The Bill Cosby trial hasn't even started yet, and it's already one of the more absurd spectacles of 2017. The disgraced comedian and his team have made a number of outlandish claims during pre-trial hearings, including using his reported blindness to cover for alleged sexual assaults.
According to Page Six, the latest rumbling out of the Cosby camp concerns his traveling habits. Cosby is reportedly afraid to stay anywhere aside from his home, and their sources claim it's because he thinks he's going to be poisoned.
“He and his wife are afraid that if he stayed at a hotel, someone will find a way to poison him, put something in his food,” said one of Page Six's sources.
Another person they spoke to on the matter mentioned his vision being a factor. “He’s blind … so that makes him even more vulnerable to [being] poisoned or to having someone sneak into his room.”
That fear of being poisoned extends beyond where he sleeps. Page Six claims Cosby recently refused to drink from courthouse fountains, instead choosing to bring water bottles and food from home to the courthouse, despite the 300 mile travel distance between the locations. The Philadelphia native is also reportedly afraid of being bugged and spied on were he to stay in a hotel.
Cosby's fall from grace was swift once sexual assault allegations came to light, and though he may not be poisoned by a random stranger, he has certainly lost a lot of public support. A Cosby family source for Page Six described the isolation from peers and fans, citing silence from younger comedians like Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle as a source of tension for Cosby.
"He can’t even pay people to come and support him,” said Page Six's source. "He’s been told that agents have informed their clients that their careers would be over if they got involved."
Cosby will stand trial in Philadelphia for the alleged sexual assault of Andrea Constand, with the start date set for June 5. He faces up to 10 years in prison if he is convicted, and has been accused of sexual assault by over 50 women.
