Bill Cosby is mentally preparing himself for prison, Page Six reports.
The New York Post column revealed on April 28 that the comedian — who on April 26 was found guilty of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his home 14 years ago — had been speaking to one of its reporters during his retrial.
"When they send me to that place, I want you to be there to tell my story because it seems no one is listening, no one wants the real story," Cosby, 80, told Page Six.
By "that place," he means a prison cell. He's facing 30 years behind bars — 10 years for each count on which he was found guilty, as well as the possibly of fines up to $25,000 for each count — when he's sentenced this summer.
"This is what they wanted," Cosby told Page Six after he was found guilty by a Pennsylvania jury.
He made headlines for bitterly lashing out at prosecutor Kevin Steele after the verdict was read when the district attorney asked the judge to revoke Cosby's bail, claiming he was a flight risk. "He doesn't have a plane, you a–hole. I'm sick of this," Cosby shouted. (The judge did not revoke his $1 million bail, though the man who's been accused of drugging, raping and sexual assaulting dozens of women over the last several decades has been ordered to remain at his Pennsylvania home on house arrest under GPS monitoring until sentencing.)
According to Page Six, when Cosby returned to his home outside Philadelphia following the verdict, "he was greeted at the door by another 'victim' — his wife and most loyal supporter, Camille. She gave him a hug and a kiss, said a source who was present," Page Six wrote.
Page Six also revealed that Cosby spoke to the outlet in 2017 during his first trial — which ended in a mistrial when the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict — with the agreement that his quotes wouldn't be published until after the legal proceedings were over.
Cosby explained why he refused to agree to a plea deal that would have allowed him to avoid prison.
"When there was talk of a plea bargain, I said no," Cosby told Page Six. "I just refused to plead guilty to something that just didn't happen. It didn't happen, and Andrea knows that, and I think [prosecutors] know that."
If he'd taken the deal back then, he'd had served house arrest, registered as a sex offender and been on probation for an undisclosed period, Page Six reported.
"Why take a deal? Not when they want me to say that I'm a sex offender. I didn't do what they said I did," Cosby insisted.
He also shared a story about traveling to see the late Nelson Mandela, who famously spent nearly three decades in prison. Cosby seemingly compared himself to the former South African President who put an end to apartheid in the nation.
"You know, I think back to the time when Camille and I went to visit Nelson Mandela in South Africa. He was a free man, but I remember when we met him at Robben Island where he had been in a prison for all of those years. I sat in that cell where he lived, and I saw how he lived… what he had to eat to live and what he went through," Cosby told Page Six.
"So, if they send me to that place," he continued, "then that's what they will do, and I will have to go there."
Judge Steven O'Neill will sentence the comedian in July. Before that, he'll undergo a "sexually violent predator" assessment.