In an attempt to go around the media to address his fans, Bill Cosby released a video of himself talking on the phone to promote one of his upcoming comedy shows.
In the short clip, Cosby can be seen wearing a pair of red pajamas and insisting that his next show will be “hilarious.”
The video does not, however, feature the comedian addressing any of the nearly three dozen sexual assault claims that have overwhelmed his comedy career and his legacy. It is, perhaps, his attempt to get the public’s focus away from allegations and towards the career he is so desperately trying to save.
Cosby hasn’t received the warmest of welcomes as he has continued on with his comedy shows.
In some cases women’s rights groups have protested his shows and other times the shows were actually canceled due to all the controversy.
For those who still managed to attend the Cosby comedy shows, hecklers have become the norm.
Despite all the allegations and heckling fiascos, the iconic TV dad has no intentions on putting a stop to the shows.
In the roughly 10-second video clip, Cosby can be seen sitting and talking on the telephone while wearing a pair of burgundy pajamas.
He seems to be informing some imaginary second party about his upcoming show and promising that it will be “hilarious.”
“You know I’ll be hilarious,” Cosby said.
In a message along with the video he addressed his fans but continued to avoid any public commentary on the sexual assault allegations.
“Dear Fans, I hope you enjoy my wonderful video message that’s filled with LAUGHTER,” he said in a statement shared by ABC News. “Hey hey hey, I’m Far From Finished.”
He is currently scheduled to perform in Wheeling, West Virginia and Lexington, Kentucky over the weekend.
Social media users have described the video as “strange” and “bizarre” and consider it an unwise choice on the legendary comedian’s behalf.
While many people remain torn over whether or not they believe the TV icon is guilty of the allegations, an overwhelming number of the responses online to the video were negative.
“Is Bill Cosby trying to convince us that he has dementia to get us to forgive him,” one user tweeted. Another user expressed their support for Cosby but simply referred to the video as a “poor choice.”
Jewel Allison says she stayed quiet after Bill Cosby assaulted her because she didn’t want to hurt the African American community. (Yana Paskova/For The Washington Post)
Meanwhile, Jewel Allison, one of the women accusing Cosby of raping her, says she remained silent for so long because she didn’t want to hurt the Black community.
In an op-ed for the Washington Post, Allison claimed that she “felt the stakes” were “even higher” because she was a Black woman.
“Historic images of black men being vilified en masse as sexually violent sent chills through my body,” she wrote. “Telling my story wouldn’t only help bring down Cosby; I feared it would undermine the entire African American community.”
It’s a claim that many were skeptical about while others embraced it and believed it made perfect sense—making it yet another claim in the case that has former fans of The Cosby Show star divided.
Many others, however, are still waiting for any type of evidence against the actor to be revealed outside of alleged victim testimonies.
For now, Cosby’s shows, and likely his silence on the matter, will continue for weeks to come.
