Disgraced comedian Bill Cosby is looking to begin touring again in 2023, a year after he was released from prison following the overturning of his sexual assault conviction.
Cosby made the announcement while talking to radio host Scott Spears on WGH Talk on Wednesday, December 28. “When I come out of this, I feel that I will be able to perform and be the Bill Cosby that my audience knows me to be,” the Cosby Show actor stated.
When asked by Spears if 2023 might be the year of his return, Cosby responded, “Yes. Yes, because there’s so much fun to be had in this storytelling that I do. Years ago, maybe 10 years ago, I found it was better to say it after I write it.”
According to Variety, Cosby’s representative, Andrew Wyatt, confirmed that the comedian is “looking at spring/summer to start touring.”
In April 2018, Cosby was convicted in Pennsylvania of a sexual assault charge; he served three years in prison before the conviction was overturned by the state Supreme Court. Since the controversial ruling, several more women have come forward with accusations against Cosby, dating all the way back to 1969.
Earlier this month, five women filed a sexual assault lawsuit against Cosby and NBC under a New York state law that suspends the statute of limitations for one year for older sexual assault claims. The lawsuit alleges that each woman was abused or assaulted by Cosby in the late 1960s through the 1990s, most taking place during his run on The Cosby Show on NBC.
The lawsuit also claims that Cosby’s actions were “well-known” and that NBC, Kaufman Astoria Studios, and Carsey-Werner Television “facilitated the sexual assault of women” by failing to check Cosby’s power and proclivities.
Wyatt called the lawsuit “frivolous,” according to Variety, adding that the five women were part of a “parade of accusers” who had made allegations between 2014 and 2016.
