The Rev. Al Sharpton said that embattled comedian Bill Cosby must “answer to someone” about the myriad allegations of drugging and raping women, instead of remaining silent.
“I’m very disappointed with him,” Sharpton told The New York Post. “He needs to talk to somebody. . . He has to answer to someone.”
Allegations against Cosby resurfaced shortly after a video of Hannibal Buress’ stand-up routine about Cosby’s sexual abuse history went viral. Nine women have publicly made accusations against Cosby, according to CNN reports.
Cosby has not commented on the allegations. During interviews with NPR and The Associated Press this month, Cosby said he would not address the allegations when asked.
It all started when Buress joked about Cosby’s self-righteousness. He went on to say, “If you didn’t know about it, trust me. You leave here and Google ‘Bill Cosby rape.’ It’s not funny. That s**t has more results than Hannibal Buress,” he joked.
He didn’t expect his comments to go viral, he said on Howard Stern’s Sirius XM show.
Cosby has a performance tonight in Melbourne, Fl., at the King Center for the Performing Arts.
Upcoming performances at the Treasure Island hotel and casino in Las Vegas on Nov. 28th, and an April 11th show at the Virginia Theater in Champaign, Ill., have been cancelled.
The cancellation in Las Vegas was “by mutual agreement,” but the show in Champaign was cancelled by the theater, according to USA Today.
“Mr. Cosby does not intend to dignify these allegations with any comment,” said John P. Schmidt, Cosby’s attorney, in a statement after the NPR interview.
