The president and CEO of a Worcester theater says he’s relieved that a Bill Cosby show at his venue has been canceled. The comedian faces accusations and multiple lawsuits over sexual assault.

Troy Siebels of the Hanover Theatre says he’d been looking for ways to cancel the Cosby show, but contractually his hands were tied. That is, until the show’s promoter called Tuesday evening, saying the February 6th event was off.

“We are breathing a sigh of relief, because it’s just a controversy we don’t need,” Siebels says.

Even before the cancellation, the theater offered refunds, with about 400 of the 1300 ticket-holders requesting their money back.

Siebels says Cosby is innocent until proven guilty, but adds that – like it or not – he’s already convicted in the eye of the public.

“The reality – our reality – is that it’s not about the truth. It’s about the perception of the truth,” he says. “So I don’t know and I probably will never know if he’s guilty. But I know that enough of the audience thinks that he probably is and thinks that it reflects poorly on us to have him in the building.”

Siebels notes another Cosby show in Canada last weekend was interrupted by protesters. Cosby is still scheduled to appear at two shows in Boston in February.

The comedian, who lives in Shelburn, Massachusetts, has kept quiet about the controversy, though his lawyer has said the accusers are lying and the scandal driven by the media.