Number of Bill Cosby Accusers Continues to Grow: Where Things Stand

Nov. 24, 2014— -- intro: The sexual assault scandal surrounding Bill Cosby continues to grow.

This morning, the number of women publicly accusing the comedian and cultural icon of sexual assault, some of them anonymously, has grown to 16, according to The Washington Post.

The number rose after the 77-year-old comedian finally broke his silence on the recent accusations, which his lawyer on Friday denounced as "unsubstantiated, fantastical stories."

Before his standup performance Friday, Cosby told Florida Today: "I know people are tired of me not saying anything, but a guy doesn't have to answer to innuendos. People should fact check. People shouldn't have to go through that and shouldn't answer to innuendos."

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Cosby, who has never been criminally charged in connection with the claims, some of which date back nearly 50 years, and has repeatedly denied them in the past, was first publicly accused of assault 10 years ago, in 2004. The allegations have gained attention in recent weeks as a number of women have come forward.

Here's the latest on the Cosby scandal:

quicklist:title: More Women Come Forwardtext: The number of women accusing Cosby of sexual abuse now stands at 16, according to The Washington Post.

At least two more women came forward in media reports this weekend.

Cosby and his lawyer have not spoken about the latest accusations. In his most recent statement to ABC News on Friday, the comedian's lawyer, Martin D. Singer, said:

“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."

quicklist:title: Former NBC Employee Comes Forwardtext: Former NBC employee Frank Scotti told the New York Daily News that he paid off eight women on Cosby's behalf, sending thousands of dollars in money orders to the women to keep them quiet.

Scotti told the News that he was asked to stand guard when Cosby invited models to his dressing room.

"He would tell me to keep the women in there, don't let anybody in, and it was very obvious what was going on," Scotti, 90, told the Daily News in a video posted Sunday. "When the models used to come, he said, 'Get rid of everybody, and leave that one there.'"

Scotti said he eventually quit working with Cosby, "because of the girls."

Singer, Cosby's lawyer, disputed Scotti’s claims to The Daily News.

"What evidence does he have of Mr. Cosby’s involvement?" Singer asked the Daily News Saturday. "How would Scotti know if a woman was a model or a secretary? It appears that his story is pure speculation so that he can get his 15 minutes of fame."

Scotti did not respond to ABC News' request for comment.

quicklist:title: Number of Standup Performances Cancelledtext: Cosby was in the midst of a stand-up tour when the scandal first broke. So far, eight of his scheduled performances, including ones in Oklahoma, Las Vegas, Illinois, Arizona, South Carolina and Washington state, have been cancelled amid the scandal.

Today, Foxwoods Resorts in Connecticut became the latest venue to nix the comedian's scheduled appearance. In a statement sent to ABC News, the casino resort said it had "postponed indefinitely" Cosby's performance scheduled for Jan 31, 2015, but offered no explanation.

Despite the cancellations, the comic legend has remained on the road and his longtime fans have showered him with laughter and applause.

At his performance in Melbourne, Florida, on Friday, there were no hecklers and only a single protester outside the venue, holding a sign that read, "Rape is no joke." Inside, Cosby made no mention of the controversy surrounding him and the audience gave him an ovation before and after the performance.

The night before, Cosby took the stage at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas for the black women's charity, The Links Inc., and entertained the audience with stories of his life growing up in the housing projects in Philadelphia. The audience not only enjoyed Cosby's set, but some defended him.

"It's sad that somebody so famous can be brought down, you know, by this," a member of the audience told ABC.

quicklist:title: 'SNL' Chimes In text: One of television's most beloved dads could not escape the jokes on "Saturday Night Live."

Referencing Cosby's criticism of young African-American men who wear low-slung pants, "Weekend Update" anchor Michael Che said, "Hey, Bill Cosby, pull your damn pants up."

He added, "I don't know Bill Cosby, but Cliff Huxtable practically raised me. I love that dude. And the only thing he ever tried to sneak when people were asleep was a hoagie."

quicklist:title: Castmates Stay Silenttext: ABC News has reached out to the comedian's "Cosby Show" cast mates, but so far they mostly have remained silent.

A reported tweet from Lisa Bonet, who played one of the show's daughters, turned out to be fraudulent. Bonet's manager told People magazine, "Lisa Bonet has no social media of any kind. Any posts made in her name were made by impersonators with unverified accounts. She also has no comment on the ongoing story."

Raven-Symoné, who played Cosby's step-granddaughter on the comedy show, has been the only castmate so far to address the scandal on social media. Posting a photo of herself as young Olivia on Instagram, she wrote, "I was NOT taking advantage of by Mr. Cosby when I was on the Cosby Show! I was practically a baby on that show and this is truly a disgusting rumor that I want no part of! Everyone on that show treated me with nothing but kindness. Now keep me out of this!"

quicklist: title: 'Cosby Show' and Other Cosby-Related Projectstext: Last week, TV Land pulled planned repeats of "The Cosby Show" from its schedule amid the sexual assault allegations, and NBC and Netflix shelved projects with the comedian. But so far, Centric, owned by BET, and Aspire, created by Magic Johnson, are continuing to air reruns of "The Cosby Show." The networks reach a combined total of 72 million homes and target black viewers.