Unless you’ve been living under a rock you know that 77-year-old comedian Bill Cosby is facing serious and disturbing sexual assault allegations from a growing list of women dating back decades. While Cosby has never been charged with a crime, and through his attorney has denied the accusations – and generally refused to speak about them altogether when asked – at this point the sheer volume and nature of the claims against him has been enough to, almost certainly, forever tarnish the once beloved performer’s image. As Lindy West has written, Bill Cosby is over. It’s hard to disagree with her.
Considering the controversy swirling around Cosby, and the extreme hit his public stock has taken in the past week – with Netflix and NBC scrapping projects canceling projects with the famed comedian, and TV Land abruptly pulling The Cosby Show from its lineup – it’s fair to wonder about the fate of a pair of locally scheduled upcoming Cosby performances. According to his website, Cosby will perform Saturday, Nov. 29 at the Capitol Theatre in Yakima, then again on April 18 at the Pantages Theatre in Tacoma.
Or will he?
The News Tribune in Tacoma reported earlier today, that Cosby’s T-Town performance faced an uncertain future. “We’re in negotiations with (Cosby’s agent). Until we have that buttoned up, we can’t say whether the show will be canceled,” Lacey Wright, the Pantages’ director of marketing, told the paper at the time. “We are talking to his agent about our concerns. The media firestorm around Cosby is a concern.”
Apparently, however, we won’t have to wait until Monday for an announcement. The Broadway Center for the Performing Arts, which operates The Pantages, sent out the following statement moments ago:
Since October 27 of this year, the Broadway Center has been in discussion with Mr. Bill Cosby’s management regarding the possibility of canceling his scheduled April 18, 2015, performance in Tacoma. Today, the Broadway Center formally announces that cancellation.
“This decision is not intended to pass judgment on Mr. Cosby – that is not the business of the Broadway Center,” said David Fischer, the Broadway Center’s Executive Director.
“We’ve been deliberate and thoughtful in making this decision, carefully considering our many relationships and legal obligations, including those with Mr. Cosby, with ticket buyers, and with our community. The Broadway Center is a non-profit organization that works diligently to strengthen our community’s social fabric by building empathy, furthering education, and sharing joy. Ultimately, we were not confident in our ability to meet those objectives by proceeding with Mr. Cosby’s performance in Tacoma,” said Fischer.
“In making this decision, the Broadway Center also took into consideration the financial harm we will suffer by cancelling, and the even greater financial risk of moving forward with the performance,” concluded Fischer.
The Broadway Center is offering all ticket buyers the option to exchange their tickets for another of the many great performances ahead, or to request a refund. The Box Office team will be reaching out to all ticket holders in the coming days to make exchange and refund arrangements. Box Office hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and representatives may be contacted via phone at 253.591.5894, or toll-free at 1.800.291.7593.
Reached for comment, Fischer tells Seattle Weekly that the decision had “nothing to do with sponsors,” or any concerns they may have had, and was instead almost entirely based on internal decision making. However, he did note that the Pantages has “received some communications via social media” from the general public on the subject of Cosby’s previously planned performance .
Meanwhile, in Yakima, Cosby’s performance is just over a week away. Seattle Weekly has reached out to the Capitol Theatre, but has yet to hear back. We will update this post accordingly should the theater respond.
