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Bill Cosby Receives Standing Ovation At Live Show In Canada As Protesters Gather Outside (PICS)

Bill Cosby Gets A Standing Ovation As Protesters Gather Outside Show
Matt Bagwell
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Bill Cosby had a Canadian audience on their feet at the end of his first live performance of the New Year, as protesters gathering outside the venue.

The US comedian, who stands accused of sexually assaulting at least 15 women in the 70s and 80s, told the audience he’d had a ‘wonderful time’ and thanked fans for ‘giving me the opportunity to bring laughter back into your lives’.

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Bill Cosby thanked fans for giving him the opportunity to 'bring laughter back into their lives'

Outside the show in Kitchener, Ontario more than a dozen protesters gathered holding placards stating 'rape is no joke' whilst others tried to blockade the entrance to the venue.

Earlier this week, three more victims came forward. Lawyers for the 77-year-old star have yet to respond to the new claims.

Cosby, who has not been charged over any previous accusations, has called the claims "fantastical" and "uncorroborated".

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Protesters gather outside Bill Cosby show

Despite some ticket-holders reportedly boycotting the show, the 2,000-seat venue was about two-thirds full.

One fan told the BBC: "Why are 20 women coming out now when it's 20, 30 years ago?"

Another added: "Innocent until proven guilty. I'm hoping it's not true and until I know, otherwise I love him to death.”

Outside, protester Aaron Cornish told the BBC that people were forgetting the fact that so many women had come forward.

"People going inside are ignoring that," he said.

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In a statement released after the Ontario show, Cosby said: "Dear Fans: I would like to personally thank you for giving me the opportunity to bring laughter back into your lives tonight.

“Also, I would like to applaud all of you and give you a standing ovation for respecting yourselves, the theatre and the event organisers that produced a spectacular show for the Kitchener Community."

Cosby shot to fame playing Dr Cliff Huxtable on the hugely popular ‘The Cosby Show’ from 1984 to 1992.

His screen wife on the show, Phylicia Rashad, has said allegations of historical sex offences against her former co-star are part of a campaign to keep him off TV.

Bill Cosby Over The Years
Bill Cosby - USN(01 of22)
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Description en:Bill Cosby | Bill Cosby | Source James E. Wise, Jr., and Anne Collier Rehill, Stars in Blue: Movie Actors in America's ... (credit:WikiMedia:)
Robert Culp, Bill Cosby(02 of22)
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FILE - This undated file photo originally released by NBC shows Robert Culp, left, and Bill Cosby starring as a team of American agents in the 1960's television series, "I Spy." Culp, the versatile actor who teamed with Cosby in the groundbreaking comedy-adventure TV series and was Bob in the critically acclaimed sex comedy "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice," died Wednesday, March 24, 2010. He was 79. (AP Photo/NBC) (credit:AP)
Bill Cosby 1965.JPG(03 of22)
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Description Publicity photo of Bill Cosby from the television program I Spy. | Source http://www. ebay. Actor-Comedian-Bill-Cosby-/160744370019? ... (credit:WikiMedia:)
Bill cosby 1969.JPG(04 of22)
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org/wiki/File:Bill_cosby_1969. JPG Bill cosby 1969. JPG, before it was transferred to Commons. Upload date | User | Bytes | Dimensions | ... (credit:WikiMedia:)
Bill Cosby Rupert Crosse Beah Richards Bill Cosby Show 1970.JPG(05 of22)
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Description Photo of Bill Cosby as Chet Kincaid with Rupert Crosse and Beah Richards from the television program The Bill Cosby Show. | ... (credit:WikiMedia:)
Bill Cosby Don Knotts New Bill Cosby Show 1973.JPG(06 of22)
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Description Photo from the television program The New Bill Cosby Show. In this skit, Don Knotts sings as Bill Cosby strums a bass. | ... (credit:WikiMedia:)
Dick Van Dyke Bill Cosby.JPG(07 of22)
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Description Photo of Dick Van Dyke and Bill Cosby from a Cosby NBC television special. | Source http://www. ebay. Dyke-Meets-Bill-Cosby- ... (credit:WikiMedia:)
Phylicia Rashad(08 of22)
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FILE - In this 1992 file photo originally released by NBC, Phylicia Rashad, portraying Clair Huxtable, left, talks on the telephone while Clarice Taylor, portraying Anna Huxtable, center, and Bill Cosby, portraying Dr. Cliff Huxtable and Raven Symone portraying Olivia, right, look on in a scene from "The Cosby Show." Why settle for one great mom when, as any TV viewer knows, you can adopt a series of them? AP Television Writer Lynn Elber chooses five of the best sit com moms, from the demure 1950s version to the freewheeling 21st-century incarnation. The character of Clair Huxtable remained a calm center of a whirlwind of activity, while tending to a legal career and caring for her five children and "big kid" husband. (AP Photo/NBC, file) (credit:AP)
Bill Cosby (left) production assistant (center) Ginna Marston (right)(09 of22)
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Description 1 On the TV set in Astoria, Queens, where director Bobby Sheehan is working with Bill Cosby (left) to film a public service ... (credit:WikiMedia:)
Bill Cosby and Quan Cosby.JPG(10 of22)
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description 1 Painting giving to Bill Cosby from Nunez and en:Quan Cosby | Quan Cosby | date 2009-04-25 23:51:10 | source | author Nunezart ... (credit:WikiMedia:)
Bill Cosby, Dustin Pedroia(11 of22)
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FILE - In this July 10, 2009, file photo, Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia, left, laughs as he jokes with comedian Bill Cosby while sitting in the dugout prior to a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals at Fenway Park in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File) (credit:AP)
9th Annual TV Land Awards - Show(12 of22)
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NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 10: Bill Cosby accepts the Impact Award for 'The Cosby Show' with (L-R) actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, presenter Stevie Wonder, actors Raven-Symone and Sabrina LeBeauf onstage at the 9th Annual TV Land Awards at the Javits Center on April 10, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
TODAY(13 of22)
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In this image released by NBC, singing sensation Susan Boyle, left, cuddles with actor-comedian Bill Cosby during an appearance on the "Today" show, Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2011 in New York. (AP Photo/NBC, Peter Kramer) (credit:AP)
Bill Cosby(14 of22)
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Comedian and University of Massachusetts graduate Bill Cosby huddles with members of the Massachusetts team during the coin toss before their NCAA college football game against Indiana in Foxborough, Mass., Saturday, Sept. 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia) (credit:AP)
Tempestt Bledsoe Visits "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon"(15 of22)
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NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 04: Bill Cosby and Tempestt Bledsoe visit 'Late Night With Jimmy Fallon' at Rockefeller Center on January 4, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Bill Cosby, Regina Carter(16 of22)
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Bill Cosby, right, jokes with Regina Carter about her violin during the opening night concert of the SFJAZZ Center Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013 in San Francisco. The 700-seat, specially designed concert hall nestled in the heart of the city's arts district attracted a crowd of hundreds with a high-energy, inaugural celebration emceed by Bill Cosby. Billed as the first freestanding building in the West built for jazz performance and education, the center opened Wednesday after raising more than $60 million over more than a decade to build a home for SFJAZZ, the nonprofit that puts on the city's jazz festival. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg) (credit:AP)
The Jackie Robinson Foundation Annual Awards' Dinner(17 of22)
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NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 04: Dr. Bill Cosby speaks onstage at the The Jackie Robinson Foundation Annual Awards' Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel on March 4, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for The Jackie Robinson Foundation) (credit:Getty Images)
55th Anniversary Of Ben's Chili Bowl(18 of22)
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WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 22: Jesse Jackson and Bill Cosby speak during the 55th Anniversary of Ben's Chili Bowl on August 22, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kris Connor/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
New York Yankees v Boston Red Sox(19 of22)
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BOSTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 13: Actor Bill Cosby gestures to the crowd before throwing out the first pitch prior to the game between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees on September 13, 2012 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
New York Yankees v Boston Red Sox(20 of22)
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BOSTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 13: Actor Bill Cosby throws out the first pitch prior to the game between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees on September 13, 2012 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Bill Cosby(21 of22)
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Comedian Bill Cosby delivers a ceremonial first pitch prior to a baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012, at Fenway Park in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) (credit:AP)
(22 of22)
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This Nov. 18, 2013 photo shows actor-comedian Bill Cosby in New York. Cosby will star in a new comedy special "Bill Cosby: Far from Finished," premiering Nov. 23, at 8 p.m. EST on Comedy Central. (Photo by Victoria Will/Invision/AP) (credit:AP)

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