Attorney: Allegations Against Cosby Are 'Past The Point Of Absurdity'
TARRYTOWN, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Bill Cosby's attorney released a statement Friday night, saying the claims from the women accusing him of sexual assault are "fantastical stories" that are "becoming increasingly ridiculous."
"The new, never-before-heard claims from women who have come forward in the past two weeks with unsubstantiated, fantastical stories about things they say occurred 30, 40, or even
50 years ago have escalated far past the point of absurdity," attorney Martin Singer said in the statement. "These brand new claims about alleged decades-old events are becoming increasingly ridiculous, and it is completely illogical that so many people would have said nothing, done nothing, and made no reports to law enforcement or asserted civil claims if they thought they had been assaulted over a span of so many years."
Singer said in the statement that lawsuits are filed against people with a public profile on a daily basis, and attorneys are available to defend them.
Thus, Singer said in the statement, "it makes no sense that not one of these new women who just came forward for the first time now ever asserted a legal claim back at the time they allege they had been sexually assaulted."
Singer also slammed the news media for its coverage of the allegations.
"This situation is an unprecedented example of the media's breakneck rush to run stories without any corroboration or adherence to traditional journalistic standards. Over and over again, we have refuted these new unsubstantiated stories with documentary evidence, only to have a new uncorroborated story crop up out of the woodwork. When will it end?" the statement said. "It is long past time for this media vilification of Mr. Cosby to stop."
A string of women claim Cosby assaulted them years ago and the comic icon has refused to discuss details of his 2006 lawsuit settlement with an accuser.
Model and TV host Janice Dickinson added her name to a list of women who have accused the comic of sexual assault. In an "Entertainment Tonight" interview that aired Tuesday, Dickinson said that the 1982 incident occurred in Lake Tahoe, California, where he was performing.
Earlier this month, in a joint interview with his wife Camille, he tried to steer an Associated Press reporter away from the subject.
As CBS2's Jessica Schneider reported Wednesday, when asked about the subject in the Associated Press interview recorded on Nov. 6, Cosby said, "No, no, we don't answer that," and, "There is no comment about that."
Later, he pleaded with the interviewer not even to show the "no comment" response.
"And can I get something from you, that none of that will be shown?" he says in the video.
Also Wednesday, NBC is following in Netflix's footsteps and is shelving plans to develop a new sitcom with Cosby. There has been so much fallout that the cable channel TV Land even stopped showing re-runs of his old shows.
But a show at the Tarrytown Music Hall in Westchester County next month will go on. Cosby is booked at the 130-year-old music hall for Saturday night, December 6.
The show was scheduled long before the current flare-up of decades-old sexual assault allegations and the cancelling of his TV comeback, CBS2's Lou Young reported on Thursday.
Director: Westchester Venue Can't Afford To Cancel Bill Cosby Shows
As 1010 WINS' Carol D'Auria reported Friday, music hall executive director Bjorn Olsson told 1010 WINS that 1,600 people have bought tickets, and he has not received a significant number of calls from patrons demanding their money back.
Olsson explained that he cannot afford to drop the show, because it would cost him more than $100,000 and would likely lead to layoffs.
He said Cosby would still have to be paid, and only the promoter of the show can cancel the performance.
Instead, the music hall has offered to create an open seat protest list and give it to the comedian after the show, Young reported.
On Friday night, Cosby appeared for a sold-out show in Melbourne, Florida. Wearing cargo pants and a shirt that said ``Hello Friend,'' Cosby took the stage to a standing ovation and loud applause. One person shouted, ``We love you, Bill.''
Outside the theater, only one protester could be found. She held a sign that read, ``Rape is no joke.''
Julie Lemaitre, 47, of Rockledge, Florida, said she was there just to have a presence and to try to say to people attending ``think about what you're doing.''
Cosby's producers said at least 28 other shows remain on his schedule through May 2015.
Shows in Las Vegas; Tucson, Arizona; Champaign, Illinois; Reno, Nevada; Florence, South Carolina; and at the Choctaw Casino Resort in Oklahoma were called off. No specific reasons were given.
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