Bill Cosby receives standing ovation at Florida show

Embattled comedian Bill Cosby received a huge show of support from fans at his comedy gig in Florida on Friday as he ended the night with a standing ovation.

Security was stepped up ahead of the stand-up show in Melbourne, Fla., amid concerns Cosby might be targeted by protesters amid his ongoing sexual assault scandal.

However, the show went off without a hitch and has been hailed as a success, with reports suggesting the sold-out crowd gave him a standing ovation and yelled messages of support at the end of his stand-up set.

Cosby has faced allegations from a number of women, including model-turned-TV personality Janice Dickinson and actress Louisa Moritz, who claim to have been sexually assaulted by him in the past.

His lawyer, Marty Singer, has dismissed the allegations as false, and the attorney called for an end to the Cosby furore in a strongly-worded statement released on Friday.

The statement from Singer reads, “The new, never-before-heard claims from women who have come forward in the past two weeks with unsubstantiated, fantastical stories about things they say occurred 30, 40, or even 50 years ago have escalated far past the point of absurdity… These brand new claims about alleged decades-old events are becoming increasingly ridiculous, and it is completely illogical that so many people would have said nothing, done nothing, and made no reports to law enforcement or asserted civil claims if they thought they had been assaulted over a span of so many years.”

Cosby’s stand-up tour of the U.S. has been dealt a major blow by the allegations, with five of his gigs being cancelled by organizers amid boycott fears.