Weekly updates:

Culture

Comedian Hannibal Buress opens up about Bill Cosby on The Breakfast Club

The comedian famously ousted Cosby as a "rapist" back in 2014

Posted by

Trailblazing comedian, Hannibal Buress, has spoken about his ousting of Bill Cosby during an interview with Power 105.1 radio show The Breakfast Club.

For those of you drawing a blank, Buress famously ousted the disgraced actor/comedian at a stand-up show back in 2014. “I can talk down to you because I had a successful sitcom!” Buress said, impersonating Cosby. He then added, “Yeah but you rape women, Bill Cosby.”

“That shit is upsetting, trust me. When you leave here google ‘Bill Cosby rapist’, that shit has more results than ‘Hannibal Buress’,” he told the Philadelphia crowd. What was originally seen as a routine section of Buress’ stand-up soon turned into an all-out media shit-storm, when Philadelphia magazine re-posted the video of Buress’ comments. This was followed by numerous publications and one-time fans of Cosby questioning how the actor/comedian managed to maintain an image of innocence for so long.

Hannibal was immediately grilled by the Breakfast Club team of DJ Envy, Angela Lee, and Charlamagne, who asked the comedian how he felt two years on from his highly publicised comments. “It’s an interesting situation to be a part of,” said Buress. The comedian said that he’d received a heavy bout of online criticism for his comments, with one person even accusing Buress of “destroying a good black man.”

Buress added that he never actually intended to “destroy” Cosby’s career with his comments. “It was a joke… I was at a gig, it wasn’t on TV and it wasn’t on the radio. But somebody filmed it and it went just like that,” he said.

Asked tongue-in-cheek whether he had any plans to destroy another celebrity’s career, Buress joked, “Nah man, I do TSA jokes; only bland stuff now.” He then added, “I think I do good work. But I can’t really control what happens… I just need to keep doing good work and keep cool.”

Buress also spoke about his appreciation for comedy duo Key and Peele, why so many of his fans are white and his upcoming stand-up tour, the aptly titled Hannibal Montanabal Experience.

Hannibal Buress will be touring Australia in December. Tickets are available here.

Watch the Hannibal Buress’ full interview on The Breakfast Club above.

Weekly updates