NBC said on Wednesday it has canceled an
upcoming project with veteran comedian, Bill
Cosby, his second show to be pulled after
accusations that he sexually assaulted women
resurfaced in recent weeks.
The move by NBC comes a day after online
streaming company Netflix Inc. said that it was
postponing Cosby’s stand-up comedy special “Bill
Cosby 77,” which was due to be released on
November 28.
Cosby’s lawyers have called the allegations of
sexual assault “discredited” and “defamatory.”
Cosby’s representative did not immediately
respond to a request for comment about the NBC
and Netflix cancellations.
The damage to Cosby’s career reached the reruns
of “The Cosby Show,” a top-rate NBC comedy in
which he played his most famous role as the
affable patriarch, Dr. Cliff Huxtable. A
spokeswoman for Viacom Inc’s basic cable
channel TV Land said that the show is being
pulled from its schedule, without commenting
further.
The 77-year-old Cosby is fighting to protect one
of the most storied careers in stand-up comedy
and television. He is scheduled to go ahead with
a performance on Friday at a sold-out show in
Florida, the King Center for the Performing Arts
said on its website on Wednesday.
Comcast Corp-owned NBC said in a statement
that “the Cosby project is no longer in
development,” while declining to comment further.
The project was still in its early stages, with no
script delivered and no production date secured.
Allegations that Cosby drugged and sexually
assaulted several young women decades ago
gained renewed attention after comedian,
Hannibal Buress, called him a rapist during a
stand-up comedy routine last month.
Neither NBC nor Netflix referred to the
accusations in their statements.
In a previously unaired Associated Press
television interview released on Wednesday,
Cosby declined to comment about Buress’
allegations. It was the first time the comedian
has had any response to questions other than
silence.
“I don’t talk about it,” he said in the November 6
interview, flanked by his wife, Camille.
After the interview and while cameras were still
rolling, Cosby asked that his response not be
used. “I would appreciate it if it was scuttled,” he
said.
Late Tuesday, model, Janice Dickinson, became
the most high-profile accuser against Cosby,
telling Entertainment Tonight she believed she
had been sexually assaulted by Cosby in 1982.
In a letter received by Reuters, Cosby’s lawyer,
Martin Singer, called Dickinson’s claims
“fabricated” and “an outrageous defamatory lie.”
Representatives for Dickinson did not respond to
a request for comment. CBS said Dickinson would
appear on the show on Wednesday to address
Cosby’s lawyers.
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