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Bill Cosby is still coming to Pittsburgh.
The legendary comedian, who is accused of sexually assaulting more than two dozen women beginning in the 1960s, is scheduled to appear at Heinz Hall Feb. 21 for a show that “transcends age, gender and cultural barriers,” according to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s website.
And while some of Cosby’s shows have been canceled in recent months after more women came forward, both the PSO, which rented out Heinz Hall to Cosby, and the show’s promoter tell City Paper his Pittsburgh performance will go on.
“The show is scheduled to play as booked and advertised and I have been in communications with Heinz Hall,” writes Carlos Larraz, the promoter and partner at the National Artists Corporation.
The 77-year-old comic has largely continued to tour despite growing media attention to women who have said Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted them at various points in his career. Some of those shows have been marked by protest. The allegations have been around for more than a decade but resurfaced in November when standup comedian Hannibal Buress joked about them during a show in Philadelphia. A video of the performance went viral, which helped spark national media attention. Cosby’s lawyers have called the accusations “unsubstantiated” and “increasingly ridiculous.”
The decision to allow the show to continue is a point of contention among local comics, some of whom are calling on the PSO to cancel the show. But if public pressure mounts, that could also put the financially strained PSO in a difficult position: Entertainment-law experts say it’s possible the orchestra could be on the hook for fees and penalties if it tries to back out.
“He’s worked his ass off,” says Pittsburgh comic Tony “T-Robe” Roberson, arguing Cosby should be allowed to perform. “He does it in a positive manner — that’s hard, that’s true talent and I think people need to receive that. He has a right to go onstage and make money.”
He says it’s possible the allegations are true, but “my heart won’t let me believe that.”
Local comedians Davon Magwood and Chrissy Costa — who grew up admiring Cosby’s comedy — take a different view: Letting Cosby take the stage sends the wrong message about the seriousness of sexual assault and downplays what they call Cosby’s moral hypocrisy.
“He talks to young black men about being men and fathers — to a lot of people he’s America’s black dad and he’s not facing it,” Magwood says. “He’s trying to wait out the storm. That’s really cowardly.”
Magwood acknowledges some ambivalence about whether the show should be pulled — “you don’t want to persecute someone” — but he says growing cancellations might force Cosby, who has continued to play in front of sellout crowds, to at least say something substantive in response to the accusations. “Somebody needs to send a message to him that this needs to be addressed.”
Costa, also a local comic, wrestled with the idea of whether the show should be canceled. “It strikes me differently being a female and being a survivor of sexual assault,” she says. Having the show “may send the wrong message that it’s OK to violate women, especially if you’re a celebrity or a powerful male figure. Nothing will change if we just stand back. I hope Heinz Hall pulls the show.”
And it’s not just local comedians who are sounding off on Cosby’s appearance in Pittsburgh.
Alison Hall, executive director of Pittsburgh Action Against Rape, says the Cosby case plays into lots of misconceptions about sexual assault: that well-liked people aren’t capable of rape and that women who come forward years after being assaulted must have an agenda.
“It nauseates me that he’s coming to town and it’s even more disturbing that people are willing to pay to see him,” Hall says.
Still, she understands why people are likely to show up: “You’re talking about changing someone’s mind about the way they’ve felt about someone for decades.”
Regardless of external criticism, the PSO, which rented out Heinz Hall to Cosby, says the decision to cancel the show isn’t its to make. “Obviously we’re aware of what’s gone on in the news,” says Louise Sciannameo, a spokeswoman for the PSO. “Fundamentally, that call is made by the presenter, not us.”
Sciannameo says the contractual rights to cancel shows the PSO has booked “varies from show to show.” She would not elaborate on the details of the contract with Cosby, including whether there is a morality clause that could form the basis of a cancelation. She referred questions about the contract to Heinz Hall vice president Carl Mancuso, who did not return requests for comment.
Asked whether it would be a breach of contract if the PSO cancelled the show, Larraz, the show’s promoter, wrote in an email that “canceling a show has more moving parts than just ‘pulling the plug.'” He didn’t elaborate.
So far, less than 50 percent of the hall’s 2,600-seat capacity has been sold, which is “very typical” this far out, Sciannameo says. Still, “We have been authorized to offer refunds to anyone who wants them.”
But if offering refunds doesn’t quell public pressure to cancel the show, that could make the PSO’s position even more difficult.
Entertainment-law expert Larry Silverman explains that the PSO’s ability to cancel is contract-specific — and while there might be a “morality clause” that allows for a cancelation based on poor conduct, it’s impossible to know without looking at the contract whether accusations of sexual assault qualify.
And if the morality clause isn’t in play and the PSO cancels, “Legally, they might have to give Bill Cosby the amount of the contract, and depending how it reads, a penalty on top of that,” explains Silverman, a lawyer with Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote and former general counsel for the Pittsburgh Pirates. “I suspect from a PR standpoint, if they could walk away from this show and not have to worry about [Cosby], they’d be thrilled to do it.”
Pressure to cancel the show isn’t just coming from the general public. Some of Heinz Hall’s own staffers are growing increasingly uncomfortable with the prospect of hosting the show.
“The sense from the staff is that they would not like for it to go on, but that basically our hands are tied,” says one Heinz Hall staffer who spoke on the condition of anonymity and does not have direct knowledge of Cosby’s contract with the PSO. “At this point, it’s just all about the money.”
But despite the PSO’s budget deficits, “I don’t think [Cosby’s performance is] something we should have equated with Heinz Hall and the symphony,” the staffer says. “We have a world-class symphony and we’re an incredible place and now we’re bringing in this guy who’s allegedly raped over two dozen women. That doesn’t sound like the right message to the community.”
This article appears in Jan 21-27, 2015.
There have been thousands upon thousands of Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot sightings.
History teaches us that people making unproven assertions isn’t synonymous with fact.
Rape culture: when people believe a mass conspiracy of unrelated women creating false accusations with coincidentally similar stories, even with the extreme shame and negative attention it garners them, is more likely than a famous rich dude drugging and raping women and hiding it. Heinz Hall, National Artists Corporation, and anyone else promoting this should be ashamed of themselves. This isn’t an issue of “might” send a message that rape is ok. It DOES send a message that Heinz Hall and others are ok with promoting rapists and helping them get rich.
THANX PSO- PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, CARLOS LARRAZ, CITY PAPER(PROMO),NATIONAL ARTISTS CORPORATION,TONY “T-ROBE”ROBINSON,HEINZHALL! #FERGUSON,TRAYVON,JORDAN,GARNER,BELL,DIOLO,BIKO,O,BIRD,KING,MALCOMX,MANDELA,BROWN,4LILGIRLZnChurch #HISTORYPROOVES.. #Accuser$chemeAgainstBLAX #KILLBLAX & USE @BILLCOSBY AS SMOKECREEN AS KILLERS/ASSASINS/MERCENARIES OF BLAX R AQUITTEDaily. EVILiers #SUITsetFROMSTART IT WAS ALWAYS BOUT THE $$$$$$ . CUZ THEY OUT 2 DESTROY A DIGNIFIED BLACKMAN . IF HE HAD NO MORAL CODE OF SELF RESPECT &HONOR THEY WOILDNT B AFTER DEATROYING HIS LEGACY. THEY WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT.BLAX HAVE NOTHING TO REFLECT POSITIVITY IN THE WORLD OF ENTERTAINMENT EXCEPT TRASH & LUCIDIOUS INDUSTRY PRODUCTIONS. THEY WAN2 GET PAID FOR PARTY LIKE A ROCKATAR BEING WOMEN WHO GOT CUT FROM CASTING COUCH OPP THEY WERE SEEKING TO ADVANCE THEYRE NO WHEREventually careers.. @BILLCOSBY ‘s XPENSE. #VIPERZ #VULTURZ #VAMPIREZ #SUSAN crying on TV”OH it was a Blackman” #TAWANABRAWLEY (Dismismissed,degraded,deminished,Disrespected)& SUED. THEY R SHAMELESS STEREOTYPE & GIV DECENT WOMEN A BAD REP. #UNSUBSTANTIATED&INCREASINGLY RIDICULOUS
*SPECIAL THANX :
http://www.variety.com
@JILLSCOTT
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@COSBYSHOW *PRODUCERS&ALL WHO MADEitHAPPEN from PA’s to PR’s
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@MRS.CAMILLECLASSYLADYCOSBY
#’THEYHATEUSCUZTHEYAINTUS!” -ANONYM.QUOTE
THE WORLD IS FULL OF SHEEP,CATTLE HANDLEDirected by UNSEEN PUPPETMASTERZ relying on IGNORANT POPULATION TO DRINK THE KOOLAID. THIS AINT A “BLACK WHITE THING” , ITA A “GREEN THING”RIGHT FROM START! HE HAS GIVEN HIS ENTIRE LIFE DOING RIGHT & U UNRAVEL HIM LIKE PULLING A THRED MALICIOUSLY FROM ONE OF HIS UNIQUE SWEATERS & LAUGHING HISTERICALLY AT HIS INTENDED DEMISE. #ORCHESTRATED TAKEDOWN! #COENTELPRO #DAVIDickeREMEMBERwhoUR #WILLIAMCOOPER-BeholdAPalehorse
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#LEFTWING,RIGHTWING,sameDIRTYBIRD
PEOPLE KEEP LOVN EACH OTHER REGARDLESS OF COLOR & CULTURE & CLASS. CHARACHTER ABOVE COLOR! T *ULTIMATE FEAR IS “COLLECTIVE CONCSIOUSNESS”!*- B SMARTER THAN AVERAGE BEAR!
LENNON,R,KENNEDY,JKENNEDY,BIKO,WOODS,MALCOLMX,MLKING,SALASSIEI.,BOBMARLEY,LINCOLN,RON BROWN,WILLIAM COOPER,MJJ
YOUTUBE”THEY DONT REALLY CARE ABOIT US” ; DENZELL WASHINGTON ” THE GREAT DEBATERS, THE BUTLER. THEY ONLY WANT IMAGE OF CRIMINAL BLACK MEN IN MINDZ OF WORLD, RACIST WHITES IN MINDS OF WORLD & DISCORD & CHAOS AS A RESULT RESOLUTION: PEACE&LOV ,U R ALL BETTER THAN THEY OR EVEN UKNOW! RAISE & EVOLVE! INITY is KEY. KONY2012 JASON FOUNDER WAS DRUGGED (NO ADMITTANCE) FEAR MADE HIM STOProaction to SAVE BLACK MALE YOUTH SOLDIERS FORCED BCOM WAR REBELS ..AGAINST THE GRAIN. HE IS A HERO AS IS BILL COSNY! HE SAVED CROSS CULTURALov GENERATIONS. & LIKE KONY 2012 FOUNDER HE RIFFLED FEATHERS OF MAJOR PLAYERS & PRINCIPALITIES N HIGH & LOW PLACE$. #AS DID BUDDAH & CHRIST..BILL COSBY IS CARRYING CROSS.THEY PERSECUTED CHRISTconsciousness … #SERPENT$
#”WAKE UPeople”-BILLCOSBYquote
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BrilliantAdvocacy@execs.com
Dr.BILLCOSBY EVRYDAY SAY2SELF “STiLL I RISE- BY DR MAYAngelou
We THANKU,WE HONRESPECT U! WE ADORE U!!!
And when due process fails you and you can’t prove your story other than through corroboration of other women sticking their necks out, where do we get those facts?
Do you really think you live in a fantasy world where every misdeed has an overwhelming amount of physical evidence that substantiates it? Or are you just being childishly short sighted on this issue?
What about Bill Cosby’s refusal to go on record to at least try to provide an alibi for at least one of the instances of alleged rape.
You’re seriously going to diminish the testimony of 32 women by comparing them to supernatural ape men? Is that the best insight you can provide on this very real problem? I’m not even saying you’re not right, but trivializing and dismissing 32 rape allegations is downright insulting and you make yourself look like a scum bag, Juggling For a Cure.
When a Drug Addict overcomes their addiction we are all there to applaud them (especially after doing many years of good work past that point). But … With Mr. Cosby, who has done 40 yrs of good work past the point of what was said to have happened, we give no applause. We should be standing beside him yelling “Bravo!” for changing your life, for seeing and committing to a better way and working with kids, adults and the entertainment industry to change the perceptions TV previously placed before us. “We” are not the ones who should be demanding justice … only God. Mr. Cosby has redeemed himself many,many times over. BRAVO Mr. Cosby, BRAVO!!!
An recent anonymous comment has been deleted from this post accusing someone of sexual assault who has not been charged or convicted of a crime.