NBC said Wednesday that it’s doing away with a planned project involving Bill Cosby amid growing fallout over renewed rape allegations against the comedian.
Although the project was still in its infancy, NBC had green lit a sitcom starring Cosby as the patriarch of a family. According to The Hollywood Reporter, NBC “never received the final script for the project, which also didn’t have a production commitment.”
For Cosby, it would have represented a return to the network on which he starred as Cliff Huxtable for eight seasons on “The Cosby Show.”
Several of Cosby’s accusers have resurfaced their accounts lately. One of those accusers, Joan Tarshis, told Philadelphia Magazine she hoped NBC would cancel the series.
During an interview with Entertainment Tonight on Tuesday, another accuser, the supermodel Janice Dickinson, came forward with claims that Cosby raped her in 1982.
NBC’s announcement follows Netflix’s postponement of a comedy special with Cosby that was scheduled to premiere on Thanksgiving.
Cosby’s planned appearance on “The Late Show with David Letterman” was canceled last week.
When he was asked about the allegations during an interview with NPR over the weekend, Cosby went silent.
Cosby has never been charged with a crime, and his lawyer said in a statement that the comedian “does not intend to dignify these allegations with any comment.”
