Bill Cosby has told a lot of stories in his long and decorated career, but none of them are currently saving it from being in flux following a still-growing list of sexual assault and rape claims that have been made against the comedian. The latest blow to Cosby’s future involves his upcoming Netflix special Bill Cosby 77, which has been taken off of the schedule and is currently floating in limbo until his legal troubles are resolved one way or another. We can’t celebrate the birthday of an alleged rapist AND the impending marriage of renowned whack job Charles Manson in the same month.
Bill Cosby 77 was scheduled to hit the streaming service on Friday, November 28, the day after Thanksgiving. It’s interesting to note that Netflix isn’t outright cancelling the special, which they’ve already sunk a certain amount of money into. Here’s how they put it in the press release, according to Deadline.
At this time, we are postponing the launch of the new stand-up comedy special Bill Cosby 77.”
That’s a pretty optimistic thing to do, though I’m certain the world will see this special released at some point in the future. Cosby is no stranger to rape allegations, as it’s the older ones that spurred comedian Hannibal Buress to add an extended rant against Bill Cosby to his act. That, in turn, was followed by increased interest in past claims as well as new allegations, the latest of which involves former model Janice Dickinson. She claims he gave her a pill for a headache and the next thing she knew, she was waking up naked and violated, and also alleges the story was meant to appear in her 2002 autobiography, but she was pressured into leaving it out.
It is with Dickinson and another woman’s most recent claims that Netflix decided to officially back off from streaming the special. The service had only just recently affirmed their intentions on showing it amid the allegations, but obviously enough was enough for them. They’re hardly the first to put Cosby at a distance, as his planned appearances on both Late Show and The Queen Latifah Show were axed. His big interview with NPR resulted in him just avoiding the topic altogether, which was expected.
Now the big question: what will NBC do? It was only a few months ago that the network finalized a deal with Bill Cosby and Mike O’Malley for a new family sitcom where Cosby was the elderly patriarch who taught his kids and grandkids all about values and things that probably wouldn’t involve sexual debauchery. NBC is probably putting more money into their show than Netflix did with the comedy special, so they may wait this out a little longer. But there’s no denying they’ll be scrutinized by Cosby’s growing non-fanbase.
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