ABOVE: Watch Bill Cosby confront questions about the allegations of sexual abuse.
TORONTO — Bill Cosby asked the Associated Press (AP) to “scuttle” a portion of an interview where he was asked about allegations of sexual abuse.
“No, no, we don’t answer that,” Cosby responded when the interviewer raised the issue in a Nov. 6 on-camera interview.
“There’s no response. There is no comment about that.”
But at the end of the interview, with the camera still rolling and Cosby’s microphone on, the comedian asked “that none of that will be shown.”
Cosby said: “I would appreciate it if it was scuttled. If you want to consider yourself to be serious, that it will not appear anywhere.”
In posting the comments on Wednesday, AP said it had made no agreement to avoid asking questions about the allegations against Cosby or to withhold any portion of the interview.
In the video, Cosby explained: “We thought, by the way, that because it was AP that it wouldn’t be necessary to go over that question with you.
“Tell your boss the reason why we didn’t say that up front was because we thought AP had the integrity to not ask.”
Cosby then instructed a member of his team to “get on the phone” with the interviewer’s boss “immediately.”
More than a dozen women have come forward since 2005 — including several in recent weeks — to accuse Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting them.
The 77-year-old comedy icon has not been charged with any crime and his lawyer said Cosby will not discuss “decade-old, discredited” claims.
NBC announced Wednesday it has scrapped plans for a new series starring Cosby as the father of three married daughters with children and Netflix said on Tuesday it was postponing the Cosby 77 special that was set to premiere on Nov. 27.
In Canada, the Comedy network confirmed it will not be airing Bill Cosby: Far From Finished on Nov. 30.
Cosby’s scheduled appearances on The Queen Latifah Show and Late Show with David Letterman were also cancelled.
Despite the controversy, Cosby has not cancelled any of his live shows. His busy tour schedule includes three January dates in Ontario.
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