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Comedian Who Helped Bring Bill Cosby Allegations to Light Will Be Focus of Documentary

Apr 7, 2016  •  Post A Comment

A comedian whose material on Bill Cosby helped trigger sexual assault allegations and other accusations against the veteran performer will be the focus of a new feature-length documentary. Netflix announced plans for “Hannibal Takes Edinburgh,” featuring Hannibal Buress.

The project, which rolls out globally Friday, April 8, tracks Buress as he performs nightly over a 28-day span at Scotland’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2013.

Buress became a player in the Cosby story when, on Oct. 16, 2014, Buress was recorded during a performance in Philadelphia in which he talked at length about existing rape allegations against Cosby. Doing material that Buress had been performing for about six months at the time, he criticized Cosby’s public moralizing and encouraged audience members to “Google ‘Bill Cosby rape'” when they got home.

Video of the Buress performance went viral, setting off a media firestorm in which many of Cosby’s alleged victims went public with their accusations.

Buress and Judd Apatow are executive producers on the new Netflix documentary, which “blends extended moments from Buress’ pin-sharp observational stand-up with scenes of the comedian waxing philosophic on building his comedy routine, life on the road for a comedian and immersing himself in the Scottish culture,” according to an announcement from Netflix.

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