LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) — Bill Cosby's attorneys hinted that the disgraced comedians' plans for a "town hall" style tour about the judicial system may be on hold as Cosby is facing new legal action over sexual assault allegations.
According to CBS News, a California judge has tentatively set a date of July 30, 2018, for preliminary hearings in the lawsuit of a woman who alleges that she was assaulted as a teenager by Cosby at the Playboy Mansion in the 1970s.
Judy Huth claims the comedian forced her to perform a sex act on him in a bedroom at the mansion around 1974 when she was 15. Cosby has already provided a sealed deposition in the case and a second disposition was on hold while his criminal trial for the alleged sexual assault of Andrea Constand unfolded.
The news of the scheduled hearing for the new trial comes as Cosby appeared to walk back from the suggestion that he was planning a town hall-style tour to talk to teens, especially athletes about the risks of sexual assault allegations. Many observers were surprised when two Cosby surrogates, publicist Andrew Wyatt and Ebonee Benson told WBRC-TV's Good Day Alabama that Cosby was planning the 'Town Hall' tour, despite facing a possible criminal trial over assault charges.
Following the news of the tour, Cosby's defense attorneys seemed horrified at the notion. Angela Agrusa, one of Cosby's lead defense lawyers, told reporters after the date was set for the California trial that she "can't imagine" that Cosby's legal team would let him do the tour.
"He doesn't take lightly these criminal charges," Agrusa told CBS. "He would never do anything that undermined the importance of this issue. I don't see him speaking publicly like that."
Since the interview with his publicists on Friday, Cosby has worked to distance himself from their statements during the interview, issuing a statement of his own that suggested turmoil in the Cosby messaging apparatus.
“The current propaganda that I am going to conduct a sexual assault tour is false,” Cosby said in a statement posted to his social media outlets on Tuesday. “Any further information about public plans will be given at the appropriate time.”
