Bill Cosby is remaining mum about sexual assault allegations that resurfaced last month and continue to make headlines, and in a new interview the comedy icon is seen for the first time voicing his refusal to comment about them.
The embattled 77-year-old comedian and The Cosby Show alum got asked about the accusations in an on-camera sit-down with an Associated Press journalist that was released on Thursday by several major news outlets, including the Today show and Time magazine. Cosby, who played one of America's favorite TV dads, has never faced criminal charges over the matter and had in another interview with NPR, posted on Saturday, responded to questions about it with silence.
In the recent interview, just like the radio chat, Cosby spoke while sitting beside his wife, Camille. The two are currently promoting their loan of 62 pieces of African Art to the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art.
The allegations resurfaced in October after a video of fellow comedian Hannibal Buress calling Cosby a rapist at one of his stand-up comedy shows went viral.
"I have to ask about your name coming up in the news recently regarding this comedian-" the journalist asks Cosby in the new interview.
"No, no, we don't answer that," Cosby says.
"I just wanted to ask if you wanted to respond at all about whether any of that was true," the journalist replies.
"There's no response," Cosby says.
Over the past week, three women, including supermodel and reality star Janice Dickinson, have said in interviews that Cosby sexually assaulted them in the '80s.
Cosby's attorney Marty Singer called the latter woman's allegation "a complete lie" that was contradicted by previous statements she made. Another lawyer for the actor had issued a statement on the star's website on Sunday, saying that "Over the last several weeks, decade-old, discredited allegations against Mr. Cosby have resurfaced" and that "the fact that they are being repeated does not make them true." The statement has since been removed.
In the new interview, the journalist asks, "Can I ask you, with the persona that people know about Bill Cosby, should they believe anything differently about what-"
Cosby cuts him off and says, "There is no comment about that."
He pauses, then says, "And I'll tell you why. I think you were told, I, I don't want to compromise your integrity, but, um, we don't, I don't talk about it."
His wife, sitting beside him, is seen saying "thank you" as the interview winds down.
Cosby then asks, "Now, can I get something from you? That none of that will be shown."
The journalist says he can't promise that, adding, "You didn't say anything."
"I know I didn't say anything, but I'm asking your integrity, that since I didn't want to say anything, but I did answer you, in terms of I don't want to say anything, of what value will it have?" Cosby says, later adding. "And I would appreciate it if it was scuttled."
The journalists says he will relay the message to his editors.
Cosby then gets personal.
"I think that if you want to consider yourself to be serious, that it will not appear anywhere," he tells the journalist.
The controversy has spurred snarky Twitter posts and talk show appearance cancellations, including one that he had initiated, while Netflix has postponed its planned release of a new Cosby standup special, NBC has scrapped its plans to develop a new sitcom starring the actor and the cable channel TV Land has suspended reruns of The Cosby Show indefinitely.
Meanwhile, Cosby continues to perform standup comedy and still has scheduled shows through April 2015 in cities such as Melbourne, Florida, and Las Vegas, where he is set to take the stage at the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino on Nov. 28.
On Wednesday, the actor's former Cosby Show co-star Raven-Symoné, who played his character's stepgranddaughter Olivia, on Wednesday denied a report published on a satirical gossip site that said she was allegedly molested by him in the past.
"I was NOT taking advantage of by Mr. Cosby when I was on the The Cosby Show!" she said on Instagram. "I was practically a baby on that show and this is truly a disgusting rumor that I want no part of!"