NBC's executive Robert Greenblatt comments on the sexual assault scandal surrounding the comedian, 'I didn't think it was a problem until it became critical.'
- Jan 17, 2015
AceShowbiz - Things got awkward at the NBC panel during the Television Critics Association when Bill Cosby topic came up. NBC's Robert Greenblatt was asked why the network was hesitant to drop the Cosby project. The show was only canceled after multiple women stepped out with the sexual assault allegations against the comedian.
Back then when the scandal involved only a few females, the executive said, "All I do is try to put on shows that I think are good, with extraordinary talent. I think he's extraordinary. And I think the show will be good. All the other things will sort of sort themselves out."
When asked at the TCA why they changed their tune, Greenblatt cited "critical mass" as the dealbreaker. He then seemed to struggle to find the right answer when a reporter pressed, "So 15 [accusations] 'yes,' [but] two or three 'no'?"
"Fifteen yes, two, no," he eventually said. "All I can tell you is there's a lot of people who have been in business with Cosby for 25 years, and go ask them the same question. I just answered what I could answer. I didn't think it was a problem until it became critical."
"Fifteen women came out and accused him of what they accused him of. While over the years we heard some those accusations and knew there were a couple settlements and what not, it didn't seem to be the thing that was critical mass. When we realized there seemed to be so much more of it, it wasn't the something where we could go 'Oh, we're not sure.' "
"He hasn't been proven guilty of anything," Greenblatt continued to defend the delay to cut ties with Cosby. "I don't want to be the one who says 'guilty until proven innocent.' But when that many people come out and have similar complaints it causes such a tainted situation there was no way we could move forward with it."
"The good news is, unlike Netflix, which had a special to run, we're developing a script. We didn't even have a first draft ... I'm glad we're out from under that."
