Actor Bill Cosby speaks at the National Action Network's 20th annual Keepers of the Dream Awards gala in New York April 6, 2011.Lucas Jackson / Reuters
Film producer Judd Apatow is criticizing two Ontario entertainment venues for playing host to upcoming performances by Bill Cosby despite sex-assault allegations made against the comedian by several women.
Mr. Apatow, whose films include 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up, posted his concerns on Twitter, sending messages to Centre in the Square theatre in Kitchener and to Budweiser Gardens arena in London.
"so @Centre_Square – are you really going to let Bill Cosby perform on your stage January 7?" Mr. Apatow wrote Friday.
Mr. Cosby, a veteran comedian best known for his 1980s hit sitcom, The Cosby Show, is also scheduled to perform in Hamilton on Jan. 9.
There have been several calls to boycott his Ontario performances. Mr. Cosby, 77, who denies the sex-assault accusations, has not been criminally charged. The allegations span several decades.
Although his Ontario performances are going ahead, the comedian has lost nine of about three dozen concert dates stretching until May.
Mr. Cosby's scheduled Netflix concert special was also cancelled and NBC scrapped a new sitcom in development with the comedian.
Scott Warren, general manager of Hamilton Place Theatre, told the Associated Press that the theatre is bound by a contract with the promoter and would risk being sued if the show were cancelled.
In a Nov. 24 blog post, the Centre in the Square (CITS) said it takes concerns about Mr. Cosby's upcoming performance very seriously and has shared these concerns with the show's promoter.
The promoter is Chicago-based Innovation Arts & Entertainment. It is renting space for the show.
The Kitchener theatre noted it would have to compensate Mr. Cosby and the promoter if it cancelled the show. The theatre would also bear the cost of refunding patrons.
"This is a rental show and CITS is contractually obligated to move forward with the show unless it is cancelled by the external promoter," the blog post states. "Our response is not complacent or an attempt to pass on the blame."
Protests are expected at Mr. Cosby's Ontario performances. The London Abused Women's Centre is calling for a boycott of his comedy act.
"To have him appear in public is inconsistent with the values of London," executive director Megan Walker told the Associated Press.
"We need to stand on the side of women who have the courage to come forward, instead of Mr. Cosby," Ms. Walker added. "Very clearly from what we've heard, he isn't Cliff Huxtable."
Mr. Cosby's character in The Cosby Show was Cliff Huxtable, a respected doctor and family man.
With a report from Associated Press
Renata D’Aliesio