Bill Cosby: "People Should Fact Check"
As more and more accusers come forward, Bill Cosby has remained silent—officially silent—about the allegation that he drugged and raped several women throughout his career. Last night, before a sold out show at a college campus in Florida, he spoke to Florida Today, saying, "I know people are tired of me not saying anything."
The show—which reportedly began and ended with standing ovations—was under threat of hecklers put up by a local radio station. The New York Times reports the station offered money to those willing to stand and "demand an explanation from him about the women's accusations."
The theater reportedly made an announcement regarding the possible hecklers before Cosby took the stage, saying: "If a disruption occurs, please keep calm and do not confront the person making the disruption." It turned out to be unnecessary, however—the show, somehow, went off without a hitch.
Cosby spoke to Florida Today about the radio station's call for hecklers and the public's desire for answers in advance of the show:
The thing is, these people are prodding and pushing people and asking people to have a frat house mentality. Now suppose someone brings a weapon or decided to do more foolishness. There will be announcements made and the stations made some disclaimers, but what if people don't listen to what they said and they entice violence. That's not good for anyone.
When you go to a civil rights march or something like that, at least there are meetings and some organization to it and people understand how to behave. There may be people coming to the show that don't know exactly what to do; there is no organization to it all.
"I know people are tired of me not saying anything," he added. "But a guy doesn't have to answer to innuendos. People should fact check. People shouldn't have to go through that and shouldn't answer to innuendos."
[image via AP]