Bill Cosby Breaks Silence on Rape Allegations

NEW YORK, May 15 2015 – Bill Cosby has finally addressed the barrage of rape allegations that have plagued the comedian in recent months, as more and more women have claimed he drugged and sexually assaulted them.

In an interview with Good Morning America that aired with little promotion on Friday, Cosby said he was baffled by the scandal.

“I have been in this business over 52 years and I have never seen anything like this,” he said. “Reality is the situation. And I can’t speak.”

Cosby was joined for his interview by the leaders of the Black Belt Foundation, who invited Cosby to bring awareness about the state of underfunded schools near Alabama. The sit-down seemed designed to discuss his work with the organisation, but GMA aired only the portions of the interview that involved questions about the sexual-assault allegations. More of the interview is set to air on ABC’s Nightline on Friday night.

In the interview with GMA’s Linsey Davis, Cosby said he’s not sure if people will come to him with questions about whether the allegations are true, but he encouraged people to focus on his message, not the person delivering it.

“I am prepared to tell this young person about life…I think that many of them say, ‘Well you’re a hypocrite,” he said of his critics. “My point is, ‘OK, listen to me carefully, I’m telling you where the road is out. I’m telling you where as you’re driving you’re going to go into water and it looks like it may only be three inches but you and your car are going to go here. Now, you want to go here or you want to be concerned about who’s giving you the message?'”

Although Cosby’s legal team has issued a number of denials as more women have claimed he attacked them, the comedian himself has remained silent on the matter, apart from one quick, surprise interview with a New York Post reporter. And Cosby’s team had repeatedly said he wouldn’t address the allegations. It’s unclear why Cosby decided to address the allegations during his GMA interview.

But they already made the Black Belt Foundation think twice about inviting him, the organisation admitted on GMA.