Bill Cosby talks #MeToo movement during dinner in Philadelphia

Bill Cosby arrives at court for pretrial conference

Raw video: Embattled comedian attends preliminary hearing with new lawyers ahead of sexual assault retrial in Norristown, Pennsylvania

Bill Cosby invited the press to join him at dinner in a Philadelphia Italian restaurant where he ate pasta and oddly referenced the #MeToo movement at the end of his evening out.

After shaking a reporter's hand, Cosby said “Please, don’t put me on MeToo," according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The newspaper reports the 80-year-old comedian was dining with an old friend and his publicist, and some members of the media were tipped off ahead of time and invited to document the event.

#MeToo is the social media movement denouncing sexual assault. Cosby has been accused by more than 50 women of drugging them and sexually assaulting them or attempting to do so.

In June, he went to trial over charges that he drugged and molested former Temple University employee Andrea Constand in 2004 at his suburban Philadelphia home. The judge declared mistrial in Cosby's sexual assault case after the jury deadlocked.

When asked about his April retrial, he replied, "We're ready."

Cosby's new trial was supposed to begin in November but was delayed until this spring so his new legal team could get up to speed. He has insisted his sexual encounter was consensual.

The comedian starred as Dr. Cliff Huxtable on "The Cosby Show" from 1984 to 1992, earning a reputation as “America's Dad.”

That reputation was slowly torn to pieces as dozens of women came forward, beginning in 2014, and accused him of sexual misconduct. Their stories were all eerily similar and eventually led to the star being ostracized by Hollywood.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.