Bill Cosby has spoken about his desire to get back on the stage and perform comedy before his widely publicised sexual assault trial.
Speaking to a consortium of newspapers, Cosby revealed that he is blind – something that was mentioned in court papers – but wants to get back on the stage.
“I miss it all and I hope that day will come. I have some routines and storytelling that I am working on,” Cosby told the National Newspaper Publishers Association.
“I think about walking out on stage somewhere in the United States of America and sitting down in a chair and giving the performance that will be the beginning of the next chapter of my career.”
Of course, that’s probably news to the long list of women who have accused him of sexual assault. The 79-year-old actor is currently being prosecuted over only one of those allegations – the alleged assault of Andrea Constand in 2004. Many of the allegations have passed the statute of limitations and cannot be prosecuted.
Attorney Gloria Allred, who represents several of Cosby’s accusers, says that she believes the interview was intended to influence a future jury.
I expect Mr. Cosby and members of his family to continue to speak out in an attempt to portray him as a victim rather than as an alleged sexual predator. However, the jury must decide this case based on the evidence admitted in the court room instead of what they see or hear as part of a slick Hollywood public relations campaign.
Cosby’s daughter Evin also released a statement defending her father’s innocence:
The harsh and hurtful accusations…that supposedly happened 40 or 50 years ago, before I was born, in another lifetime, and that have been carelessly repeated as truth without allowing my dad to defend himself and without requiring proof, has punished not just my dad but every one of us.The public persecution of my dad, my kids’ grandfather, and the cruelty of the media and those who speak out branding my father a ‘rapist’ without ever knowing the truth and who shame our family and our friends for defending my dad, makes all of this so much worse for my family and my children.
The trial begins in June.
Source: NBC.
Photo: Getty Images.
