Bill Cosby's legacy in limbo as NBC cancels project amid mounting sex assault allegations
By RYAN GORMAN
The avalanche of sexual assault claims coming at comedian Bill Cosby in recent weeks may have ended his career.
Both NBC and Netflix have scrapped projects with the 77-year-old icon after long-forgotten rape claims from more than a dozen women were brought back into the light by comedian Hannibal Buress.
The network had previously announced a sitcom starring Cosby would debut next year but said Wednesday the project, which had not yet been named, was to feature him in a family setting similar to the wildly successful "Cosby Show."
The cancellation came one day after Netflix announced it was postponing the launch of a Cosby standup comedy special. It was set to debut on Black Friday.
Both blows may prove to be fatal to the aging icon's showbiz career. He is not known to have had any further projects on the table.
At least 14 women claim Cosby sexually assaulted them in claims dating back to 1969, an attack detailed Sunday in an op-ed in which Joan Tarshis claims she was drugged and raped when she was only 19-years-old.
The most recent accusations came from model Janice Dickinson, who explained during an "Entertainment Tonight" interview aired Tuesday that Cosby assaulted her in 1982.
Now 59-years-old, Dickinson's timeline of events paralleled many of the other claims.
Dinner, drinks, then waking up dazed the next morning in different clothes than were worn the day before.
"The next morning I woke up, and I wasn't wearing my pajamas, and I remember before I passed out thinking that I had been sexually assaulted by this man," she told ET.
"Before I woke up in the morning, the last thing I remember was Bill Cosby in a patchwork robe, dropping his robe and getting on top of me," she continued. "And I remember a lot of pain. The next morning I remember waking up with my pajamas off and there was semen in between my legs."
A Cosby attorney called Dickinson a liar in a Wednesday morning statement. Previous claims were also shot down by spokespersons or lawyers.
A dozen other women have made similar claims against the legendary television and stage star after Buress brought attention back to Cosby's sordid past during an October appearance at a Philadelphia standup club.
"You rape women, Bill Cosby," Buress told a wide-eyed crowd. "You're rapist."
The original "Cosby Show" ruled the airwaves from 1984-1992 and his countless comedy shows have sold out around the country.
Cosby's television career appears to be over, but a 26-city comedy tour remains.
Will it be Cosby's last stand?
Related links:
You're a rapist': Comedian Hannibal Buress calls out Bill Cosby over sex assault allegations
Netflix postpones launch of Cosby comedy special
