Bill Cosby has tweeted out thanks to his supporters outside the courthouse as he awaits a verdict over sexual assault charges that were brought against him.
The TV and comedy icon has shared photos and videos of fans in Norristown, in Montgomery County, Penn. with signs that read “Free Mr. Cosby Now.”
“I appreciate the fans and supporters outside of the Montgomery County Courthouse wearing #WeLoveBillCosby shirts. Thank you,” Cosby tweeted.
Also Read: Bill Cosby Jury Begins 5th Day of Deliberations With Questions About Quaaludes
Thank you to all of my fans and supporters — here in Norristown and worldwide. #BillCosby pic.twitter.com/ESgHwflWdi
— Bill Cosby (@BillCosby) June 16, 2017
Thank you to all of my fans and supporters — here in Norristown and worldwide. pic.twitter.com/SlosGdEhyq
— Bill Cosby (@BillCosby) June 16, 2017
I appreciate the fans and supporters outside of the Montgomery County Courthouse wearing #WeLoveBillCosby shirts. Thank you pic.twitter.com/qERpSmAgFk
— Bill Cosby (@BillCosby) June 16, 2017
I appreciate the fans and supporters outside of the Montgomery County Courthouse wearing #WeLoveBillCosby shirts. Thank you pic.twitter.com/EB54tWct4n
— Bill Cosby (@BillCosby) June 16, 2017
In a video shared by Cosby above, a man leads a crowd chanting, “We love Bill,” and “Free Bill Cosby,” in support of the comedian.
Friday marks the fifth day the jury has been in deliberations. On Thursday, the jury told the court it was deadlocked on each of the three counts against Cosby. Montgomery County Judge Steven O’Neill urged them to continue deliberations, with the jury on Friday asking to rehear testimony on a 2005 civil suit about Cosby’s use of Quaaludes.
Cosby faces three felony counts of aggravated sexual assault for a 2004 encounter with former Temple University employee Andrea Constand. Constand testified that she “wasn’t able to fight in any way” after taking the pills.
If the jury is unable to reach a unanimous consensus on the charges, a mistrial may occur.
Bill Cosby Scandal Timeline: From First Accusation to Retrial (Photos)
-
Bill Cosby's retrial on sexual assault charges in the case of Temple University employee Andrea Constand began today in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Cosby faces 10 years in prison if convicted. Below is a timeline ranging from the first accusation against Cosby through his initial mistrial to today.
-
CNN
1965
In 2014, Kristina Ruehli accused Bill Cosby of sexually assaulting her when she was 22 years old.
Also read: 37 Bill Cosby Accusers: Complete Breakdown of the Allegations
-
Getty images
July 1997
Cosby admits to paying $100,000 to a woman named Shawn Berkes to keep secret an extramarital affair they had in the 1970s. But he denied he was the father of her 22-year-old daughter.
Also read: Bill Cosby’s Alleged Mistress Says, ‘He Didn’t Need to Do Anything to Get Women to Sleep With Him’
-
Getty Images
March 2000
Lachele Covington files police report claiming Cosby touched her inappropriately. No charges were brought against Cosby.
Also read: Bill Cosby Accusers Blast His Wife Camille Over Claims Women ‘Consented’ to Drugs, Sex
-
Getty Images
May 2004
Cosby delivers his famous "Pound Cake" speech at NAACP Awards, criticizing too-permissive parenting by African-Americans. A judge later cited the moralizing speech when unsealing Cosby's deposition in 2015.
Also read: The Fall of Bill Cosby: A Timeline of His Descent From Beloved Superstar to Accused Sex Offender
-
Jan. 13, 2005
Former Temple University student Andrea Constand files a police report accusing Cosby of sexual assault. She later files a civil suit citing 12 other Jane Doe accusers.
Also read: 5 Shocking Revelations From Unsealed Bill Cosby Deposition
-
Getty Images
October 2014
A video of comedian Hannibal Buress doing a stand-up routine about Cosby's reputation with women goes viral, bringing the accusations back to public attention.
-
Getty Images
Nov. 18, 2014
Former "America's Next Top Model" judge Janice Dickinson accuses Cosby of sexual assault. Cosby's lawyers later call her a liar.
Also read: Bill Cosby Accuser Janice Dickinson Feels ‘Validated’ by Unsealed Court Documents
-
Getty Images
Nov. 18, 2014
Netflix cancels Cosby's planned stand-up special after more than a dozen women come forward accusing the actor of sexual assault.
Also read: Why Netflix, Amazon, Hulu Haven’t Dumped ‘The Cosby Show’
-
Getty Images
Nov. 19, 2014
NBC drops planned comedy series starring Cosby. NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt later explains that the accusations had reached "critical mass."
Also read: Ex-NBC Employee Claims He Wrangled and Paid Women for Bill Cosby
-
NBC
Nov. 19, 2014
TV Land pulls reruns of Cosby's 1980's sitcom "The Cosby Show" from the air just hours after the cancellation of his NBC series.
Also read: Pop TV Boss Compares Pulling ‘Seventh Heaven’ Reruns to Pulling ‘Cosby Show’
-
Getty Images
Nov. 21, 2014
Cosby receives a standing ovation at a stand-up comedy show in Melbourne, Florida. The rest of the tour is plagued by cancellations, hecklers and protests.
Also read: The Cost of Bill Cosby Allegations: Long List of Canceled Shows and Theaters Still Sticking by Him
-
Getty Images
Dec. 26, 2014
One of the comedian's most outspoken critics, Judd Apatow, begins his Twitter crusade against Cosby. "Guys who rape a lot aren’t cool," the director writes.
-
Getty Images
Jan. 6, 2015
Phylicia Rashad, the actress who played Cosby's wife for eight seasons on "The Cosby Show," defends her former TV husband: "What you’re seeing is the destruction of a legacy. And I think it’s orchestrated."
Also read: Judd Apatow Slams Bill Cosby, Calls Out Phylicia Rashad After Damning Documents Are Unsealed
-
ABC
May 15, 2015
Cosby breaks his silence on the allegations in an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America." "I have been in this business over 52 years, and I have never seen anything like this," he says.
Also read: Bill Cosby Breaks Silence: I Only Expect Black Media to Remain ‘Neutral’ Amid Rape Allegations
-
Getty Images
July 6, 2015
A judge makes public Cosby's 2005 deposition from the Andrea Constand civil suit. In the documents, Cosby admits to obtaining Quaaludes to give to young women he intended to have sex with.
Also read: Bill Cosby’s ‘Pound Cake’ Lecture to Black Parents Made Judge Unseal Court Documents
-
NBC
July 7, 2015
Bounce and BET-owned Centric networks pull all reruns of "The Cosby Show" in the wake of the new revelations.
Also read: Why Netflix, Amazon, Hulu Haven’t Dumped ‘The Cosby Show’
-
ABC
July 14, 2015
After months of defending her friend against his accusers on "The View," co-host Whoopi Goldberg reverses course, saying, "All of the information that’s out there kind of points to guilt.” Her reversal follows other former Cosby backers like singer Jill Scott.
Also read: Whoopi Goldberg Flip-Flops on Bill Cosby: ‘All of the Information … Points to Guilt’ (Video)
-
Getty Images
July 18, 2015
After obtaining the full 1,000-page deposition from the Constand case, The New York Times publishes excerpts that detail his history of womanizing with women as young as 19.
Also Read: Bill Cosby New Deposition Shockers: History of Womanizing, Drugs and Deception Revealed
-
Getty Images
Dec. 21, 2015
A week after Cosby filed a countersuit for defamation against seven of his accusers, the comedian sued model Beverly Johnson for defamation. A complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court accuses Johnson of trying to push herself back into the limelight with a false allegation that he drugged her and attempted to have sex with her.
-
Smoking Gun
Dec. 30, 2015
Cosby was arraigned on felony charges of criminal sexual assault stemming from a purported incident more than a decade earlier in Pennsylvania involving a former Temple University employee. A previous district attorney declined to charge the star in 2005.
-
Getty Images
Feb. 3, 2016
Pennsylvania judge Steven O’Neill denies Cosby's lawyers' request to have the criminal sexual assault charges dismissed.
-
Getty Images
Feb. 19, 2016
Cosby drops the defamation lawsuit against model Beverly Johnson.
-
Getty Images
May 24, 2016
Montgomery County district judge Elizabeth McHugh finds in a preliminary hearing that there is enough evidence for the criminal trial to proceed.
-
Getty Images
Feb. 24, 2017
The judge rules only one of the 13 other accusers prosecutors had planned to call to the stand may testify at the criminal trial. The unnamed woman was previously employed by Cosby's former agent at WME.
-
Getty Images
May 16, 2017
Cosby says in an interview with SiriusXM radio host Michael Smerconish that he likely will not testify at the trial.
-
Getty Images
May 19, 2017
Montgomery County Judges Thomas DeRicci and Steven O'Neill bar all electronic communications from the courthouse, meaning the trial will not be televised and journalists will be barred from live-tweeting.
-
Getty Images
May 24, 2017
A jury is selected for Cosby's trial. Following Cosby's assertion that race could be a factor in the decision, the jury is made up of four white women, six white men, one black woman and one black man.
-
Getty Images
June 5, 2017
The criminal trial begins in Norristown, Pennsylvania, just outside Philadelphia.
-
Getty Images
June 17, 2017
After 5 days and 52 hours of deliberations, the 12-person jury is unable to reach a unanimous verdict and a mistrial is declared. Montgomery County D.A. Kevin Steele said he intends to retry Cosby at a later date.
-
Getty Images
June 22, 2017
Following the mistrial, representatives for Cosby said the comedian had planned a tour for a series of educational "town halls" about sexual assault. “People need to be educated,” said Cosby spokesperson Ebonee Benson. “A brush against the shoulder, anything at this point, can be considered sexual assault.” The plans were quickly met with pushback.
-
Getty Images
June 26, 2017
A juror from the Cosby mistrial said on "Good Morning America" that Cosby's celebrity and a lack of "substantial evidence" led to the jurors being unable to reach an unanimous verdict over the 52 hours of deliberation. “I think if it was a regular Average Joe, it probably wouldn’t have taken that long,” juror Bobby Dugan said.
-
Getty Images
June 27, 2017
Cosby pushed back about "false" news reports about his tour. “The current propaganda that I am going to conduct a sexual assault tour is false. Any further information about public plans will be given at the appropriate time," Cosby said in a statement.
-
Getty Images
June 27, 2017
A trial date of July 30, 2018, was set for Cosby's California civil sexual assault case, in which he was accused of sexually assaulting Judy Huth at the Playboy Mansion in 1974 when she was 15 years old.
-
Getty Images
Aug. 1, 2017
Bill Cosby’s defense attorney Brian McMonagle quits ahead of the comedian’s second sexual assault trial. No reason was given for McMonagle’s departure.
-
Getty Images
Jan. 18, 2018
Prosecutors in the Cosby case make a request for 19 of the actor's accusers to testify in court. Prosecutors originally wanted 13 accusers to testify in the original trial, but only one was allowed, with the defense arguing that it would prejudice the jury.
-
Getty Images
Jan. 26, 2018
Lawyers for Cosby say that the prosecutors failed to disclose and later destroyed evidence related to the case of Temple University worker Andrea Constand, adding that the misconduct was serious enough to warrant a dismissal of the case.
-
Getty Images
March 12, 2018
Cosby's former TV daughter on "The Cosby Show," Lisa Bonet, says in an interview that though she didn't know about the dozens of sexual misconduct allegations, she "always" sensed some darkness surrounding the comedian. There was just energy,” Bonet says. “And that type of sinister, shadow energy cannot be concealed.”
-
Getty Images
April 9, 2018
On the first day of Cosby's scheduled retrial, a topless woman charges at Cosby as he enters the Norristown, Pennsylvania, courthouse. The woman was a protestor with "Woman's Lives Matter," and she came within a few feet of Cosby before she was intercepted by sheriff's deputies.
A chronology of the controversies that have tarnished the legacy of one of Hollywood’s most beloved performers
Bill Cosby's retrial on sexual assault charges in the case of Temple University employee Andrea Constand began today in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Cosby faces 10 years in prison if convicted. Below is a timeline ranging from the first accusation against Cosby through his initial mistrial to today.
Related Content
-
TV
Bill Cosby Jury Still Deadlocked After 5 Days, Deliberations to Continue on Saturday
By Allie Volpe | June 16, 2017 @ 6:23 PM -
TV
Bill Cosby Jury Deadlocked After 30 Hours, But Judge Says to Keep Trying
By Allie Volpe | June 15, 2017 @ 8:45 AM -
TV
Bill Cosby Trial Day 2: Accuser Andrea Constand Takes the Stand
By Tim Kenneally | June 6, 2017 @ 1:48 PM -