Hannibal Buress conflicted over Bill Cosby controversy

Comedian HANNIBAL BURESS feels “conflicted” after he brought up BILL COSBY’s sexual assault allegations at a stand-up show in October (14), indirectly prompting dozens of women to go public with rape claims against the veteran funnyman.
In fan-recorded video which was posted online, Buress poked fun at The Cosby Show star’s reputation at a gig in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania last year (14), suggesting Cosby has no right to tell black people how to behave since “you rape women, Bill Cosby, so turn the crazy down a couple notches… When you leave here, Google ‘Bill Cosby rape.’ That s**t has more results than ‘Hannibal Buress.'”
Although the allegations first surfaced more than 15 years ago, his comments brought the scandal back to light, and since then, more than 30 women, including actresses and models, have come forward with rape, sexual assault and inappropriate behaviour claims against the comic, who has denied the allegations through his lawyer.
In an interview with GQ magazine, Buress admits he is still unsure how he feels about his involvement in the scandal that has rocked Hollywood.
When asked by the reporter whether he regrets making the jokes about Cosby, he had no qualms about it, saying, “you can’t predict s**t like that.”
Adding that he has been considered a “feminist hero”, Buress was reluctant to take the title, adding, “People are going to put on you whatever they want to put on you.
“It is conflicting, because people think I’m like this amazing guy or something. I’m a decent guy.”
The Cosby scandal has also affected Buress’ professional career as bosses at U.S. network Comedy Central decided to postpone the premiere of his new show and wait until the controversy died down before releasing it.
His weekly variety programme, Why? with Hannibal Buress, premiered earlier this month (Jul15), and the comedian says he still received tweets and emails from angry viewers, with messages such as, “You f**king sold out Cosby and now you got a show.”