Late last month, reports surfaced confirming that American stand-up comedian and actor Bill Cosby had been released from prison after a court overturned his sexual assault conviction. The 83-year-old Philadelphia native was found guilty back in April 2018 on three different counts of aggravated indecent assault and was subsequently sentenced to three to ten years in state prison.
After serving a little over three years, Cosby was released after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned his conviction, citing violations related to due process rights. Shortly after his release, TMZ reported the disgraced comedian was planning a comedy tour on the heels of his release. According to the publication now, several renowned comedy clubs, including NYC’s Comedy Cellar, are not interested.
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Noam Dworman, the popular New York City venue owner, told TMZ that Comedy Cellar is not one bit interested in working with Cosby and doesn’t even want him to step foot inside the club. While the venue is known for allowing slightly unhinged comics and content to hit the stage, Cosby will be the one exception.
Notably, the club allowed Louis C.K. and Aziz Ansari to make an appearance in 2018 following their sexual misconduct allegations. Dworman furthered that his audience, who welcomed Louis and Aziz with open arms, still wouldn’t support Cosby’s comeback.
Rejection from Comedy Cellar isn’t stopping Cosby in his plans for a full tour. His rep Andrew Wyatt tells TMZ, “That’s one club owner and in the words of the King of R&B Bobby Brown, ‘it’s his prerogative to do what he wants to do.'”
Of course, public reaction to Cosby’s release has been quite polarized. Let us know if you’d see the disgraced comedian if he came to a comedy spot near you down in the comments.
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