Bill Cosby And NBCUniversal Have Been Sued By Five Women In New York For Sexual Battery
85-year-old Bill Cosby is in some legal trouble again, but not nearly as much as I think he deserves. After being sentenced to 10 years in jail in Pennsylvania for the rape of Andrea Constand, Bill’s conviction was overturned in June 2021 by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court due to a previous agreement he had with prosecutors. But over in New York, Bill Cosby is now facing a civil lawsuit from five of his alleged victims. And the women are also hitting NBCUniversal with a lawsuit. There’s obviously no prison time on the table, but taking Bill’s money would also be nice.
Bill was released from prison by a majority of seven Supreme Court Justices in Pennsylvania after they ruled that the D.A. Bruce Castor‘s 2005 decision not to prosecute Bill was legally binding. Bill is free now, but thanks to a new law signed by New York Governor Kathy Hochul in May that took effect November 24, the statute of limitations is suspended on certain sex crimes, and people were given a one-year window to file claims. So these five women were able to file a claim since their assaults allegedly occurred decades ago.
Deadline says that two former The Cosby Show actresses and three other women filed suit on Tuesday for sexual assault and battery:
“Plaintiffs were all sexually battered, assaulted, and abused by Bill Cosby as a part of the same conduct, occurrence, plan, or scheme that was perpetrated, conducted, organized, and/or performed in New York and other states by Bill Cosby and his associates and enablers,” claims the complaint from Lili Bernard and Eden Tirl, Jewel Gittens, Jennifer Thompson and Cindra Ladd, citing the once-incarcerated comedian repeatedly using his “enormous power in such a nefarious, horrific way.”
Adds the 34-page filing by attorneys Jordan Merson and Jordan Rutsky in the Empire State’s Supreme Court: “Over the course of several decades, Bill Cosby engaged in the serial sexual assault of dozens of women for his sexual gratification while the co-defendants enabled and aided these sexual assaults to benefit financially by their association with Bill Cosby.”
Naming the Comcast-owned media giant, plus Kaufman Astoria Studios and The Carsey-Werner Company as co-defendants for “negligence,” the suit seeks a variety of unspecified damages.
“Defendants NBCUniversal Media, LLC, Kaufman Astoria Studios, Inc., and The Carsey-Werner Company, LLC are also culpable and liable because they knew and/or should have known that Bill Cosby was sexually abusing, assaulting, and/or battering women, including on their premises, but did nothing to stop it,” the document says of the companies involved in the production of The Cosby Show, which ran from 1984-1992…
“This is an important step toward holding Bill Cosby and his enablers accountable for their actions and finding some measure of justice for the women they have harmed,” Rutsky told Deadline in a statement today. “We are thankful for the plaintiffs in this lawsuit and other similarly situated women for their bravery in facing their abusers.”
A rep for NBC told Deadline that they don’t comment on legal matters. But, of course, Bill’s spokesperson had something to say and shat all over these accusations:
“As we have always stated, and now America can see, this isn’t about justice for victims of alleged sexual assault, it’s all about money,” said Andrew Wyatt. “We believe that the courts, as well as the court of public opinion, will follow the rules of law and relieve Mr. Cosby of these alleged accusations. Mr. Cosby continues to vehemently deny all allegation waged against him and looks forward to defending himself in court.”
Um, who can see what now? Bill was released on a technicality; they can call Phylicia Rashad if they want to talk to someone who actually believes he’s innocent. And this past September, Bill lost an appeal for a retrial over Judy Huth‘s civil case in California that she won against him for sexually assaulting her at the Playboy mansion when she was a minor in the 1970s. Judy won $500,000, but Bill has since refused to pay. I didn’t know you could just refuse to pay legal decisions. Can I do that for my rent as well? Or does this only apply to formerly convicted sex offenders?
Bill’s spokesperson sounds very sure of himself for someone whose client is surrounded by women getting paid out. He just lost an appeal, and Janice Dickinson successfully settled her defamation lawsuit against him years ago. So if the trend holds true, then these women will be holding Bill’s bank accounts soon enough.
Pic: INSTARimages