Lionsgate's documentary on Bill Cosby has been scrapped

A Lionsgate documentary about Bill Cosby, which had been in the works for years, and gained attention since Cosby's release from prison in late June, has been shelved, according to a report.

A Lionsgate documentary about Bill Cosby, which had been in the works for years, and gained attention since Cosby's release from prison in late June, has been shelved, according to a report. No details regarding the project have been divulged by the production house. However, as per Variety, this Lionsgate project and a different one, which was a five-part docuseries from Michelle Major, were conflated by a media outlet earlier. The outlet had reported that Major's docuseries was being produced by Lionsgate.

But Major's docuseries, which Cosby is participating in, is still in the works, according to an interview with his spokesperson Andrew Wyatt with another media outlet. As of July 7 when that story was published, a freed Cosby had not yet sat for an interview with Major, but the project was nearly done. In that interview, Wyatt also said that Cosby, plans eventually to return to the stage, which would require culling "media insurrectionists ... who fuel the hate" from the audience, Wyatt said.

When Major's docuseries is completed, the question remains about where it would ever land. An informal survey by Variety, of cable channels that air documentaries and docuseries provoked strong negative reactions about the idea of showing a Cosby-endorsed project. Cosby was released from prison on June 30 after serving nearly three years there for sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, in 2004. The disgraced comedian was convicted in 2018 after a cascade of 60 women came forward in 2014 with credible allegations of him drugging and raping them over a period of decades.

Cosby has always denied the accusations, though he settled a lawsuit with Constand in 2006 for a sum that was later revealed to be nearly USD 3.4 million. As per Variety, in the deposition of that lawsuit, he admitted to giving women Benadryl and quaaludes, saying of one encounter, "I give her quaaludes. We then have sex." (ANI)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)