Bill Cosby is plotting a possible return to the stand-up comedy stage in 2023, the comedian and former TV star revealed during a Dec. 28 radio interview with WGH Talk host Scott Spears.
The announcement comes following the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision in June 2021 to overturn Cosby’s sexual assault conviction and his subsequent release from prison.
“When I come out of this, I feel that I will be able to perform and be the Bill Cosby that my audience knows me to be,” the 85-year-old comedian told Spears.
After being asked by Spears if he might tour in the new year, the onetime Cosby Show star replied, “Yes. Yes, because there’s so much fun to be had in this storytelling that I do. Years ago, maybe 10 years ago, I found it was better to say it after I write it.”
A rep for Cosby confirmed to our sister site Variety that the comedian is eyeing a “spring/summer” start for his tour.
As previously reported, in June 2021, Pennsylvania’s highest court overturned Cosby’s sexual assault conviction after it found that an agreement with a previous prosecutor prevented him from being charged in the case, according to the Associated Press. Cosby was released from prison later the same day.
Cosby released a statement following the decision: “I have never changed my stance nor my story. I have always maintained my innocence. Thank you to all my fans, supporters and friends who stood by me through this ordeal. Special thanks to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for upholding the rule of law.”
The overturned conviction came more than three years after Cosby was first convicted in April 2018. Later that year, he was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison for three counts of sexual assault. He was charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault after being accused of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in his Philadelphia home in 2004, and was registered for life as a sexually violent predator.
Cosby is currently facing a new sexual assault lawsuit, which was filed earlier this month against him and NBC by five women under a New York state law that temporarily suspends the statute of limitations for older sexual assault claims.