Bill Cosby’s getting another go-round: The comic will go on trial again on sexual assault charges after a jury deadlocked last month.
On Thursday, Pennsylvania Judge Steven O’Neill set a Nov. 6 court date for Cosby, 79, following a mistrial on accusations that Cosby assaulted Andrea Constand in 2004, the New York Daily News reported.
Constand, an employee at Cosby’s alma mater Temple University, said he drugged her and attacked her at his mansion in suburban Philadelphia.
Cosby claimed that the sexual contact between him and Constand, which he admitted to in phone conversations heard by the jury, was consensual.
The actor’s lawyers called the non-verdict as a victory for their client, saying that it returned “power” to the alleged abuser and that he would be acquitted if retried.
At one point during 52 hours of deliberations, ten of the 12 jury members voted to convict Cosby for digitally penetrating Constand without her consent, an unidentified juror told ABC News.
The jury also reportedly voted 10-2 on a count that Cosby gave his alleged victim drugs or alcohol to impair her.
Cosby didn’t testify at the first trial, but last month his attorney Angela Agrusa told NBC News that could change.
GAUGING GARFIELD’S GAYNESS
Some folks in the LGBTQ community aren’t pleased with Andrew Garfield’s comments about his gay character in “Angels in America.”
In a National Theatre platform discussion, the actor said, “I am a gay man right now, just without the physical act,” and mentioned that he prepared for the role in the revival of the famed Tony Kushner play by studying “RuPaul’s Drag Race.”
Garfield, 33, plays Prior Walter, a gay man battling AIDS during the height of epidemic in the 1980s.
During the talk, the actor (of “Amazing Spider-Man” infamy) admitted that he initially was concerned that he didn’t have a “right” to play the “wonderful gay role” because he’s straight.
“As far as I know, I am not a gay man,” said Garfield, who’s been romantically linked to Emma Stone, began, according to the Gay Times. “Maybe I’ll have an awakening later in my life, which I’m sure will be wonderful and I’ll get to explore that part of the garden.”
His critics on Twitter included actor Scott Evans (who was grossed out) and comedian H. Alan Scott, who blasted him for his straight, white privilege.
QUICK TAKES
An impressive lineup of speakers is slated for the Fall 2017 Lecture Series at Dominican University in San Rafael, including Dan Rather, first daughters Barbara and Jenna Bush, Van Jones, Reza Aslan, Khizr Khan and Amy Tan; tickets for the package, which cost $210, are on sale at bookpassage.com/dominican.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Skater Michelle Kwan is 37. … Comedian Jim Gaffigan is 51. … Drummer Ringo Starr is 77. … Bandleader Doc Severinsen is 90.
— Staff, wire reports
