It's Good to Live in a Two-Daily Town

From our One Town, Two Different Worlds desk

The Boston Herald has been making hay-hay-hay over the Bill Cosby rumpus in advance of his two performances this weekend at the Wilbur Theatre. Yesterday the not-so-funnyman got front-page treatment in the feisty local tabloid.

And today Cosby gets his say in Gayle Fee’s Page 2 piece:

Bill Cosby has defiant message for foes

Accused sexual predator Bill Cosby yesterday responded to Boston critics who plan to protest his shows at The Wilbur Theatre tomorrow, saying “Hey, Hey, Hey — I’m far from finished,” igniting even more anger from advocates calling for him to cancel the appearances.

“Dear Fans: GOD has Blessed me with a wonderful gift to share with all of you,” Cosby said in a statement released to the Herald. “For 53 years I have continued to master this gift, which heals the soul and warms hearts. Laughter! I thank you, the theatre staff (Wilbur Theatre), the event organizers and the Boston Community for your continued support and coming to experience family, fun entertainment. Hey, Hey, Hey — I’m Far From Finished.”

Oy Oy, Oy.

Beyond that, Herald scribe Joe Fitzgerald gives the protestors a bit of a dressing-down in his column today.

Angry mob wrong to try to go after easy target in Bill Cosby

While Bill Cosby is preparing for a couple of shows at The Wilbur Theatre tomorrow, a group of protesters is making its preparations, too, putting final touches on placards it intends to wave along busy, snow-packed Tremont Street.

They want us to know how very upset they are about violence toward women.

Please. Who isn’t? They’re not the only ones on that high road.

But they could have made more of a statement and been less of a nuisance just a few days earlier when a Superior Court judge, E. Susan Garsh, had the audacity to lecture a mother — “Maintain your emotions. You are not to cry!” — when the latter was about to view a photo of her murdered son’s lifeless body displayed on a table.

Fitzgerald’s bottom line:

He’s been accused of bad stuff, but never charged, much less convicted, which doesn’t seem to matter to those who’ll gather to pass judgment tomorrow . . .

Cos has a right to be on that stage tomorrow, and those who still find him amusing and admirable have a right to enjoy the show.

What is so complicated about that?

Don’t even know where to begin . . .

Crosstown at the Boston Globe, meanwhile, there has been zero coverage in the print edition over the past few days.

There is, however, this posted on the web:

Activists to protest Bill Cosby performance at Wilbur

Activists are gearing up for protests at the two Bill Cosby shows at The Wilbur Theater, hoping to call attention to allegations that Cosby sexually assaulted more than two dozen women throughout his career.

“We plan on protesting as long as the show is scheduled to continue,” said Brandie Skorker of Boston, who began organizing the demonstration in January and now has the backing of the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center.
Cosby is scheduled to perform two back-to-back shows at the Tremont Street venue, beginning at 5 p.m. Tickets are still on sale. Wilbur officials could not be reached for comment.

Huh – ’cause theater owner and promoter Bill Blumenreich had plenty to say to the Herald’s Fee yesterday. We’ll see which paper gets the last laugh after tomorrow’s shows.