This story is a real mess. Have you ever heard of stand-up comedian Hannibal Buress? The dude has enjoyed moderate success even though he’s not a household name. Hannibal wrote for SNL for a few seasons and did the same for 30 Rock for half a season. You may have seen his routines on Comedy Central or some late-night network talk shows (such as Fallon and Letterman). Hannibal’s also known for his Broad Street stint.
Hannibal performed last Thursday in Philly. He went off on Bill Cosby. The rant was based on rape allegations made against Cosby over the years. Vulture has published a handy comprehensive timeline of these abuse charges, which were rehashed after the Cosby: His Life and Times biography came out in September. That book avoided the allegations against Cosby that gathered dust for over a decade. Most of the cases were civil in nature and settled out of court by Cosby. It’s worth noting that Cosby has never publicly responded to the allegations. Nor has he been charged in a criminal court.
Hannibal decided to make these accusations part of his comedy routine. The video (with NSFW language) of Thursday’s performance can be watched here. This is what Hannibal said:
“Thirteen [women]. It’s even worse because Bill Cosby has the f—ing smuggest old black man public persona that I hate. He gets on TV, ‘Pull your pants up black people, I was on TV in the 80s! I can talk down to you because I had a successful sitcom!’ Yeah, but you rape women, Bill Cosby, so turn the crazy down a couple notches. ‘I don’t curse on stage!’ But yeah, you’re a rapist though, so…
“I guess I want to just at least make it weird for you to watch Cosby Show reruns. Dude’s image, for the most part, is a public Teflon image. I’ve done this bit on stage and people don’t believe me, people think I’m making it up. ‘Bill Cosby has a lot of rape allegations.’ ‘No, you do!’ When you leave here, Google ‘Bill Cosby rape.’ That sh-t has more results than ‘Hannibal Buress.'”
[From YouTube]
Some of these allegations against Cosby date back to the 1970s. Pre-internet awareness. A lot of people haven’t heard these things about Cosby and only know him as the affable, kooky fatherly figure on network television. Cosby is preparing to return to primetime, so Hannibal’s routine is timely.
Hannibal’s remarks went viral. People took notice, and many learned about these Cosby allegations for the first time. Hannibal visited Howard Stern to discuss the fallout. He says the attention was “unexpected. It wasn’t my intention to make it part of a big discussion. It was just something I was doing at that venue, right there. It’s just information that’s out there. I said it and I gotta stand on it, but it is an interesting situation.”
Yes, it is interesting. Hannibal also said this on Twitter:
Boy, that escalated quickly. I mean that really got out of hand fast.
— Hannibal Buress (@hannibalburess) October 21, 2014
Photos courtesy of WENN
Oh, when I saw the headline I thought the jokes were going to be like those “rape jokes” that are just no-nos but this is ‘funny’ in the way that getting-called-out-for-shit-you-do-but-aren’t-held-accountable-for is funny. Good comedians make amusing life observations and if the shoe fits…..
Yes! I tend to agree with the late great George Carlin, ANYTHING can be a joke.
Anything can be a joke, but you have to tell it just so. Jon Mulaney’s Chase Through the Subway is hilarious joke that is kind of about rape, but it’s still funny because he’s not joking about rape per se, he’s joking about his own naivete and lack of self awareness. There’s compassion and humor there, and that’s why I feel ok laughing at it.
It’s not a joke. Google “Cosby” and “rape” and you’ll find out that he drugged and raped three women. He bought their silence afterward.
Not 3 women Bob4…14 women. Only three were willing to stand up and face him openly the others remained as Jane Does. Not that I can blame them given how shafted they all were by justice.
Burress may not be a big name to people but among comedians he seems to be really admired — he’s very funny, and cool. Check him out before you judge his quotes — it sounds better when you hear it with his voice.
He comes across as very open and frank, but in a calm, laidback tone.
BILL COSBY IS A RAPIST!?!?!? NOooooooooooo!!!!!!!! Is there nothing sacred left in this world? I always thought of him as so wholesome. Sigh. I swear, everything is so dark in this world.
Well, Stephen Collins was outed. Why shouldn’t Bill Cosby be too? 13 girls? And they all have the same story. That makes me believe it is true. I’m not tripping about Hannibal over this (though I have no idea who he is). Bad venue to discuss this–but likely the truth.
Why a bad venue? Comedy is tragedy re-imagined later.
+1
Point well taken.
+2
The sad part was that he was outed years ago, and he managed to bury it with hush money.
I wonder how many people under 30 know about the allegations. I didn’t and I always think I’m in the know!
I knew the black community had problems with some statements he made, but I had no idea…
@dee, I’m well over 30 and I didn’t know! I was truly stunned and saddened by this. He was the wholesome Jello-schilling guy!!!
Well damn that is a long list of allegations though, but over the years there have been murmurings that Bill Cosby is a totally different person behind close door, i mean i guess we all are to a degree but his was like night and day.
I remember in the late 80’s it came out that he was really a controlling a-hole and quite different from his public persona. I can’t remember how I heard it but it struck me as strange, and believable, at the time.
I knew a woman with whom he got handsy on the set of Cosby on CBS. (I actually went to a taping of that show once.) We’re talking back in 1996. The allegations have been around forever. Especially with light-skinned women. One wonders what really made Lisa Bonet assert her sexuality (and do that move Angel Heart) and leave the Cosby Show. Also, ever wonder why the women from that show, when they’re in his presence, seem to be cowed into submission with the looks he gives them? (And as far as I can tell, Lisa Bonet has never “reunited” with him for any kind of interview/promo.) They all still must call him “Dr. Cosby” and do not joke with him, it seems, during interviews. It is all at least disappointing and at most horrifying. We loved listening to his stand-up on records/tapes and reading his books and watching his shows as a family. The values he espouses in public do not seem to be the ones he adheres to in private. Are people on this board and in this world comfortable separating the person from his/her art? This is a serious question. Because so many people in history who have done “great” things have some rotting corpses in their closets.
“The values he espouses in public do not seem to be the ones he adheres to in private. Are people on this board and in this world comfortable separating the person from his/her art? This is a serious question. Because so many people in history who have done “great” things have some rotting corpses in their closets.”
THIS!
Yes. 100% yes.
Wow the whole Lisa Bonnet thing is scary. She was very young when she was on the show, wasn’t she?
Yeah aren’t these allegations like almost as bad as the woody Allen ones? I guess woody is more relevant because he is actively making popular movies and working with big stars…
I never wAtched the Cosby show and the shows I did watch around that era, like fresh prince, golden girls, I don’t really go back and watch them ever….. Do people really enjoy Cosby show reruns?
Yes, innocent until proven guilty and all but Hannibal’s calling a spade a spade. Cosby got away with a lot of stuff even during The Cosby Show years. Remember that extortion case shortly after his son was murdered? I’m not saying that girl was in the right for doing what she did but he admitted to paying her mother off and that the girl might have been his daughter but he completely ignored her and never bothered to figure out if she was his daughter. The accusations do exist and are out there. I’m glad Hannibal highlighted and reminded us of this. Cosby got called out.
THiisssss Amen to everything you said…i for one Im glad these shots were fired…. there is only one person that should be skulking in the shadows or feeling any type of awful here and that isnt Hannibal, These 13 women, or the public at large
I second this to the fullest.
We see him as Dr. Huxtible with the Cosby sweaters. These women deserve to be heard and their stories acknowledged I don’t care what medium it was told in.
If we have heard about 13 then the actual number is probably three times as many. Cosby has the money to keep people quiet.
Wow. That is crazy.
@Arya Martell Please choose your expressions carefully. The “spade a spade” comment, though not meant to be insulting, is not the right terminology to use in this case (or ever, really). Other than that, I agree with most of what you said.
To be fair, though, the phrase “call a spade a spade” is not racist in its origin and so I think many people don’t identify it as such. It has been used many times over history and in literature as “to call something out by its rightful name”.
The phrase goes back to 1542 in England, and was an update of a phrase from classical Greek. The truly racist phrase is “black as the ace of spades”, and that kind of transferred guilt onto this other phrase by use of the one word. I don’t know if the entire phrase should be damned if it is used in its original context.
Come on now. That’s taking being PC to a ridiculous extreme. I say this as a black person.
Good for Hannibal. Not only a funny riff, but truthful. Amazing how $$ smooths over most things.
I think it makes people uncomfortable. Let’s face it – Bill Cosby is sort of the personification of friendly, affable comedy for a lot of people. Thinking of him that way is sort of a shock.
What amazes me is the numbers involved. If it was solely one woman, that is far easier to dismiss, since one can almost always come up with an ulterior motive. But my understanding is that there are at least 14-15 women who have either made public allegations or privately admitted to such. That number is simply too large to comfortably ignore. Especially when you consider that they all seem to tell pretty similar stories.
This.
So what number (clearly not 1) WOULD be comfortable to ignore? Your words, not mine.
I had no idea about this. I’ve never liked Bill Cosby as a person, though I think he has talent. He didn’t recognize his own child until she threatened to blackmail him. This is disgusting. 13 different women with the same story. Another case of famous man gets away with sexual assault. I hate everything about this.
She’s not his child. Her mother did have an affair with Bill Cosby,but she’s not his daughter. As I recall her biological father came forward basically saying this was a scam to get money.
I thought that wasn’t proven. That he came forward after allegedly getting some financial courge from the only party to benefit by those actions.
Still, no secret Cosby had cheated logterm with more than a few mistresses.
What fingerbinger said she’s not his child. She came forward trying to exort him after his son died by saying it would look worse to the world to know that he cheated. Frankly if he cheated that’s between him and his wife. I am glad she didn’t get any money out of him either.
Oh, I never heard that. Sorry.
I never knew about this either. I’m kinda shocked. I don’t understand how this was all whitewashed and so well too. I never even knew about the daughter thing. This is crazy. Good for the comedian for calling Cosby out. Cosby is a hack.
Sorry, I only had half of the story. See above.
I saw, but I still never even knew the lady tried to extort him. Honestly I’m more concerned about the rape allegations. I don’t understand how it has been so hush, hush.
@Screw– I had no idea either, but I think the main reason it wasn’t so well known is that many of the rumblings happened in the 80s, pre-internet and media stalking/obsession of celebrities. I bet we will be hearing a lot more about it soon since someone said he is returning to primetime.
What, wait, what?! I had NO idea, either. Oh my god. WTf is wrong with people. God, I loved that show when I was little. I would ask if Dr. Huxtable’s office was close to our house. My mother was like “No, nit-wit”. But this is disgusting. Grrrrrrr.
He’s in Broad City (not Street) and is hilarious.
I lurve him, he’s one of my favorites.
Don’t let him pour you a drink!
Gawker covered this extensively a couple of years ago.
So did People magazine, and knowing how celeb friendly they are, that is saying something.
The whole thing just came up in a article less than two weeks ago. This is old news that Cosby has been accused at least of rape or sexual harassment. Nothing has come of it and no charges or investigations have been done. Doesn’t mean he didn’t do it but it’s been known about since at least the blackmail scandel when much of his dirty past finally came out. Me thinks Hannibal wanted some press and did the most controversial thing he could do. It’ s worked out for him.
Damn, this is ugly..
OT, I saw Hannibal open up for Dave Chappelle last year at Just For Laughs in Montreal, I had no idea who he was, but he was really funny.
I had absolutely no idea about this until I came across it yesterday via the links. I wasn’t shocked, as such, as I’ve never warmed to him for some reason, but it’s grim nevertheless, so a reminder of what money allows people to get away with can’t be a bad thing.
Unless you’re Bill Cosby, of course, who’s probably not too thrilled at the re-hash.
Calling someone a rapist who hasn’t been convicted of any crime is libel, no? I wonder if he’s worried about that.
I doubt he’s worried. Cosby would have to sue him and I’m sure he wants to let it go away quietly.
+1000
No, especially since many rapists are never charged and/or brought to trial due to under-reporting and a host of other reasons. An indictment and conviction is not needed to call a rapist a rapist.
Right. Rape is an action like stealing. You do the action (stealing/rape) then the term (theif/rapist) is correctly used.
You can only be charged with libel if it’s a written defamation. It would be slander- a spoken statement. In the US the burden of proof would be Cosby would have to PROVE that Hannibal knew the statement was false and made it anyway to cause harm. And Cosby doesn’t want to do that. (Tom Cruise had similar issues)
And suing would be the worst possible thing for Cosby to do, because 1) it would bring even more attention to this, and 2) any of those women could actually go on the record, which would only serve to solidify the label of rapist.
which is impossible anyway. Hannibal would just have to say he was careless that would be enough to stop. thats why celebs dont sue tabloids even if they defame them. not only to let it go away, but because there is basically no chance to win as a paper can claim they relied on a source, even if the source has a mental disorder and/or is on drugs, they dont have to act in a responsible way by law. no matter how sketchy the source is proving that someone lied intentionally to defame you is impossible without a visual or audio recording.
as a public person in america you can be called anything basically, there is no protection.
in Cosbys case he would have to prove he never raped anyone. how do you prove that? And if he could prove that he would have to prove that Hannibal acted with “actual malice”, saying those things while knowing they are not true. again: not possible. he would just have to say he read it on the internet.
there was a case not long ago with David Beckham being able to prove that he did not cheat on his wife. in other countries he was awarded damages, in the usa the judge ruled it was still ok to print it even if there was evidence that it was untrue.
interesting clarification, thank you
If Cosby got litigious then he would have to prove in court that the accusation isn’t true. Which would allow Hannibal’s attorney’s to call the 13/14 women forward and while many of those cases would have long reached their statute of limitations they would have a place to tell their very similar stories in open court. 1 woman…even 2 with similar stories I might wonder if it’s a scheme to dig some gold…but when you hit double digits and every single one of the women tells a story that is very similar to the others…I’m sorry there’s no denying that. It might not be proven in court but that’s because money talks and statute laws regarding sexual assault suck ass.
I don’t think it’s libel if it’s true. My understanding is that the burden would be on Cosby to prove the allegations false, and I doubt he wants to do that. He’s also a public figure, so that would be taken into consideration. He would have to show Hannibal’s words somehow hurt his career or reputation. Given that the allegations have been reported on already and that Hannibal is a comedian, I don’t know how much of a case Cosby would have.
Truth is a defence to libel — an absolute defence. This is probably the likeliest reason why we haven’t heard a peep from Cosby’s camp. (And defamation by SPOKEN word is slander — truth is an absolute defence to that as well.)
I heard these stories years ago .I assumed people didn’t care because the women were paid off.I dare Matt Lauer or George S. To bring this up when he promotes his new show
I also see Stephen Collins will face no charges and no civil suits.I wonder if he will ever do an interview apologizing for his” mistake”?
I’m one of those people who had no clue about those allegations. Almost all of my childhood heroes turned out to be either douchebags or criminals and perverts and I thought that Neil Patrick Harris and Bill Cosby are the only ones who are nice and normal. I spent my childhood religiously watching Bill Cosby Show, Look Who’s Talking, Alf, Doogie Howser, every possible Chevy Chase and Eddie Murphy comedy and to the lesser extent, 7th Heaven. As children usually do, I used to think that all those nice and funny people are the same in real life but it turned out that Bill Cosby is a rapist, Stephen Collins is a child molester, the dad from Alf is a junkie who sexually assaulted homeless men, Kirsty Alley and John Travolta are scientologists and huge assholes and Chevy Chase and Eddie Murphy are also a quite despicable human beings. Neil Patrick Harris – I believe in you!
Man… Not the dad from Alf. *Off to Google*
Type in “Max Wright crack scandal” and it will tell you a lots of things you wish you haven’t read about the Alf dad or anyone. But I have to warn you – it’s awful. Some articles say the unprotected!! sex he was having with the homeless men was consensual but I consider it a form of abuse when you use the vulnerable people who have nothing, drug them and expect sex as a payment for shelter and some money.
the hell. i had no idea. not a hero of mine, but seriously what the heck.
Off topic, but i”m excited to see what Neil Patrick Harris and his lovely family dress up in/as for halloween. They have the best family group themed outfits!
Hey, wait, are you me?
Except I never watched Seventh Heaven. But I ABSORBED Dawson’s Creek, My So Called Life, and Felicity.
I love Hannibal Burress even more now. He needs a development deal. And I love the Anchorman reference in his quoted tweet.
I’m just here for his Twitter Anchorman reference.
Hannibal Burress is an amazing comedian. I’m glad that he called out Cosby as I’m part of the generation that wasn’t really aware of these accusations. I tend to believe the accusers based on the sheer number and the common “tactic” described by each woman.
Not only can I no longer watch the Cosby show, but I almost vomited watching a recent Colbert Report episode in which he practically made out with Cosby.
I remember when I first found found out the truth about Bill Cosby… such a disappointment! If you search, there are many firsthand accounts from those that went to school with his children and others that dealt with him on a regular basis. All stories match up and show him to be a disgusting person. Even aside from his horrific treatment of women, he was just nasty in general to those he didnt feel were worthy of his time. I’ll never look at him the same 😠
Call him out, Hannibal!
I’m sorry but I busted out laughing a FEW times reading what he said! If my husband and I had been laying back in bed watching some tv and came across this performance…we’d have been cracking up. We grew up on Bill and yes…hes been accused of and probably is guilty in some way Im sure, of rape. As a society we really would do ourselves such a favor if we would stop putting famous people up on these pedestals. He didnt do anything any different then that guy that lives down the street or that dude that your friend went to high school with. Just because he played a dad and doc on tv never meant he wasnt a total Dbag in life. Hes an actor.
Broad City, not Broad Street.
Love that Buress said this in Philly–Cosby’s hometown. That takes some chutzpah.
Cosby’s also going a little senile. He has a tendency to show up for important area events wearing crocs and sweatpants.
That’s not really because of Cosby’s aging wits. Immediately after his son was murdered Cosby appeared to give up on life. He barely smiled or ate. He wore only sweats and crocs for a good stretch of time. I has a broken man. He’s never recovered from that. His spirit was broken. that’s why he appears the way he does.
Although, I will say this. I’ve met him in person and have seen him perform a few times. He just sits on stage telling stories. He forgets the stories halfway through and there never seems to be a punch line. Or he’ll go in and out of stories that have no ties together. I think he took a nap between stories. And the no phones out policy was strictly inforced.
I didn’t know about his son being killed. I just looked it up….wow. Very tragic.
It really did destroy him and was a senseless act. He isn’t as sharp as he use to be and that could very well be because of age, but for myself and others i’ve spoken with about this it’s the agreed upon mark of his fall.
I don’t about his senility, but when I get to a certain age (like in my 80’s) I’ll be like f-it! I’m 80 and I’m wearing sweats and crocs and you can KMA – I’m 80!!
I’m really disturbed about these reports, I didn’t know and I always thought Cosby was a good man 🙁
I heard about these allegations for the first time a few weeks ago myself. I was listening to the radio and they were talking about the new Cosby biography out and how it does not address the allegations at all. And whether they are true or not, I find it pretty sad that a biography can’t even address that Cosby was at least accused of raping women.
The womens stories add up and there are key details that held weight Cosby was the one doing this to each of them. Money and donations to Police stations sure do buy a lot.
Also, my husband said that when Cosby was on Colbert, he found it very awkward/uncomfortable to watch. He said it seemed like Cosby was on another planet and asked me if he had dementia (I have no idea if he does or not). So Buress’ comment that Cosby has an air of entitlement about him is quite interesting.
Littlestar
When this story broke It sounded like Buress made a calculated publicity move. And judging from his words he did seem to expect the attention.
The man has been famous for so long. On top of getting what you want hushed up for so long the entitlement might be 2nd nature.
It’s Broad City!! And he’s amazing in it.
Hannibal is hilarious and he always calls a spade a spade. There’s been rumors about Cosby forever and I’d definitely tend to believe it.
Again, please do not use the expression “call a spade a spade”–especially not in this case.
I didn’t know there was anything bad with it? Gonna have to google
It’s essentially saying a “r-pist calling another r-pist a r-pist”..
I wrote something similar above, but thought I’d mention it here too as well. The phrase “call a spade a spade” is not racist in its origin and so I think many people don’t identify it as such. It has been used for hundreds of years in literature as “to call something out by its rightful name”.
The phrase goes back to 1542 in England, and was an update of a phrase from classical Greek. The truly racist phrase is “black as the ace of spades”, and that kind of transferred guilt onto this other phrase by use of the one word. I don’t know if the entire phrase should be damned if it is used in its original context.
Thanks Tiffany! Also Pinky, you sound like a troll.
I always thought that term was in reference to playing cards. Because the spade was the most eleborate ace design. Doesn’t really make too much sense, but I never thought it was race shame.
The idiom far pre-dates the use of the word “spade” as an ethnic slur. And it doesn’t mean a rapist calling another rapist a rapist, it just means to call something out bluntly, as it is, especially a sensitive topic that others might not be willing to address head-on.
I love Hannibal Buress so much! He is an incredibly articulate and talented comedian.
I’ve always loved Hannibal and I’m glad someone’s calling Cosby out. I remember hearing a story that Mike Tyson attempted to r-pe his daughter and he told her to stop being “hysterical”, and that he would take care of it. All he did was tell the man to get therapy or something so he wouldn’t have to press charges. Cosby is just an overall piece of sh-t, more people need to know about it.
If you haven’t seen Hannibal on “Broad City,” you need to. He is hilarious. I caught his standup last summer on the Oddball Festival – Dave Chappelle and flight of the Conchords were the headliners, but Hannibal crushed his set. Very, very funny.
They’re JOKES, people. Relax.
What?? Bill Cosby??!!
He is both generally hilarious and completely ‘in the right’ on this one. And NO, he wasn’t ‘looking for attention’. ‘Attention’ is generally what stand-ups do NOT want to get. They kinda rely on that. In a sense, yay that we’re talking about Cosby and his abuse, but also ‘Oh sh-t, does Hannibal have to censor himsel for OK Mag forever?!
I surprised how many people did not know this. I personally and glad that it was this guy who called him out on it. Because if it was a white male comedian. Well we all know what would happen it would be as stupid as the person who had an issue with calling a spade and spade.
Thank you Hannibal.
This…was not the story I expected from that headline. Mad respect for him being willing to say it. Those women deserve some justice, however small. (Maybe not the best venue, though?)