UPDATED: Despite earlier reports claiming that he would head on tour to teach teens about sexual assault allegations, Bill Cosby released the following statement via his attorney today.
"The current propaganda that I am going to conduct a sexual assault tour is false any further information about public plans will be given at the appropriate time."
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Fresh off a mistrial over a case in which a woman accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2004, the popular 79-year-old Cosby Show star and comedian plans on spending some of his time until his new trial hosting town hall-style talks with young people about how to handle such allegations, his rep says.
"We are going to wait and see what this district attorney is going to do. This case is so polarizing. I don't know how you come back after a mistrial and try to retry Mr. Cosby," the rep, Andrew Wyatt, told anchor Janice Rogers on Birmingham, Alabama news station WBRC's show Good Day Alabama. "I think we move on now. Mr. Cosby wants to get back to work. We are now planning town halls and we are going to be coming to this city sometime in July."
Wyatt said the actor wanted to "talk to young people," adding, "Because this is bigger than Bill Cosby. This issue can affect any young person, especially young athletes of today, and they need to know what they're facing when they're hanging out and partying, when they're doing certain things that they shouldn't be doing. And it also affects married men."
Wyatt also talked about the actor's well-being, saying he was doing "great."
"He told me to tell you hello," he said, drawing a chuckle from the anchor "He was excited to go home—his life was at stake, his freedom was at stake—go home and spend time with Mrs. Cosby and his children and just celebrate Father's Day."
The actor's trial was declared a mistrial Sunday after jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict. He was accused of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his Philadelphia home in 2004. The actor had pleaded not guilty to three counts of aggravated indecent assault. He is due to be retried in a few months,
More 50 women who have accused him of sexual misconduct but their allegations never resulted in criminal charges, namely because the statute of limitations has expired. Cosby has denied all claims.
In the past couple of years, at least six states have extended or eliminated their statutes of limitations on sexual assaults in wake of the Cosby accusations and other sexual assault cases.
"Laws are changing," Ebonee Benson, another Cosby family rep, told WBRC.
"The statute of limitations for victims of sexual assault are being extended," she said. "So this is why people need to be educated on a brush against the shoulder, you know, anything at this point can be considered sexual assault and it's a good thing to be educated about the law."
The interviewer than thanked them both for appearing and told them to "tell the Cosbys we said hello."
(Originally published on Thu, Jun 22, 2017, 1:44 PM)