Bill Cosby plans to tour in 2023

Bill Cosby is eyeing a return to touring in 2023. The controversial comedian said as much during a surprise Dec. 28 radio interview on “WGH Talk” with host Scott Spears. Cosby answered “yes” when asked if 2023 is the year he finally might be able to tour again.

Cosby, now 85, was convicted in Pennsylvania in April 2018 of a criminal sex assault charge. He was released in 2021 following nearly three years in prison after the conviction was overturned by the state Supreme Court.

“When I come out of this, I feel that I will be able to perform and be the Bill Cosby that my audience knows me to be,” Cosby told Spears.

Responding to Spears’ question about whether 2023 might be a touring year, Cosby responded, “Yes. Yes, because there’s so much fun to be had in this storytelling that I do. Years ago, maybe 10 years ago, I found it was better to say it after I write it.”

Cosby’s rep, Andrew Wyatt, confirmed to Variety that the comedian is “looking at spring/summer to start touring.”

Earlier this month, five women filed a new sexual assault lawsuit against NBC and Bill Cosby under a New York state law that temporarily suspends the statute of limitations for older sexual assault claims. The women allege that Cosby either raped them or forced them into sexual acts. Four of the allegations date from the late 1980s or 1990, when the actor was at the height of his fame as the star of “The Cosby Show” on NBC. The fifth allegation involves Cindra Ladd, a former Hollywood executive who has accused Cosby of raping her in 1969.

Wyatt called the lawsuit “frivolous” and said the five women were part of a “parade of accusers” who had come forward between 2014 and 2016.