LONDON, Ont. — Bill Cosby's first Canadian performance may have gone ahead without a hitch but it remained to be seen whether his second appearance would roll out as smoothly in a city where residents opposing the embattled comedian vowed to send him a message.
Cosby's show at the Budweiser Gardens in London, Ont., follows his appearance a night earlier in Kitchener, Ont., where his fans gave him a warm standing ovation while protesters outside the venue chanted and waved signs about rape not being a joke.
Cosby is facing a slew of sexual assault allegations — in recent weeks at least 18 women, including three who came forward in Los Angeles on Wednesday, have accused him of sexually assaulting them, with some claims dating back decades.
The 77-year-old comedian has never been criminally charged in connection with the allegations and has denied them through his lawyer.
His reputation, however, has taken a beating.
At least 10 performances on his North American tour were cancelled in the U.S., NBC halted work on a Cosby sitcom that was under development and Netflix indefinitely postponed a special that was set to premiere last month.
In the Ontario cities hosting Cosby this week, a number of people who were once fans of the man who played the humorous Dr. Cliff Huxtable on "The Cosby Show" from 1984 to 1992 have voiced disgust at the allegations, making the decision not to attend his show.
Some have also said they plan to join protests being organized against the comedian.
In London, a women's centre organizing a demonstration against Cosby outside the venue where he is to perform said they've heard from many ticketholders.
"We certainly don't think Mr. Cosby is welcomed by the overwhelming majority of the individuals we've spoken to and I don't think his reception will be a very good one here," said Megan Walker, executive director of the London Abused Women's Centre.
"This is an amazing community which rallies around women and this is no joke."
Walker said she had also heard that some people with tickets planned to go to Cosby's performance to heckle the comedian or stand up and turn their backs on him during the show, but noted that those individuals weren't affiliated with the protest and there was no way of knowing if their actions would go ahead.
Similar rumours had been heard ahead of Cosby's show in Kitchener, but that performance went ahead without any interruptions. There was, however, a heavy security presence and a number of empty seats in the theatre.
The controversy didn't appear to have upset either Cosby or his fans though.
The comedian made it a point to thank his audience at the beginning and at the end of his show in Kitchener and it appears his performance was much appreciated.
"It was great. He's a very funny man," said Beverly Censner, who attended the Kitchener show. "It's all good clean humour and he's just a great storyteller."
Censner added that she thought the show wasn't really affected by protesters who had heckled ticketholders outside the venue.
"They were very peaceful, saying what they thought," she said. "We're polite Canadians, we're good."
Cosby is scheduled to perform in Hamilton on Friday, the last of his three Ontario shows. A protest is planned outside that performance as well.
