Bill Cosby has a message about his impending tour of southern Ontario: If anything happens, people shouldn’t panic.
“If a disruption occurs, please remain calm until the matter is resolved and do not confront the person making the disruption,” the 77-year-old entertainer said Tuesday in a statement.
Cosby – who faces numerous allegations of sexual misconduct but no criminal charges – is scheduled to perform a show Wednesday at Centre in the Square in Kitchener, followed by a London date on Thursday and a Friday booking in Hamilton.
Protests have been planned for the London and Hamilton stops, while his appearance in Kitchener has been met with the creation of a fundraiser.
Dubbed Voices Carry, the event aims to raise money for Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region and the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region.
Meanwhile, politicians from all sides of the spectrum have said they will not or would not attend Cosby performances.
“There are very serious allegations against this man. Until those are sorted out, I certainly would not go to a performance,” Premier Kathleen Wynne said at a press conference.
Kitchener-Conestoga MPP Michael Harris, a Progressive Conservative, said he would be supporting the Voices Carry event.
“I look forward to attending that event,” he told reporters Tuesday.
Catherine Fife, Kitchener-Waterloo’s NDP MPP, has also tweeted of plans to attend Voices Carry and support for its organizers.
In an interview with CTV News Channel, Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic said he too would attend Voices Carry.
“I’ve got a long history of supporting a variety of community organizations, one of which is Women’s Crisis Services … so I will be attending the Voices Carry event,” he said.
“It’s important that we harness our energies and get a dialogue going about the issues that the alleged situation that Mr. Cosby is in has brought about.”
