[dropcap]P[/dropcap]rotesters shouted “shame on you” at fans arriving for Bill Cosby‘s first show on stage since November in the wake of sexual allegations from more than 15 women. Cosby’s show in Kitchener is the first of three performances planned in Canada’s Ontario province and come after the entertainer saw at least 10 performances get canceled on his North American tour.
At the Centre in the Square venue, more than a dozen protesters came out in sub-freezing temperatures, carrying signs saying “rape is no joke.” Some shouted “you support rape” and “shame on you” at fans streaming in. A few demonstrators briefly blocked the entrance but moved aside when security asked them to.
Some fans defended Cosby as they arrived.
“I’m skeptical of all the accusations,” said Gerald Reinink. “I always loved Cosby, good family humor. Why are 20 women coming out now when it’s 20, 30 years ago?”
Minutes before the show was to begin, an announcer inside the venue warned disruptions were possible. On the stage, two giant photos of Cosby with Nelson Mandela flanked the chair the comedian was to sit in.
Cosby, 77, is also scheduled to appear at the Budweiser Gardens in London on Thursday and at the Hamilton Place Theatre in Hamilton on Friday.
The comedian, who starred as Dr. Cliff Huxtable on “The Cosby Show” from 1984 to 1992, earning a reputation as “America’s Dad,” has never been charged in connection with any of the sexual assault allegations. A 2005 lawsuit by a Pennsylvania woman was settled before it went to trial, and he is being sued by a woman who claims he molested her in 1974 and by three other women who allege they were defamed by the comedian when his representatives denied some of the allegations.
Most of the women say he drugged them before he assaulted them.
Hours before Cosby was scheduled to take the stage, attorney Gloria Allred said three more women are accusing the comedian of drugging and sexually assaulting them in Las Vegas or Los Angeles between 1981 and 1996. Allred said at a news conference in Los Angeles that the accusations are too old for criminal charges or lawsuits.
Cosby’s career unraveled after his accusers came forward, with a TV project halted and at least 10 standup comedy tour performances canceled or indefinitely postponed.
