Director/producer Judd Apatow has taken to twitter to challenge venues that have not yet cancelled scheduled performances of disparaged comic legend Bill Cosby following mounting allegations of sexual assault that have derailed the 77-year-old Cosby’s comeback plans.
Apatow took on Centre in the Square in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada and Budweiser Gardens in London, Ontario, Canada via social media, taking them to task for not falling in line with the several other venues that have elected to cancel previously scheduled dates where Cosby is set to perform.
so @Centre_Square – are you really going to let Bill Cosby perform on your stage January 7?
— Judd Apatow (@JuddApatow) December 27, 2014
“Is Cosby only popular in Ontario Canada at this point? Do people still find him delightful after 30 accusers?”
Several Cosby defenders didn’t hesitate to challenge the Apatow citing “innocent until proven guilty.” Apatow, in response, asserted that Cosby needed to come forward and address the allegations and provide “30 alibis.” Apatow elaborated further when asked why he is “obsesses” with the Cosby issue.
“I guess it’s because guys who rape a lot aren’t cool. I always wonder why some people try so hard to not believe women who have been assaulted. What is the root of that?”
The Centre in the Square responded to Apatow, citing Cosby’s appearance as a rental whereby the comedian has rented the venue for the evening. The Centre claims that it would be too complicated and too costly a process to cancel the appearance, noting that they would be forced to pay Cosby an exorbitant cancellation penalty.
As the online debate continued, Apatow commented that he estimated that he had has sex with “less people than he raped,” and that Cosby has “more victims than some cool people have followers,” before ultimately concluding that engaging with the one-out-of-a-thousand Cosby defenders was ultimately a sad exercise in futility.
“I am gonna stop responding to them so often. It is just maddening though. So cold.”
Apatow has been a constant in headlines this week as his latest film, The Interview, was dropped by the five major movie house chains following a cyber-attack that devastated the film’s production studio, Sony, and incited threats of terrorism from North Korea. The film, set for a Christmas Day release, was ultimately released on Christmas Eve through video on demand outlets and in select independent art house theater venues.