Following claims made by several women that they had been sexually abused by the actor, TV Land has decided not to air 'The Cosby Show' repeats on weekends anymore.
- Nov 20, 2014
AceShowbiz - TV Land is the latest TV network to take action after sex abuse allegations against Bill Cosby resurfaced earlier this month. The cable channel has reportedly decided to yank repeats of "The Cosby Show", which has been airing on weekends on the network.
TV rights of the hit 1980s sitcom are currently owned by TV Land parent Viacom. TV Land originally planned several marathons of the show between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The network declined to comment on the report.
Rape allegations against Bill Cosby that were made decades ago were brought into attention again after comedian Hannibal Buress called Cosby a rapist during a performance in Philadelphia.
Barbara Bowman, who claimed she was sexually assaulted multiple times by the star of "The Cosby Show", later wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post, asking, "Why wasn't I believed?" when her story first came out years ago and why the case only gained attention after stand-up comedian Hannibal Buress mentioned it onstage.
It was followed by Joan Tarshis' claim that she was assaulted by Cosby in 1969 when she was 19. Supermodel Janice Dickinson then said in a new interview with Entertainment Tonight that she was raped by the veteran comedian in 1982.
Cosby has denied the sexual assault allegations. "Over the last several weeks, decade-old, discredited allegations against Mr. Cosby have resurfaced. The fact that they are being repeated does not make them true. Mr. Cosby does not intend to dignify these allegations with any comment," said his rep John P. Schmitt. His lawyer Marty Singer also said Dickinson's sexual assault accusation was "a defamatory fabrication."
Following the resurfaced sex abuse allegations, Cosby's scheduled appearance on "Late Show with David Letterman" was canceled and Netflix has postponed the actor's stand-up comedy special "Bill Cosby 77", which was originally set to debut a day after Thanksgiving. NBC has also announced that it halted the development of a new sitcom starring Cosby.
