A comedy tour that Bill Cosby, who was recently released from prison, was in the midst of planning, has been placed on hold for the time being. There is a pending court case against the comedian that must be handled first.
TMZ reported that Andrew Wyatt, who represents the legendary entertainer, stated that Cosby’s comedy tour has been shelved momentarily. The planning of the tour has been placed on hold because of his upcoming court date in California.
Cosby is currently facing a civil lawsuit that has been brought by Judy Huth in Los Angeles Superior Court. She alleged that he sexually assaulted her at the Playboy Mansion in 1974. The comedian plans to invoke the Fifth Amendment in that civil case. A trial date has been set for Spring 2022.
Wyatt tells TMZ that Cosby does not want the pending case hanging over his head while on the road. He feels that the media would concentrate more on the pending civil lawsuit than the actual comedy tour.
Meanwhile, Cosby’s attorney, Michael Freedman, appeared before a Los Angeles judge and has stated that he will continue to not speak about his alleged assaults.
“Defendant does not agree that merely because the Pennsylvania Supreme Court vacated Defendant’s criminal conviction for a single offense, allegedly arising from an incident that occurred in 2004, Defendant no longer enjoys a Fifth Amendment right to remain silent,” Freedman stated in a status conference report that was made public in recent weeks. “This is particularly so where numerous states have no criminal statutes of limitations for sex crimes. It is well-settled that the Fifth Amendment protects both the innocent and the guilty. Having already been forced to face a malicious criminal prosecution that resulted in an unlawful three-year incarceration, Defendant is not confident that such a risk does not still exist in this jurisdiction and others.”
BLACK ENTERPRISE reported early in July, Pennsylvania’s highest court, the State Supreme Court, overturned Bill Cosby’s sex assault conviction, citing that previous agreement that reportedly would prevent him from being charged in the first place.