Should hecklers shout down Bill Cosby's upcoming Ontario appearances?

Bill Cosby will be ending the year on a significant low note, and his New Year could prove to be better – north of the border, anyway.

The 77-year-old comedian, who has been buried by a series of historic sex assault allegations in recent months, still has three Canadian tour dates booked in January. But there are vocal calls to cancel the concerts, and even a request for those who bought tickets before the sexual assault allegations came to light to heckle and disrupt the performance.

Hollywood director Judd Apatow, for one, has been demanding three upcoming Canadian Cosby performances be shut down, challenging the venues to lock out the embattled aged comedian.

Apatow called out venues in Kitchener, Ont., and London, Ont., over the weekend, urging them to cancel Cosby’s performances in light of allegations leveled by more than two dozen women.

“Is Cosby only popular in Ontario Canada at this point?” he tweeted. “Do people still find him delightful after 30 accusers?

Some two dozen women have stepped forward in recent months with allegations of being raped and sexual assaulted by Cosby. He has not been charged criminally and the 77-year-old performer has said little about the growing list of allegations, which has derailed a number of projects.

Netflix cancelled a Cosby comedy special and NBC shelved plans to produce a new Cosby sitcom. In the meantime, several performances in an ongoing concert series have been cancelled. Three Ontario performances, however, will proceed.

Cosby will perform in Kitchener on January 7, London on January 8 and Hamilton on January 9.

The Centre in the Square venue in Kitchener released a statement last month saying they were contractually obligated to “move forward with the show unless it is cancelled by the external promoter.”

The company that owns London’s Budweiser Gardens has also said they can’t afford to cancel the performance, which would hurt their ability to lure big acts.

The argument is understandable. These are private companies hosting these performances, which had to sign contracts and agreements well in advance. They can’t be expected to take a significant financial hit to make a public statement. Not when the public can make their own statements. Protests are obvious, and should be expected. So is boycotting. Indeed, scores of tickets are being resold online for well below face value.

Megan Walker, executive director of the London Abused Women’s Centre, told CTV News that her group will be protesting outside the venue during Cosby’s performance, and hinted that others “are going to use those tickets to heckle Mr. Cosby while he’s on stage.”

But what of this option – this recommendation that those in attendance heckle and disrupt the performance? Some level of heckling should be expected at any comedy show, but a concerted effort to interrupt the performance and stop it from continuing; that could be considered comedic terrorism.

Yes, Cosby is finally being buried in decades of alleged indiscretions, all coming out like a long-overdue avalanche. Yes, those considering supporting him by attending a show should consider the damage done when they make their decision.

Not all of those who decide to attend, however, are declaring their support for his alleged indiscretions. Some simply want to be entertained, some perhaps can’t afford to flush expensive tickets down the drain.

Others, it is possible, have heard little or nothing about the Cosby controversy. Protesters should be free to educate them, but they should not make their decision for them by refusing to let the show go on.

Protest outside, wear anti-Cosby shirts and wave banners inside. Do not laugh, do not cheer. Do not attend.

If you want to punish Cosby, give him silence. It is what comedians fear the most. Don’t make him a martyr by shutting down the stage.