A group asking entertainers not to perform in Cincinnati has splintered into two factions in a dispute over whether talks with the city to end the boycott should take place behind closed doors.

        Leaders of the Coalition for a Just Cincinnati confirmed Wednesday that the boycott group responsible for comedian Bill Cosby's cancellation has split.

        Both groups carry the name “Coalition for a Just Cincinnati” but have different leaders.

        One group is led by the Rev. Stephen Scott, pastor of a North Fairmount Baptist church. The other is co-chaired by Amanda Mayes, former WDBZ radio talk show host Nathaniel Livingston Jr. and Linda Newman. The size of either group's membership is unknown.

        Ms. Mayes told The Enquirer the division is the result of some boycott leaders participating in “secret discussions” with city officials.

        At a press conference Tuesday night at New Prospect Baptist Church in Over-the-Rhine, the Rev. Damon Lynch III, president of the Cincinnati Black United Front and the Rev. Mr. Scott confirmed there have been discussions with city leaders about the boycott. They declined to name specific city officials.

        “A lot of people want closed-door, behind-the-scenes deals,” Ms. Mayes said. “We have to maintain our integrity. One of the reasons for the boycott were people making business deals with the city behind closed doors.”

        The Rev. Mr. Scott, who was vice chairman of the coalition but was not elected recently as one of the three co-chairmen, maintained he remains a spokesman for the coalition. He described Ms. Mayes and her followers as “a splinter group.”

        “We have a few that are acting as dissenters,” the Rev. Mr. Scott said Tuesday. “The boycott is alive and well.”

        Several coalition members, who asked not to be named, described the ousting of the Rev. Mr. Scott as “a coup attempt” by the “power hungry” Ms. Mayes.

        Ms. Mayes said those claims are coming from people who have “hard feelings” about the shake-up.

        “We don't have anything against Rev. Scott. We do believe in our new leadership, though, and he is not it,” Ms. Mayes said. “We're hoping this thing doesn't have to be ugly.”

        News of the division raised questions Wednesday about the feasibility of negotiations between boycotters and the city.

        “How people will take this depends on which way they are leaning on the boycott,” said Jim Clingman, a member of the Black United Front. “It will be used by some in the public domain as another reason for not negotiating with people who have called for sanctions.”

        “I think the dissension that has been made public does provide (Mayor Charlie Luken) with one more excuse for why he won't meet,” Ms. Mayes said. “He'll probably milk it as long as he can.

        “In the meantime, the boycott will go on,” she said. Ultimately, “It is going to be the work that will legitimize us and prove who the real coalition is and who it isn't,” she said.

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