Bill Cosby’s recent downfall began after a simple joke was made at a small comedy club. During a comedy routine in Philadelphia in Oct. 2014, Hannibal Buress took Cosby to task for his ridicule of some Blacks in the inner city.
“Pull your pants up Black people I was on TV in the ‘80s. I can talk down on you because I had a successful sitcom.” Buress said while mocking Cosby. He joked that Cosby wasn’t in position to call out anyone since he was accused of rape.
The joke was only a snippet of Buress’ routine that evening, but it went viral soon after it was published. Dozens of women eventually began to claim that they were raped or sexually assaulted by Cosby. He was able to avoid criminal charges until a new Montgomery County D.A. Kevin Steele decided to bring charges against Cosby for a 2004 sexual assault accusation.
Buress recently revealed his thoughts on how his joke led to Cosby’s fall from grace. “I was doing a joke in my show and that shouldn’t influence public opinion. I don’t know if it should go that far,” Buress said Sunday. “It’s weird to me that a joke did that.”
Although Buress continues to rise as an up-and-coming comedian, he will forever be remembered as the guy who told a joke that led to the destruction of Bill Cosby’s once pristine image.
