Bill Cosby will be back on stage, in spite of several new lawsuits that just keep coming and coming.
He surprised the world with an announcement that he wants to do a world tour in 2023. He told the world about it on a December 28 during a surprise radio interview on “WGH Talk” with host Scott Spears.
Meanwhile, another woman is accusing the comedian of sexual assault. Stacy Pinkerton filed a new lawsuit against Cosby, accusing him of drugging and raping her in 1986 when she was 21 and an up-and-coming model and actress.
Her lawyers filed the lawsuit in the Manhattan Supreme Court, New York, but according to one of Cosby’s attorneys, the lawsuit is just another woman trying to squeeze money out of the famous comedian.
Cosby has been enjoying his freedom since he was released from prison in June 2021. He had been given a three to ten-year sentence in 2018 for drugging and sexually assaulting another woman, but the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned his conviction in June 2021 and released him the same day.
The news of the new tour comes right after yet another five new sexual assault accusations, plus the Pinkerton lawsuit, that were brought out against the 85-year-old comedian in December 2022.
Pinkerton’s lawsuit accuses Cosby of using his power and influence to sexually assault her. She says when she was 21, he invited her to New York City, where he was filming The Cosby Show. She says that while in NYC, Cosby gave her money, a part on his television show, and a place to live. Soon after, the part on the show was cut, and she met Cosby in a restaurant in Chicago on a date, where she alleges he drugged her and took her to his hotel room.
She claims he sexually assaulted her and she escaped while he was sleeping.
Pinkerton says she did not file a sexual assault case at the time because she was intimidated by his power and influence,
Dozens of women have accused the star of drugging and raping them in recent years. He has denied all the accusations.
Even though Pinkerton’s alleged rape happened over 25 years ago, there is a new law in New York, the Adult Survivors Act, which allows sexual assault victims to sue their attackers outside the statute of limitations.
That new law has allowed the five new December accusers – Jewel Gittens, Cindra Ladd, Lili Bernard, Jennifer Thompson, and Eden Tirl – to file their lawsuit even though the incidents happened a long time ago.
Both Tirl and Bernard had roles on The Cosby Show.
In their lawsuit, the women accuse Mr. Cosby of using his fame, power, and prestige to abuse them. They also accuse the companies that managed The Cosby Show of enabling and aiding Cosby’s abusive sexual behavior.
Andrew Wyatt, Cosby’s publicist and crisis manager (he’s a busy guy), told NPR news that the tour will tentatively start in the middle of 2023.
According to Wyatt, a lot of people really love and miss Bill Cosby.
“We have so many, I mean, hundreds of thousands of supporters just asking for him to do a show,” Wyatt said. “We have so many promoters across the country. He is in high demand.”
It will be interesting to see what he has to joke around about in his stand-up routine.