The rape allegations against Bill Cosby are nothing new, sadly, but they became news when Hannibal Buress called Cosby a rapist during a stand-up set last October. It’s been almost a year since Buress’ tirade, and the number of women who have come forward has passed 50. Now, according to The Hollywood Reporter, many of those women will have a chance to speak out on national television in an hour-long special scheduled to air on A&E this week.
Cosby: The Women Speak is scheduled to air on September 17 and will feature interviews with more than a dozen of Cosby’s accusers, including Beverly Johnson and Louisa Moritz. Some of these women will be talking about the assaults for the first time, and it looks like they might all have a chance share their stories over the course of the four planned specials from executive producers Jeanmarie Condon and Jim Hill Senior of Lincoln Square Productions in conjunction with A&E’s Shelly Tatro and Brad Abramson.
Although the statute of limitations has run out in virtually all of these cases, Cosby appears to be losing in the court of public opinion—he’s been dropped by networks and his agent, and his biography has lost its celebrity endorsements and future printings. He hasn’t formulated a coherent response yet, not even after news broke that he’d admitted to giving some women Quaaludes without their knowledge.