Netflix has backed away from its planned Bill Cosby comedy special in light of the ongoing allegations of sexual assault being brought by several women. The comedy special “Bill Cosby 77″ was slated to premiere over the Thanksgiving holiday.
“At this time we are postponing the launch of the new stand up special ‘Bill Cosby 77,’” a Netflix spokesperson told TheWrap.
Netflix’s decision came after Janice Dickinson was the latest woman to claim she’d been assaulted by the 77-year old comedian. She told her story to “Entertainment Tonight” on Tuesday. She joins more than a dozen women who have come forth with similar stories of being drugged and sexually assaulted.
On Sunday, TheWrap spoke with Joan Tarshis, a former actress and publicist, who said that she was coming forward to stand with her “sisters.” This was shortly after actress Barbara Bowman penned an op-ed for the Washington Post about her alleged assault.
Cosby refused to address the allegations during an interview with NPR. On Sunday, his attorney addressed the previous charges, saying, “The fact that they are being repeated does not make them true. Mr. Cosby does not intend to dignify these allegations with any comment.”
Over the weekend, an individual with knowledge of the NBC project told TheWrap it was still moving forward, and is currently in early development. At that time, though, an individual with knowledge of the situation at Netflix indicated they still intended to release the special on Thanksgiving.
Will NBC follow Netflix’s lead and cancel its own project? Representatives for NBC declined to comment.