The Bill Cosby Few People Know
Back in 1969, Bill Cosby did a comedy routine about how, at the age of 13, he heard about something called Spanish Fly and was obsessed with the whole idea of slipping something into a woman's drink to see what would happen.
In what may be a case of life imitating "art", Cosby is facing scrutiny that's coming to a boil, in part because of the confessions made by Lena Dunham in her book regarding inappropriate sexual actions against her sister.
Since 2005, Bill Cosby's been accused by multiple women of drugging and raping them.
- Andrea Constand - Former director of the Temple University women's basketball team; filed a lawsuit against Cosby in 2005 alleging he drugged her and molested her at his Pennsylvania home in 2004; then-prosecutor Bruce Castor declined to file charges against Cosby related to the alleged abuse; Constand settled the lawsuit in 2006
- Tamara Green - Came forward during Constand case in 2005; alleged that Bill Cosby gave her pills that knocked her unconscious and then groped her; appeared on the Today Show to discuss the ordeal
- Beth Ferrier - Identified by The Philadelphia Daily News as one of the 12 anonymous women who came forward as part of the Constand lawsuit; claims Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her in a car in Denver in the 1980s.
- Barbara Bowman - Another of the anonymous women named in the Constandt lawsuit; told People magazine that Cosby had mentored her as an actor in the 1980s and sexually assaulted her in Reno and New York City during that time.
- Joan Tarshis - 11/2014, the website Hollywood Elsewhere publishes an account in which she says Cosby drugged and raped her in New York City in 1969.
- Janice Dickinson - Probably the most well-known of all the accusers, Dickinson is a supermodel (self-described first supermodel) who claims Cosby invited her to dinner to discuss a role on The Cosby Show, offered her a pill to relieve cramps and a glass of wine, after which she passed out. She said the last thing she remembered was Cosby taking off his robe and climbing on top of her. When she woke up the next morning, she was in pain, her pajamas were off, and there was semen between her legs. This incident reportedly took place in Lake Tahoe, CA in 1982.
- Linda Joy Traitz - Says she was 19-years old when Cosby drove her to a beach in Los Angeles and tried to get her to take pills to get her to relax. When she refused, he became sexually aggressive and wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. Eventually he drove her home and she's never spoken of the incident until now.
This past September when Cosby's biography was published (gee, around the same time as Lena Dunham's memoir), author Mark Whitaker was left to defend his choice of leaving the rape allegations and court case out of the book Cosby: His Life and Times:
"I was aware of the allegations, but ultimately decided not to include them in my book. I didn't want to print allegations that I couldn't confirm independently... there were no independent witnesses and no definitive court findings, which did not meet my journalistic or legal standard for including in the biography."
Just yesterday, The View co-host Whoopi Goldberg wondered why Constandt, the initial accuser, didn't go to the police or hospital after she was assaulted. I think that's fairly easy to answer - Bill Cosby has money and influence and can easily make something like rape go away - seems he's done it for decades. On top of that, it's like saying just because someone never went to the police or a hospital to report the crime means it never happened, and that's just ridiculous. According to RAINN, 60% of sexual assaults go unreported and even if they are, only 3% of rapists will ever spend a day in jail. Rosie O'Donnell claimed the whole issue was already "settled" (because of one case?) and the statute of limitations had already run out and then trailed off. Just go ahead and say it, Rosie - rape doesn't matter to you.
Bruce Castor, who was prosecutor at the time Constandt brought her lawsuit to the courts in 2005, has said recently he would have arrested Cosby but there wasn't enough evidence to charge him, pointing out "being able to prove anything beyond a reasonable doubt and thinking he's probably guilty are two different things."
Click to viewIn what may be a case of life imitating "art", Cosby is facing scrutiny that's coming to a boil, in part because of the confessions made by Lena Dunham in her book regarding inappropriate sexual actions against her sister.
Since 2005, Bill Cosby's been accused by multiple women of drugging and raping them.
- Andrea Constand - Former director of the Temple University women's basketball team; filed a lawsuit against Cosby in 2005 alleging he drugged her and molested her at his Pennsylvania home in 2004; then-prosecutor Bruce Castor declined to file charges against Cosby related to the alleged abuse; Constand settled the lawsuit in 2006
- Tamara Green - Came forward during Constand case in 2005; alleged that Bill Cosby gave her pills that knocked her unconscious and then groped her; appeared on the Today Show to discuss the ordeal
- Beth Ferrier - Identified by The Philadelphia Daily News as one of the 12 anonymous women who came forward as part of the Constand lawsuit; claims Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her in a car in Denver in the 1980s.
- Barbara Bowman - Another of the anonymous women named in the Constandt lawsuit; told People magazine that Cosby had mentored her as an actor in the 1980s and sexually assaulted her in Reno and New York City during that time.
- Joan Tarshis - 11/2014, the website Hollywood Elsewhere publishes an account in which she says Cosby drugged and raped her in New York City in 1969.
- Janice Dickinson - Probably the most well-known of all the accusers, Dickinson is a supermodel (self-described first supermodel) who claims Cosby invited her to dinner to discuss a role on The Cosby Show, offered her a pill to relieve cramps and a glass of wine, after which she passed out. She said the last thing she remembered was Cosby taking off his robe and climbing on top of her. When she woke up the next morning, she was in pain, her pajamas were off, and there was semen between her legs. This incident reportedly took place in Lake Tahoe, CA in 1982.
- Linda Joy Traitz - Says she was 19-years old when Cosby drove her to a beach in Los Angeles and tried to get her to take pills to get her to relax. When she refused, he became sexually aggressive and wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. Eventually he drove her home and she's never spoken of the incident until now.
This past September when Cosby's biography was published (gee, around the same time as Lena Dunham's memoir), author Mark Whitaker was left to defend his choice of leaving the rape allegations and court case out of the book Cosby: His Life and Times:
"I was aware of the allegations, but ultimately decided not to include them in my book. I didn't want to print allegations that I couldn't confirm independently... there were no independent witnesses and no definitive court findings, which did not meet my journalistic or legal standard for including in the biography."
Just yesterday, The View co-host Whoopi Goldberg wondered why Constandt, the initial accuser, didn't go to the police or hospital after she was assaulted. I think that's fairly easy to answer - Bill Cosby has money and influence and can easily make something like rape go away - seems he's done it for decades. On top of that, it's like saying just because someone never went to the police or a hospital to report the crime means it never happened, and that's just ridiculous. According to RAINN, 60% of sexual assaults go unreported and even if they are, only 3% of rapists will ever spend a day in jail. Rosie O'Donnell claimed the whole issue was already "settled" (because of one case?) and the statute of limitations had already run out and then trailed off. Just go ahead and say it, Rosie - rape doesn't matter to you.
Bruce Castor, who was prosecutor at the time Constandt brought her lawsuit to the courts in 2005, has said recently he would have arrested Cosby but there wasn't enough evidence to charge him, pointing out "being able to prove anything beyond a reasonable doubt and thinking he's probably guilty are two different things."