a Philadelphia performance.
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Contributing: AP
