KITCHENER, Ont. — Bill Cosby, the world’s most famous accused rapist, stepped off a private plane and into a deep freeze both real and metaphorical Wednesday. With local temperatures hovering near -20 C, a scattering of protesters greeted the once beloved comedian and his fans outside the venue for his first stop on a brief Canadian tour.
“How do you feel supporting rapists in our community?” a woman yelled at ticketholders as they tried to enter the Centre on the Square in Kitchener, Ont. For a few minutes several demonstrators tried to block the entrance to the theater. But security quickly ushered them away.
“You should be ashamed!” one woman yelled from further back in the square, as ticketholders, many of them elderly, walked by.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Cosby touched down in a small private jet outside Kitchener. A local photographer captured him at the nearby Waterloo airport, black jacket in hand, furry hat pulled down over his ears.
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Mr. Cosby was scheduled to perform three dates in Southern Ontario this week. Despite threats of protests and boycotts, he vowed Tuesday to go on with the tour, promising fans in Kitchener, London and Hamilton “the show of their life.”
More than 20 women have accused Mr. Cosby of sexually assaulting them in recent months. Three more alleged victims came forward Wednesday. All told similar tales of being drugged then raped by the onetime sitcom star.
But all those accusations haven’t driven away all of Mr. Cosby’s fans. “I’m just a bit skeptical because the guy’s very wealthy,” said Gerald Reinink. “It’s half a billion or something that he’s worth. I don’t think it’s going to to court, but if you’re on that list and he wants to settle, you’re going to make money, right?”
Mr. Reinink bought his Cosby tickets months before the current controversy bloomed. He said he never thought about selling them. He was looking forward to some “clean, family humour,” he said. “I have kids so I like that kind of thing.
A few blocks away, in a two-level nightclub, organizers of a counter-Cosby show warmed up Wednesday afternoon. “Voices Carry” was put together to offer an alternative to Cosby’s performance, said organizer Shirley Lichti.
“We wanted to do something that was positive, that made a difference in the community,” Ms. Lichti said. “And protesting outside the Centre in the Square didn’t do that.”
“Protest takes many forms,” added Melanie Baker, another organizer. “Ours is just warmer.”
Organizers were hoping as many 500 people would attend the fundraising concert. All proceeds from the event were set to be donated to local sexual assault and women’s crisis centres. Organizers were also offering free admission to anyone willing to trade in their ticket to Cosby show.
In the days leading up to Wednesday’s performance, organizers issued a series of increasingly frantic press releases, pleading for calm. “We call on those organizing protest events, to publicly condemn violence, and to speak loudly in support of peaceful protest, and to respect the safety of all attendees,” Adam Troy Eptein, from Innovation Arts & Entertainment wrote Tuesday.
Olaf Heinzel, a spokesman for the Waterloo Regional Police Service, said Centre in the Square had hired about six police officers on paid duty to complement their security staff and other personnel.
Many in all three cities had called for the shows to be cancelled. But Mr. Epstein said existing contracts made that nearly impossible to do.
Source:: National Post
