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FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2014 file photo, entertainer Bill Cosby gestures during an interview about the upcoming exhibit, "Conversations: African and African-American Artworks in Dialogue, " at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art, in Washington. Cosby testified under oath in 2005 that he gave a tabloid an exclusive about sex-assault allegations made by a Canadian woman against him so it would spike a second accuser's story. The Associated Press on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2014, obtained excerpts from Cosby's 2005 deposition from federal court files unsealed in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File) Image Credit: AP

A university in Tennessee says it has cancelled Bill Cosby’s scheduled appearance at a benefit dinner amid allegations made by women accusing the comedian of sexual assault.

Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson said in a statement Wednesday that Dr Ben Carson will replace Cosby at the December 5 dinner.

An attorney for the 77-year-old comedian has called the accusations that he drugged and assaulted numerous women “unsubstantiated” and “discredited”.

Freed-Hardeman President Joe Wiley says the university knows that “names we have seen in the media represent real people who will be affected long after FHU’s dinner has passed.”

Numerous dates on Cosby’s tour have been cancelled amid the allegations. One North Carolina school removed the entertainer from an advisory board, another stopped awarding an online scholarship in Cosby’s name.