Bill Cosby quashes any notion of a 'sexual assault tour'

The comedian calls reports on the possible tour "propaganda."

ByABC News
June 27, 2017, 9:56 PM

— -- Bill Cosby is disputing last week’s reports, based on a statement that originated from his camp, about future town halls the comedian may be holding.

According to the comedian, any future speaking engagements, which will be announced by his team at a later date, will not be about sexual assault.

No other details were immediately available.

"The current propaganda that I am going to conduct a sexual assault tour is false. Any further information about public plans will be given at the appropriate time," he told ABC News via a statement.

The "sexual assault tour" to which Cosby was referring was first referenced last week by his publicist, Andrew Wyatt. Wyatt told ABC News that Cosby planned to educate the public about the sexual assault allegations made against him and "give [young people] direction."

"Mr. Cosby is going to go out and use his voice, to let it be heard, and to try to educate young men and women on how to avoid this because they do not have the wealth of resources that he has," Wyatt said, adding that some people don't know enough about what constitutes a sexual assault allegation.

"You could walk in a baseball game, a crowded baseball game, and you could bump up against a female, touch her butt or her breasts by accident and that's sexual assault," he said.

One of Cosby’s lawyers, Angela Agrusa, said after a hearing today to set a trial date in a sex abuse lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against the comedian that Cosby won't be discussing sexual assault and she "can't imagine" his legal team would let him perform or speak publicly, according to The Associated Press.

"He doesn't take lightly these criminal charges," Agrusa said. "He would never do anything that undermined the importance of this issue. I don't see him speaking publicly like that."

In addition to the statement from Cosby and his attorney’s comments, spokesperson Ebonee Benson, who represents the comedian's wife, Camille, told CNN on Sunday that any planned town halls "are not about sexual assault," but more about Bill Cosby's legacy.

Cosby was charged in 2015 with sexually assaulting Andrea Constand more than a decade ago, but the case in Pennsylvania ended in a mistrial earlier this month when jurors were unable to render a unanimous verdict on any of the three counts.

Cosby, 79, pleaded not guilty and has described the sexual encounter with Constand as consensual. More than 50 women have come forward with claims that the comedian drugged and/or sexually assaulted them. Cosby has repeatedly denied allegations of wrongdoing.

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