Bill Cosby performed a surprise comedy show Monday night at Lorosa Jazz Club in Philadelphia’s Germantown neighborhood. His representatives alerted journalists two hours before the show, which they called a “comedy concert,” was set to begin. NPR’s Philly branch was among those who attended; the station recorded jokes about blindness (his attorneys have argued that he is legally blind and he has registered with a state commission for the blind) and getting older (he’s 80). Cosby directed the jazz band, even taking over on drums before the bassist’s 11-year-old son took a turn. They chatted in a style reminiscent Kids Say the Darndest Things, asking the boy if he knew who he was. The kid said, “You’re a comedian,” and Cosby responds, “I used to be a comedian.”
Don’t call it a comeback tour, though. It’s more like strategic schmoozing. Cosby stands accused of drugging and assaulting an acquaintance Andrea Constand in his Philadelphia home in 2004, and his criminal retrial is a little over two months away. The show was the latest in what appears to be a play for sympathy among the people of Philadelphia (Vanity Fair has reached out to Cosby’s representation for comment). Earlier in the weekend, Cosby spent time in a barbershop with old friends and fans, posting videos afterward, and did the same at a local bakery in full Eagles regalia (the Philly team secured their Super Bowl bid on Sunday). Early January, he went to an Italian restaurant in Philly, inviting press and “loyal supporters” as well.
The lead-in to his first trial, which ended in a mistrial after the jury was unable to reach a verdict, saw a more reserved Cosby. The comedian largely laid low, having just come off a tour that ended in protest. But on January 19, Judge Steven O’Neill, who presided over the first trial, set a date to begin a search for the jury for the scheduled retrial on April 2. Cosby’s glad-handing began in earnest after.
Over 60 women have accused Cosby of drugging and molesting them over the decades. Constand’s case is the only known one that can move through criminal court because it was filed before the statute of limitations (Cosby claims their interaction was consensual, and denies this and all counts of wrongdoing leveled by dozens of women). The prosecutor in the upcoming retrial has asked the judge to allow 19 other women who allege they were assaulted by Cosby to testify in the new trial. Cosby still faces several defamation and assault civil cases in California and Massachusetts.
