Hannibal Buress on Bill Cosby: “You’re a Rapist”

Comedian Hannibal Buress called Bill Cosby a rapist in a bit at the Trocadero on Thursday night. Cosby has been accused of sexual assault by multiple women.

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Last night at his late night show at the Trocadero, comedian Hannibal Buress did an extended bit about Philadelphia native Bill Cosby, calling him a rapist. Cosby has been accused of drugging and sexually assaulting multiple women, including Barbara Bowman in Philadelphia magazine. He has not, however, ever been criminally charged with rape (the legal definition of which varies by jurisdiction).* The above recording starts about 15-20 seconds into it.

“It’s even worse because Bill Cosby has the fuckin’ smuggest old black man persona that I hate,” Buress said. “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 guess I want to just at least make it weird for you to watch Cosby Show reruns,” Buress says later. “I’ve done this bit on stage and people think I’m making it up…. when you leave here, google ‘Bill Cosby rape.’ That shit has more results than ‘Hannibal Buress.'”

Buress — who has done stand-up for years and is a regular on Comedy Central’s Broad City — praised Bill Cosby: Himself in GQ, and noted how hard it is not to curse on stage. He specifically praised Cosby’s bit on drugs, which is one of the funniest parts of that special.

https://twitter.com/hannibalburess/status/523129788027142144

Immediately following Buress’s Cosby bit, a man in front of the bar downstairs at the Troc threw up all over, causing such a commotion I first thought people had gotten into a fight over Bill Cosby.

*Editor’s note: This line has been updated to reflect the fact that the legal definition of rape is jurisdiction-dependent.