Hannibal Buress Jessica Brusco / New York Comedy Festival
"It's weird that that happened like that," he says, reflecting on the "rape" joke that preceded Cosby's public downfall.
Hannibal Buress really hit the mainstream at an interesting time. The renowned stand-up, known for appearances on Broad City and his own Comedy Central vehicle, saw his joke about sexual-assault allegations against Bill Cosby go viral just before the matter seemed to explode.
The October 2014 set in Philadelphia, in which Buress called Cosby a "rapist," and the attention it received are considered the spark that prompted dozens of women to come forward — leading to the tarnished comedian being charged with three Class II Felony charges for aggravated indecent assault in December. For Buress, it's not something he seems too keen to talk about. The 32-year-old was asked Sunday during the Television Critics Association's winter press tour panel for his Netflix comedy special how he's separating himself from the story.
"I do a lot of other shit," said Buress. "It's weird that that happened like that ... I've been working for a while now, and I continue to work. That's one joke that people took and ran with it."
Buress was joined on the Sunday stage in Pasadena by fellow Netflix stand-ups John Mulaney and Patton Oswalt. Both jumped to his defense. "Hannibal was doing fine without that," said Oswalt. "That's just incidental to where he was going anyway."
When asked if someone could expect to hear a Cosby crack in his current routine, Buress did not appear enthused. "Probably not," he said. "You would probably hear a joke about being able to Google people's property values with ease."
Television Critics Association
