For some reason Bill Cosby is still being paid to do standup gigs, and for some reason there are people willing to see him. At a venue in Kitchener, Ontario Canada last night, Cosby made a “joke” to a woman heading to the bar that she should be careful not to drink around him. Because it’s so funny to mock the over 25 women who have come forward with remarkably similar stories of being drugged and raped by Cosby. ET has the best coverage of this story, which includes tweets from people at the show and video footage of the dozens of protestors outside. One man was escorted out of the theater for heckling Cosby and calling him a rapist. Here’s more, thanks to ET:

Protesters attempted to shut down Bill Cosby’s Canada shows while he reportedly made a joke about his sexual abuse allegations during his Thursday performance.

ET Canada captured the protesters blocking the entrance to the Centre In The Square venue in Kitchener where Cosby’s show took place.

“Obviously any big change requires all kinds of voices, all kinds of action,” protest organizer Melanie Baker said. “This is the one we chose.”

Inside the venue, Cosby stuck to his routine and received a standing ovation, despite the ruckus outside.

During Thursday’s performance, several reports claim that the 77-year-old comedian made light of his recent sexual abuse allegations after he called out a woman who told him she was going to get a drink during his performance. He reportedly responded, saying, “You have to be careful about drinking around me.”

Deadline reports that the audience gasped at the joke and then applauded. Two men were also reportedly escorted out of the performance after yelling, “We don’t love you, Bill. You’re a rapist. I’m being ejected because you’re a rapist.”

Cosby then insisted the audience not acknowledge the outburst, saying, “No, no stop.”

Following his Canada performance, Cosby released a statement (via NBC News), saying, “Dear Fans: One outburst but over 2600 loyal, patient and courageous fans enjoyed the most wonderful medicine that exist for human-kind. Laughter. I thank you, the theatre staff (Budweiser Gardens), the event organizers and the London, ON Community for your continued honor and support. I’m Far From Finished.”

[From ET Online]

I really appreciate that ET focused their coverage on the protestors and the people working to bring awareness to Cosby’s crimes. Cosby’s “joke,” and his follow up statement were awful. He’s despicable, but of course we’ve known that for some time. Also, by referencing laughter as “medicine” he seems to be further mocking his victims, many of whom claim that he drugged them under the guise of offering medicine. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but that’s what came to mind.

CNN reports that an alternate event was held in Kitchener last night to raise money for sexual assault victims. It was called “Voices Carry,” and organizers called it “a good opportunity for the community to do something positive. They felt a need to respond and this was a good way to do it. This was a peaceful alternative.”

I’m not going to cover all the back and forth with celebrities supporting and denouncing Cosby. I think the voices of the victims should carry more weight. The protestors also deserve so much credit, and I know they will show up to Cosby’s performances in the coming months. He’s performing again in Canada tonight and then he has 18 performances scheduled through June. So far, only four out of 22 scheduled performances have been canceled, according to Ticketmaster.

These photos are of Cosby performing in November. He’s also shown in August. Credit: FameFlynet