Bill Cosby says he will NOT testify at his upcoming sexual assault trial next month, saying he's worried he might mess up his own defense while being questioned

  • The comedian said he didn't want to be put under pressure in the courtroom
  • He is concerned that he might open a 'can of something' with his answers
  • Cosby, 79, will go to trial for the alleged 2004 rape of Andrea Constand, then 31 
  • Jury selection begins next week; Cosby denies drugging and assaulting her
  • Cosby made the remarks during his first radio interview in two years  
  • He signed off with a quote by feminist Gloria Steinem - which she did not enjoy
  • She said his accusers were 'credible' and have more right to quote her than him

By Afp and Associated Press and Dailymail.com Reporter

Published: 12:42 EST, 16 May 2017 | Updated: 17:21 EST, 16 May 2017

Bill Cosby has revealed that he will not testify in his sexual assault trial next month during a rare interview that was broadcast on Tuesday.

'I just don't want to sit there and have to figure out what I believe is a truthful answer as to whether or not I'm opening a can of something that my lawyers are scrambling,' the disgraced comedian told Sirius XM radio.

The 79-year-old is due to stand trial in Pennsylvania on June 5 for allegedly plying a woman with pills and wine, and then assaulting her at his Philadelphia home in 2004.

During the interview he also quoted feminist Gloria Steinem - who later said she had 'no idea what he was thinking' and commended his accusers as 'credible'.

Comedian Bill Cosby (seen in April) says that he won't testify in his trial next month because he's worried he'll 'open a can of something' while he 'figures out' what he 'believes' is the truth

Comedian Bill Cosby (seen in April) says that he won't testify in his trial next month because he's worried he'll 'open a can of something' while he 'figures out' what he 'believes' is the truth

Jury selection on the Pennsylvania trial - the only criminal charge brought against Cosby despite claims from more than 50 women that he is a sexual predator - is to begin next week. 

The award-winning actor admits to giving a pill to Andrea Constand, who worked for Temple University basketball team at the time, but insists their relations with consensual.  

Cosby is accused of sexually assaulting Andrea Constand (pictured) in 2004. He denies the claim, and those made by more than 50 women in the last four decades

Cosby is accused of sexually assaulting Andrea Constand (pictured) in 2004. He denies the claim, and those made by more than 50 women in the last four decades

His alleged victims have made remarkably similar accusations over the past four decades, claiming sedatives and alcohol made them unable to resist his advances.

The vast majority of the alleged abuse happened too long ago to prosecute, due to statutes of limitations.

During the interview - his first in two years - host Michael Smerconish raised claims made by Cosby's daughter, Ensa, that racism played a role in the scandal.

'Could be, could be,' Cosby said. 'There are so many tentacles. So many different - 'nefarious' is a great word - and I just truly believe that some of it may very well be that.'

Smerconish pointed out that a number of the women accusing Cosby of assault are black, to which he responded that the motivations may differ from woman to woman.

'So it's not all, not every, but I do think that there's some,' he said.

Asked if his accusers were all lying, the actor replied: 'You know better than that.'

He added that he 'never, never' lost the support of his wife,

At times sounding rambling and slightly confused, Cosby said his health was good but that glaucoma has left him without sight. 

He claimed he did not do the interview to try to influence jurors. 'You can't aim at jurors,' he said.

In a clear sign that Cosby hopes to be acquitted, he said he felt he had 'an awful lot to offer' in terms of writing and performing, and that he hoped to again experience 'the laughter and the enjoyment' of writing and performing on stage. 

'And then I want to take other things and move it to halls, churches, etc, etc, to give what I feel will be motivational and informational and drive people to make changes in themselves,' he added. 

Cosby ended the interview with a quote from feminist Gloria Steinem - 'The truth shall set you free, but first it might p**s you off'.

That baffled Steinem, who toldThe Washington Post it was a 'mystery' why he would quote her.

'It seems to me the women who are accusing him have more right to use that quote,' she said. 'I have no idea what he was thinking.'

She added that she thinks his alleged victims are 'credible - as individuals and in their numbers.'

Smerconish said on his Facebook page that he agreed to air audio from the Cosby family 'only if I could interview Bill Cosby.'

Cosby made the remarks while talking to Michael Smerconish on Sirius XM - the comedian's  first interview in two years

Cosby made the remarks while talking to Michael Smerconish on Sirius XM - the comedian's  first interview in two years

The program included about four minutes of recorded excerpts from statements two of his daughters made and an interview one daughter conducted with him.

Erinn Cosby said her father has been condemned'"unjustly and cruelly' in the court of public opinion.

'Like the cruel history of our people, the legal system and the protections of the law do not seem to exist for him today,' she said.

Cosby posted a $1 million bail in 2015, and faces up to 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine if convicted. He has pleaded not guilty.

The Constand case was initially settled by a civil suit in 2006, but prosecutors reopened it, claiming that new evidence had come to light.

Cosby's legal team mocked Constand's credibility, saying she chopped and changed her evidence, and omitted from the final version lying down on a bed next to the actor and later visiting his home for dinner.

In a 2015 deposition, Cosbyu described sexual liaisons with a string of young women, some of whom say he sexually assaulted them after giving them drugs or alcohol. 

Parts of his deposition are expected to be aired at the criminal trial. 

The judge will allow one other accuser to testify for the prosecution and said prosecutors can reference Cosby's testimony about getting quaaludes in the 1970s to give women before sex.

The prospective trial cements a brutal fall from grace for the once-treasured father-figure who smashed through racial barriers and delighted audiences with his gentle, self-deprecating humor. 

Cosby's most famous role was as Cliff Huxtable, the affable father of an upper-middle-class black family in New York, in The Cosby Show from 1984 to 1992.

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