Bill Cosby lets rape protesters ‘have their say’ at Canadian gig

You may be not at all surprised to learn that Bill Cosby’s recent run of shows in Canada did not wrap up without further incident. Quite the opposite, actually. At the final performance in Hamilton, Ontario Friday night, protesters who had made their presence known outside the mini-tour’s venues all week finally got a break from the cold when they staged a 30-person walk-out during the performance chanting, “We believe the women,” according to the Hollywood Reporter. One even reportedly shouted, “You’re a piece of s—, you rapist,” at the embattled comedian. While the protesters were met with a swift security escort and chants of “We believe the men” and “We love you, Bill” in response, Cosby himself pleaded for calm, urging, “Stop, let them have their say.”

Earlier in the night, Cosby had warned the crowd about a possible outburst with, “Whatever happens here tonight, if there’s some sort of outburst we just need to keep calm and it doesn’t have to last that long.” Which, let’s be honest, is a really awkward and uncomfortable sentiment from a man accused of drugging and raping more than 20 women. He probably could’ve phrased that better.

Oh, and apparently Cosby is getting so used to life under the shadow of multiple sexual assault allegations that he’s even started working it into his act — though I suppose it was only a matter of time. On Thursday night’s performance in London, Ontario, he got into a bit of a back and forth with a female audience member who got out of her seat to head to the bar for a drink, jokingly warning her, “You have to be careful drinking around me,” according to Twitter posts from other audience members. Well, I’m glad he can find the humor in all of this.

We have our first heckler. She offers Cosby a drink. He jokes “you gotta be careful about drinking around me.” #ldnont #lm

— Ashton Patis (@AshtonPatis) January 9, 2015

“You have to be careful about drinking around me,” Cosby says to somebody who appears to be leaving voluntarily.
— Craig Needles (@NeedlesOnNews) January 9, 2015