Cosby says he ‘used to be’ comedian in first show since ’15
PHILADELPHIA — Bill Cosby performed in public for the first time since a sex abuse scandal embroiled him in 2015, joking that he “used to be a comedian” and playing with a jazz band in his hometown as a retrial looms in his criminal sexual assault case.
The 80-year-old took the stage for about an hour last night at a Philadelphia jazz club for his first show since May 2015.
Before a friendly crowd, he told stories, honored old friends and finished by leading the band in a set, first using his mouth to scat in place of a missing horn section and then taking a turn at the drums.
Cosby, handing the drumsticks off to the 11-year-old son of the bass player, asked if the boy knew who he was and then told him.
“I used to be a comedian,” Cosby deadpanned.
The crowd applauded and laughed along with Cosby’s jokes, a far cry from how his last performances went.
His last comedy tour ended amid protests as about 60 women were coming forward to accuse him of drugging and molesting them over five decades, something he has denied.
Cosby faces an April 2 retrial on charges he drugged and molested a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.
He has pleaded not guilty and remains free on bail.
His first trial ended with a hung jury last year.