Bill Cosby Longs To Perform Again, After Sexual-Assault Trial In June

Billy Cosby expresses his excitement for a possible return to comedy, just months before his sexual-assault trial in early June.

Bill Cosby Wants To Return to Comedy After Trial

Weeks before a jury will be selected for the case, the 79-year-old TV star, gave an interview to a group of black-owned newspapers and said he hoped to return to comedy.

“I miss it all and I hope that day will come. I have some routines and storytelling that I am working on,” the comedian told the National Newspaper Publishers Association. “I think about walking out on stage somewhere in the United States of America and sitting down in a chair and giving the performance that will be the beginning of the next chapter of my career.”

The Fat Albert actor has been charged with drugging and molesting Andrea Constand at his Pennsylvania home in 2004. He’s also been accused by more than 40 women of drugging and sexually assaulting them. Despite the plethora of allegations, Cosby still asserts his innocence. And now, with the criminal trial looming ahead, the comedian’s family is also speaking out.

On Wednesday, Cosby’s daughter Evin Cosby spoke out on her father’s behalf, claiming that there was no way he could have done what he’s been accused of because he “respects women.”

“The harsh and hurtful accusations…that supposedly happened 40 or 50 years ago, before I was born, in another lifetime, and that have been carelessly repeated as truth without allowing my dad to defend himself and without requiring proof, has punished not just my dad but every one of us,” Evin wrote in a released statement.

“The public persecution of my dad, my kids’ grandfather, and the cruelty of the media and those who speak out branding my father a ‘rapist’ without ever knowing the truth and who shame our family and our friends for defending my dad, makes all of this so much worse for my family and my children,” she continued.

Attorney Gloria Allred, who represents some of Cosby’s accusers, said she believes the recent comments by Cosby and his family are an attempt to influence the jury.

“I expect Mr. Cosby and members of his family to continue to speak out in an attempt to portray him as a victim rather than as an alleged sexual predator,” Allred said.

“However, the jury must decide this case based on the evidence admitted in the courtroom instead of what they see or hear as part of a slick Hollywood public relations campaign.”

Cosby has denied any wrongdoing and has sued some of his accusers for defamation. He has also claimed to be blind, which his lawyers are using to say he won’t be able to identify the women testifying against him during the upcoming trial.