Bill Cosby speaks out against sexual assault claims

Cosby spoke to the New York Post from his home in Massachusetts.

Bill Cosby has spoken out for the first time against allegations of sexual abuse, saying he only expects the "black media" to remain "neutral".

In an interview with the New York Post, the comedian praised his wife Camille for her "strength" in standing by him.

Cosby, who has been accused of assault by more than a dozen women, said he'd been advised not to discuss the claims.

The 77-year-old actor declined to address the allegations but asked reporters to remain impartial.

"I only expect the black media to uphold the standards of excellence in journalism and when you do that you have to go in with a neutral mind," Cosby said.

New York Post reporter Stacy Brown said the actor sounded "upbeat" on the phone from his home in Massachusetts.

He said "love and the strength of womanhood," had helped him weather the controversy.

"Let me say it again, love and the strength of womanhood. And you could reverse it, the strength of womanhood and love."

But the actor later cut his conversation short, saying: "They don't want me talking to the media."

Police in Los Angeles have recently opened an investigation into claims made by Judy Huth that Cosby molested her when she was 15 years old.

In her legal action, Ms Huth claimed the actor gave her alcohol and forced her to perform a sex act on him in a bedroom of the Playboy Mansion around 1974.

Cosby is counter-suing the 55-year-old, saying she attempted to extort money from him, and has described her claims as "absolutely false".

His lawyers, who have continued to deny the allegations, recently issued a strongly worded statement condemning the "media frenzy".

The actor has never been charged with a crime but the accusations have led to his stand-up tour being called off and the cancellation of a number of TV projects.