Bill Cosby said nothing about resurfaced sexual assault allegations against him during a performance Thursday night in the Bahamas, and by and large, that was just fine with his fans.
Cosby, seated in a gray sweat suit with "Hello Friend" written across the shirt, never addressed the controversy swirling around him in a 90-minute benefit performance at the Atlantis Resort in Nassau in the Bahamas as part of his current tour — in keeping with his refusal to discuss the allegations in any forum.
"I want to hear the truth," Wayne Scherr of Wagner, South Dakota, who attended the performance with his brother, told NBC News on Thursday night, but "maybe the timing isn't right yet."
"It's happened so quickly, I guess, and maybe with family members, too, he needs to go back and discuss it in detail with them and I think be apologetic to them first," Scherr said. Then, perhaps, "he'll come out and tell the rest of us what's actually happened."
"It's about his humor for me," said Scott McNeil, who was in the Bahamas from Ontario. "I don't care about his personal life. I am here to enjoy what he does on stage. What he does behind closed doors is his business."
Cosby, 77, hasn't been criminally charged. Earlier this week, his attorney dismissed allegations from model Janice Dickinson — who claims Cosby drugged and raped her in 1982 — as a "complete lie."
"Nothing's really changed, yet," Scherr said, "I only know him as a really good comedian — he makes you laugh, and there's times, you know, he makes people cry."
"Until it's proven, I don't want to judge the guy," said Scherr's brother, Kyle Scherr of Denver. "From what I've heard, nothing's been proven. I mean, they're allegations."
Wayne Scherr said he'd like to know the truth, because Cosby is "considered a dad, and a dad is supposed to tell the truth. And if it did happen, be sorrowful about it, be apologetic and let us know. I guess there's forgiveness, and I think we would, as a society give that forgiveness."
In the wake of the controversy, several projects associated with Cosby have been postponed or shelved — including appearances at the Desert Diamond Casino in Tucson, Arizona, and on "Late Night With David Letterman." NBC said Wednesday it was pulling the plug on a sit-com it was developing with Cosby for next year.
But the King Center for the Performing Arts in Melbourne, Florida, said in a statement that his sold-out show Friday night would go on as planned.
Calling Cosby "a well-respected member of the entertainment community and one of America's most beloved performers," the center said, "While we are aware of the allegations reported in the press, we are only in a position to judge him based on his career as an entertainer and humanitarian."
IN-DEPTH
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- Bill Cosby Has 'No Response' About Sexual Assault Allegations
- NBC Pulls Plug on Bill Cosby Comedy; TV Land Ends Reruns
SOCIAL
Alexis DeRosa contributed to this report.
