Five women, including two actresses who were on “The Cosby Show”, filed a lawsuit in New York Monday against Bill Cosby, accusing him of sexually assaulting their bodies.
The 34-page suit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court by the plaintiffs included Kaufman Astoria Studios Inc., The Carsey-Werner Company, and NBCUniversal Media.
According to civil action, “The Cosby Show”, which ran on NBC from 1984 to 1992, was filmed in studios currently controlled by Kaufman Astoria. It was produced by CarseyWerner.
According to the complaint, all defendants are “culpable, liable” because they knew or should have known that Bill Cosby was assaulting, sexually abusing and/or beating women, including at their premises, but did not stop it.
NBC News doesn’t usually identify victims of sexual assault. However, the five women named in the civil action were identified by the network.
- Lili Bernard, an actress, claimed that the defendant made arrangements for Lili’s transportation out of New York after he allegedly drugged her and raped it. He did this in New Jersey in August 1990, and then in Nevada months later.
- Eden Tirl was offered a small part on “Cosby” but had no acting experience. She accused producers and Cosby of repeatedly pressuring her to have lunch in his dressing room in 1989. According to the suit, Cosby “touched her breasts” and forcibly “pressed his penis into her back.”
- Jewel Gittens, a future actor, said that Cosby invited Jewel to his Manhattan home in the late 1980s. There she received what she claims was a contaminated glass of wine. She claims she felt tired after Cosby allegedly sexually assaulted and raped her with his finger.
- Jennifer Thompson, an aspiring model, claimed she was 18 when Cosby grabbed her hand and forced it onto his penis. Thompson then “masturbate” the actor at his Manhattan home.
- Cindra Ladd was a “platonic friend” of Cosby’s who claimed that the actor had drugged her in 1969 and then raped her when she was asleep.
Plaintiffs did not specify a dollar amount in the lawsuit.
Andrew Wyatt, Cosby’s spokesperson, called the civil action “frivolous”, and accused plaintiffs seeking a payment.
Wyatt stated in a statement that he believes the courts and the court of public opinion would follow the rules of the law to relieve Mr. Cosby from these alleged allegations.
“Mr. Cosby continues his vehement denial of all allegations against him, and looks forward to representing himself in court.”
A spokesperson for defendant NBC Universal Media LLC declined to comment. This is the parent company of NBC News.
On Tuesday, representatives of the two other defendants were unable to be reached for comment.
Cosby was freed from a Pennsylvania prison on 30 June last year after the high court of Pennsylvania overturned his conviction for three felonies of aggravated sexual assault in 2018.
The state Supreme Court ruled that Cosby’s rights to self-incrimination had been violated by a prosecutor who declined to file a case against him in 2014. This allowed “America’s Dad” to speak freely in civil litigation.
However, a second prosecutor from the same jurisdiction used the lawsuit testimony in criminal trials. That testimony was crucial in Constand’s 2004 conviction for drugging Andrea Constand.
Cosby was almost three years behind bars when he was sentenced by the high court of state.
