Bill Cosby

The veteran entertainer has denied allegations of sexual assault and has never been charged

(DENVER) — Ticketmaster is offering refunds for two Bill Cosby shows scheduled in Denver, but organizers say the performances will go on.

KUSA-TV reported Tuesday that more than 3,000 tickets have been sold to the shows, which are set to take place in downtown Denver on Saturday amid planned protests against the iconic comedian.

Cosby is facing growing sexual assault allegations from more than 15 women, with some claims dating back decades. He has denied the allegations through his lawyer and has never been charged.

Chuck Morris, president of AEG Live, the promotion company hosting Cosby, says he understands the concerns some may have regarding Cosby’s visit. But he adds that because the comedian hasn’t been charged with a crime, he has a moral obligation to allow the shows to happen.

Apatow has been very vocal about his disdain for the comedian accused of sexual assault

Judd Apatow’s mostly been keeping his criticisms of Bill Cosby—whom dozens of women have recently accused of sexual assault—to a 140-character minimum, but the director got a chance to elaborate on his Cosby-related feelings when he appeared on Marc Maron’s WTF Podcast.

Apatow’s been so vocal about the Cosby allegations on Twitter that Black-ish showrunner Kenya Barris called him out in December: “Dude. Enough. Not defending him AT ALL, but u do realize this borders on strangely obsessive, right?” Barris wrote to Apatow in the first of a series of tweets.

Apatow says he and Barris spoke afterwards, and he “can understand why someone would say, ‘Why does Judd care about this?’” “I don’t know, I have two daughters. I’m a comedian. I see [Cosby] a little bit as our comedy dad,” Apatow said. “It’s like finding out your comedy dad is a really evil guy.”

He added that the lack of other celebrities voicing their opposition to Cosby is one reason why he won’t stop talking about it. “If everybody was talking about it, I probably wouldn’t have much to say about it,” he said. “But I don’t want it to suddenly disappear and then he kind of just goes back out on the road and does his thing.”

Two celebrities who have brought up Cosby’s alleged crimes are Amy Poehler and Tina Fey: The two mocked Cosby during Sunday’s Golden Globes monologue with a joke that appeared to shock their star-filled audience.

But despite the many allegations against him, some Cosby fans are still willing to support the comedian at his stand-up shows—which Apatow thinks Cosby needs to stop doing. “At the very least, go in your mansion and disappear for the rest of your life,” Apatow said, addressing Cosby. “He shouldn’t be rewarded and applauded for raping that many women.”

Listen to the entire conversation, which begins at about the eight-minute mark and ends about 29 minutes into the podcast, over at the WTF Podcast website.

This article originally appeared on EW.com.

Feminista Jones is a mental health social worker and feminist writer from New York City.

In a society in which black men are seen as inherently criminal, the rush to defend prominent black men is almost compulsory

At a recent premier of the new Civil Rights Movement era movie Selma, Tony Award-winning actress Phylicia Rashad commented for the first time on the allegations of drugging and sexual assault that have been made against her former co-star and close friend, Bill Cosby. In a brief interview, Rashad said: “What you’re seeing is the destruction of a legacy. And I think it’s orchestrated. I don’t know why or who’s doing it, but it’s the legacy. And it’s a legacy that is so important to the culture.”

I feel for anyone falsely accused of such crimes, as I know that such fabrications can ruin one’s life. I’m incensed, however, when assault victims’ allegations are dismissed outright, particularly by women, and further, women of color. As a black woman and survivor of sexual assault, I struggle with immediately siding with a black man accused of rape simply because of cultural allegiance and respect for his work.

Rashad is not the only well-known black woman to come to Cosby’s defense. Whoopi Goldberg also defended Cosby, and singer and actress Jill Scott expressed her disbelief of the claims on Twitter, citing Cosby’s “magnificent legacy.” Hip-hop artists MC Lyte and Azalia Banks have also defended Cosby, even going so far as to suggest he’s being set up.

How could Rashad, a woman who has been affectionately dubbed the “mother of the African American community,” and who has portrayed strong, progressive women, minimize the stories of dozens of women? How could so many prominent black women publicly dismiss the words of dozens of women who claim Cosby harmed them in some way?

One reason some have defended Cosby is because many of the women coming forward are white and there is a well-documented history of white women making allegations against black boys and men that have destroyed towns and sparked resistance movements. Black women often feel protective of our men, having been racially mistreated ourselves. As their mothers, daughters, and sisters, many of us experience a defensive jolt when accusations are made against them because of generations of racialized trauma and institutional abuse, and we don’t want to contribute to any more harm being done to our men. This point was eloquently made when supermodel Beverly Johnson came forward with her story of being drugged by Cosby.

What I don’t understand is how they, as women, can defend him against so many allegations that suggest Cosby was methodical and intentional in his approach to allegedly drugging women and patterns of physical assault. I was just as bewildered when black women defended Ray Rice after the video surfaced of him punching his then-fiancée, Janay, into unconsciousness. The evidence was clear for all to see, yet there were those who made excuses and even blamed Janay for what had been done to her. All of these excuses and defenses have been made despite black women suffering disproportionately from domestic violence and sexual assault.

I am black and I am a woman. I cannot and will not choose which identity supersedes the other when conversations like these go public. Black women are too often charged with prioritizing race over gender under a cloak of a racial “unity” that doesn’t always benefit us because of sexism and misogyny within our communities. We’re told to keep these talks “in house” so that we don’t let white people see our internal conflicts, which, we’re told, impede progress as a people. This silence has caused, in some cases, irreparable damage not only to our bodies and minds, but to our families and communities.

I responded similarly when I first heard of Autumn Jackson, who was jailed in 1997 for extortion after claiming Cosby was her father. I assumed, like many, that she and her mother were just trying to get money from him. Jackson’s conviction was later overturned. And in 2000, when Lachele Covington filed a police report alleging that Cosby had been sexually inappropriate with her, I doubted her claims, thinking she was just a starlet trying to “come up.” Heathcliff Huxtable, err, Bill Cosby would never do such a thing, right?

Some black men have defended Cosby because they fear being guilty by black association, or because they have faced similar accusations themselves. In a society that often condemns entire minority groups for the actions of a few, and in which black men are seen as inherently criminal, the rush to defend prominent black men being accused of such heinous acts is almost compulsory and even understandable. Considering how many people adopted Cliff Huxtable as their surrogate father, the defense of that character, more than Cosby, the man, is to be expected.

I’m one of the “silent” women. I’m a woman who has been sexually assaulted and couldn’t bring myself to report what happened to me because I didn’t think anyone would believe my word over the word of my attackers. I convinced myself that I wouldn’t have a lot of support because, where I’m from, sexual assault and abuse are rarely addressed. So, like most survivors, I did and said nothing for years. I only became comfortable sharing my story after connecting with other survivors who were open about their experiences.

I cannot simply set these women aside in favor of a conspiracy theory. I cannot forget the women who have not yet come forward because they fear the harassment and probing that comes with accusing a beloved celebrity of wrongdoing. I cannot forget any victim of sexual assault, regardless of race, who has been silenced by disbelief, disregard, and a society that places entirely too heavy a burden of proof on victims instead of accused perpetrators.

We have to change the way we approach our handling of sexual violence as a society, especially in black families and communities. The silence is damaging, and if we want to experience true progress as a people, we can no longer protect those within our families and communities who harm others.

Feminista Jones is a mental health social worker and feminist writer from New York City.

Comedian has been accused of sexual assault by more than two dozen women

Tina Fey has long not shied away from discussing sexual assault allegations against Bill Cosby, and she won’t at the Golden Globes either. When asked by Access Hollywood about Cosby jokes at the Globes she, animatedly, said: “Oh heck yes.”

Since the allegations against Cosby have grown in both number and prominence in recent months, publications have pointed out that Fey has been tackling the subject for years. Crushable highlighted a 2009 30 Rock bit that seems to reference the allegations, and over at Slate you can watch a clip of the time Fey and fellow Globes host Amy Poehler took on accusations against Cosby on Weekend Update in 2005.

As for Fey’s broader philosophy about the ceremony, she told Access Hollywood, “Amy and I have always said that the idea [is] that we don’t want anyone attending to be scared to be there because of us. It’s a party and it’s—in the grand scheme of the world, it couldn’t be less important and I think that’s what makes it fun.”

This article originally appeared on EW.com

The actress, who played Clair Huxtable on The Cosby Show, dismissed sexual assault allegations against her television husband in a recent interview

Bill Cosby’s former TV wife defended him against sexual assault allegations Tuesday, sticking up for him amid a growing scandal that now includes a defamation lawsuit against Cosby.

“Forget these women,” Phylicia Rashad said to Roger Friedman of Showbiz 411 about those who have accused Cosby of sexual assault.

After initially hesitating to speak about Cosby, Rashad continued, “What you’re seeing is the destruction of a legacy. And I think it’s orchestrated. I don’t know why or who’s doing it, but it’s the legacy. And it’s a legacy that is so important to the culture.”

Rashad also lamented the effect the rape allegations will have on the Cosby show: “This show represented America to the outside world. This was the American family. And now you’re seeing it being destroyed.”

Read next: Bill Cosby’s Youngest Daughter Defends Him Against Sex Assault Allegations

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(LOS ANGELES) — Los Angeles prosecutors on Tuesday declined to file any charges against Bill Cosby after a woman recently claimed the comedian molested her around 1974.

The rejection of a child sexual abuse charge by prosecutors came roughly 10 days after the woman, Judy Huth, met with Los Angeles police detectives for 90 minutes.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office rejected filing a misdemeanor charge of annoying or molesting a child under the age of 18 because the statute of limitations had passed.

Days before Huth spoke to police, she accused Cosby in a civil lawsuit of forcing her to perform a sex act on him in a bedroom of the Playboy Mansion when she was 15 years old. Cosby’s attorney said that Huth attempted to extort $250,000 from the comedian before she sued and that she’d attempted to sell her story to a tabloid a decade ago.

Cosby is seeking a dismissal of Huth’s lawsuit, arguing it is blocked by the statute of limitations.

Huth told police that Cosby molested her and that she had no further contact with him after the incident, according to a summary of her allegations included with the prosecutor’s decision.

In rejecting the case, prosecutors evaluated the charge Cosby would have faced in 1974. Prosecutors took into account legislative changes that extend the statute of limitations for certain crimes, but found no way that Cosby could be legally prosecuted.

The statute of limitations for filing a misdemeanor case is one year; the statute of limitations for a felony sex crime committed in 1974 was three years, according to the prosecutors’ analysis.

An email message sent to Huth’s attorney, Gloria Allred, was not immediately returned. Cosby’s attorney, Marty Singer, did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Huth is one of at least 15 women who have come forward since early November with claims that Cosby sexually assaulted them decades ago. Most of the women say they were drugged before they were assaulted. She is one of two women suing Cosby; a second woman is suing for defamation.

Cosby has never been charged in connection with any of the allegations. A 2005 lawsuit by a Pennsylvania woman was settled before it went to trial.

Since the allegations emerged, Cosby’s career has unraveled, with nearly a dozen performances canceled in his ongoing standup comedy tour. NBC has said it will not move forward with a Cosby sitcom that was under development, and Netflix indefinitely postponed a special that was set to premiere last month.

Cosby’s attorneys have denied some of the allegations and dismissed others as decades old and “discredited.”

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Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP

Evin Cosby says her dad "is the FATHER you thought you knew"

(NEW YORK) — A day after Camille Cosby released a statement in defense of her embattled husband, one of the comedian’s four daughters is defending her father.

Evin Cosby, 38, says Bill Cosby “is the FATHER you thought you knew” in a statement, obtained Tuesday by “Access Hollywood.” She also defended her father on Facebook where she wrote “Men and Women need to stand up and say something. There are plenty of them that have experienced being accused of a major crime that they NEVER committed.”

In recent weeks, a different picture of Cosby has emerged as at least 15 women accused him of drugging and sexually assaulting them. He has never been charged in connection with the accusations. His lawyers have denied many of the allegations.

Wife of Bill Cosby addresses sexual assault allegations against him

The wife of Bill Cosby fiercely defended her husband in a statement Monday as outrage continues to mount over accusations that he drugged and raped multiple women throughout his career.

Camille Cosby, who has largely remained silent on the allegations, released a letter that compared the accusations against the actor and comedian to Rolling Stone‘s explosive story of an alleged rape at the University of Virginia. Discrepancies that emerged after publication of that story cast doubt on the accuracy of the piece.

“The story was devastating, but ultimately appears to be proved to be untrue,” she writes in the comparison. “None of us will ever want to be in the position of attacking a victim,” she adds. “But the question should be asked — who is the victim?”

The entertainer has faced accusations of sexual assault from more than a dozen women and has largely declined to address the claims. In a recent interview with the New York Post, he praised his wife and admitted that his public relations representatives “don’t want me talking to the media.”

He explains why he hasn't responded sex assault allegations

Over the past four weeks, multiple women have come forward claiming Bill Cosby drugged and/or sexually assaulted them. But the comedian hasn’t issued any sort of response to these claims—because, predictably, his lawyers don’t want him to. “They don’t want me talking to the media,” Cosby said in a brief phone interview with Page Six Friday.

In that interview, the comedian did briefly touch on the accusations, albeit vaguely: “Let me say this. I only expect the black media to uphold the standards of excellence in journalism, and when you do that you have to go in with a neutral mind,” he told Page Six.

This isn’t the first time Cosby’s had some words for the media—in November, he told Florida Today that people need to “fact check.”

“I know people are tired of me not saying anything,” he told the newspaper. “People should fact check. People shouldn’t have to go through that and shouldn’t answer to innuendos.”

At this point, over 20 women, including models Beverly Johnson and Janice Dickinson, have accused Cosby of assault.

This article originally appeared on EW.com

She writes in Vanity Fair that she tried to confront Cosby about the alleged incident

Supermodel Beverly Johnson added her name Thursday to a growing list of women who have accused comedian and actor Bill Cosby of either drugging or sexually assaulting them in the past.

Writing for Vanity Fair, Johnson details how she met with Cosby several times in the 1980s to discuss and prepare for a possible role on The Cosby Show. During one visit at his home, she alleges, Cosby insisted she have a cappuccino from the espresso machine in his personal bar. Johnson says that because of her experimentation with drugs in the 70s, she “knew by the second sip of the drink Cosby had given me that [she’d] been drugged.” When she shouted at him and tried to fight him off, she claims, Cosby put her in a cab.

She later tried to call Cosby and confront him, but gave up after reaching his wife: “I didn’t call back the next day or any other day after that,” she adds. “At a certain moment it became clear that I would be fighting a losing battle with a powerful man so callous he not only drugged me, but he also gave me the number to the bedroom he shared with his wife.”

Johnson explains that she decided to break her silence following the many women, including her friend and fellow model Janice Dickinson, who have come forward to similarly accuse Cosby. The actor’s attorneys did not respond to Vanity Fair‘s requests for comment on Johnson’s accusations; Cosby has repeatedly denied or declined to comment on the allegations.

Read more at Vanity Fair

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