Cosby tour pushes on — will it be his last?
‘ Nothing you can do to diminish that ego,’ famed booking agent says
In Westchester, N. Y., a theatre manager pleads for mercy with angry patrons on Facebook as he tries to avoid losing $ 100,000 by cancelling Bill Cosby. In Denver, celebrity attack lawyer Gloria Allred blasts ticket- holders as they arrive for the comedian’s gigs. In Pittsburgh, Des Moines and Las Vegas, shows are called off. In Florida, West Virginia and Georgia, performances go off without a hitch.
This is life on Cosby’s Far From Finished tour, an exercise that has industry veterans shaking their heads. They are shocked that Cosby continues his road show in the face of more than 30 women accusing him of sexual assault, some of them when they were underage.
“If it were me, I’d be in Iceland,” said Shelly Schultz, the legendary booking agent who signed Cosby for his first appearance on The Tonight Show in 1963. “This is ego. When there’s that kind of adoration for that many years, there’s nothing you can do to diminish that ego.”
The tour has created a bizarre dynamic, even by entertainment world standards. Venue bosses and promoters have been under pressure, from petitions, protests and the potential financial fallout of breaking a guaranteed contract. Even those who have resisted calls to cancel say they’re thrilled to no longer be linked to the comedian.
“This was emotionally wrenching, and the most difficult thing I’ve had to deal with in my career,” said Adam Epstein, a Chicago- based promoter who handled six of Cosby’s recent shows.
“I was accused of supporting a rapist for nothing more than honouring a contract.”
Director Judd Apatow, a particularly outspoken critic of Cosby in recent months, told The Washington Post he has sympathy for theatre managers. He knows many of them can’t afford to cancel Cosby.
“Never has somebody in his position felt so arrogant to continue running around the country acting as if it’s not happening,” said Apatow, who directed The 40- Year- Old Virgin and other movies.
“It’s a way for him to victimize these theatres.”
Apatow is most disturbed about the message Cosby touring sends to women. Since November, Apatow has followed closely as women have given their accounts of what they say was a pattern of sexual abuse by Cosby.
The comedian’s lawyers have denied the new charges, calling them “increasingly ridiculous” and “completely illogical” without addressing them in detail.
Former Playboy Playmate Victoria Valentino, one of five women to make claims against Cosby in a Washington Post article last November, said the fact that he continues to perform is infuriating, particularly when she hears of fans giving standing ovations at performances.
She does take comfort in the string of cancellations.
“He is being tried in the court of public opinion,” Valentino said. “It’s clear his career is waning and done.”
The tour may be making headlines now because of the accusations, but it began with typical promise. Cosby has long been a big draw, selling out concert halls around North America. The current tour included three shows in Ontario that were met with mild protests and mostly full, though not packed, houses.
Typically, he gets a $ 50,000 guarantee from a promoter, according to multiple sources who have been involved in making deals with Cosby. The promoter, in turn, signs a contract to rent a theatre and share proceeds of ticket sales.
In a small venue such as the 2,300- seat Hanover Theatre in Worcester, Mass., that has meant $ 25,000 in profits, which includes concessions, for each show Cosby performs. The comedian sold out two performances in 2010 and one in 2012.
But this winter, venues began to encounter something once rare at Cosby shows: empty seats.
For Cosby, the trouble had begun in October when comedian Hannibal Buress called him out for past allegations during a club gig.
The routine went viral and that, in turn, inspired an essay published in the Washington Post on Nov. 13 by one- time actress Barbara Bowman, who said Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her in the 1980s.
From t here, other women emerged with their own accounts and venues began fielding calls from patrons and members of the public demanding shows be cancelled.