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Aside from a few tidbits about married life — “When you’re married it’s HER house, not yours” — the material conveniently jumped straight from his childhood to his life as a grandfather. It was as if addressing the fact that he was once a physically able man with topnotch cognitive abilities would have been bait for anyone who was on the fence about his rumoured transgressions. “Wait a second … if he wasn’t always losing ice cream and adjusting his hearing aid, maybe he could have done it!”

As a comedian, I was impressed. Not by the jokes — I’d say that in the almost two-hour show, there were maybe 10 punchlines — but about his level of control. Cosby has full control. He walks slowly. Speaks slowly. He’s calm and confident like a cult leader. Shhhhh. Did the protesters bother him? No, he took control of the protest when he commended it. Even during the mini-demonstration the crowd looked to him for guidance and he calmly patted the air, shaking his head “no,” advising them not to address it. The attitude was, “These people are troubled. Let’s feel sorry for them.” Besides, there was security and at least 20 police officers in the venue — the king’s footmen. It was kind of amazing. If I went to do a show and there were protesters outside and inside and news stories about what a terrible person I was everywhere, I’d be a mess, in fact, I’d probably turn to Jell-O.

So, as a comedian, impressed. But as a woman who believes the allegations, that control was so very scary.

As I drove home, I thought about that Mr. Bojangles woman sitting beside me and the family I saw who had brought their two daughters, maybe 10 and 12. After all, it was a family-friendly show. It was family-friendly material fit for a crowd that likes that sort of humour. I thought of how that crowd would have reacted to an “edgier” comic. Not well. And then I thought how funny it was that the type of crowd who would probably boo a rape joke couldn’t get enough of an accused rapist.

National Post

Rebecca Kohler is a stand-up comedian based in Toronto