Bill Cosby sexual assault cases

American entertainer Bill Cosby has been the subject of publicized sexual assault allegations. With the earliest alleged incidents taking place in the mid-1960s, Cosby has been accused by more than 50 women of either rape, drug facilitated sexual assault, sexual battery, child sexual abuse, and/or sexual misconduct. Earlier sexual assault allegations against Cosby became more public after an October 2014 comedy routine by comedian Hannibal Buress alluding to Cosby's covert sexual misbehavior went viral, and many additional claims were made after that date. The dates of the alleged incidents span from 1965 to 2008 across 10 U.S. states and one Canadian province.

In November 2014, Cosby said, in response to a question about the allegations: "I don't talk about it." Cosby has declined to publicly discuss the accusations in past interviews. However, he told Florida Today, "people shouldn’t have to go through that and shouldn’t answer to innuendos". In May 2015 he said, "I have been in this business 52 years and I've never seen anything like this. Reality is a situation and I can't speak."

Most of the acts alleged fall outside the statutes of limitations for criminal legal proceedings, but numerous civil lawsuits have been brought against Cosby. As of November 2015, eight related civil lawsuits are active against Cosby, including two that also target Cosby's lawyer and one that also implicates his wife and manager Camille Cosby. Gloria Allred is representing 29 of the alleged victims. On December 11, 2015 Allred stated in an interview with Victor Fiorillo that more alleged victims would be coming forward. "More women have contacted me who have not yet spoken out publicly, some of whom may do so in the future and some of whom have chosen not to do so. They wanted me to know the information that they had so it would be of assistance to us and our victim. There are definitely more women who wish to speak out in the future who allege that they are victims of Mr. Cosby." In July 2015, court records from Andrea Constand's 2005 civil lawsuit against Cosby were unsealed and released to the public. In his testimony, Cosby admitted to casual sex, involving use of Quaaludes, with a series of young women, and acknowledged that his dispensing the prescription drug was illegal.

In the wake of the allegations, numerous organizations have severed ties with the comedian, and previously awarded honors and titles have been revoked. Reruns of The Cosby Show and other shows featuring Cosby have also been pulled from syndication by many organizations. Twenty-three colleges and universities have rescinded his honorary degrees. In an attempt to explain the backlash against Cosby, Adweek reporter Jason Lynch noted that the "media landscape has changed considerably—and has now been joined by the far-less-forgiving social media arena."

On December 30, 2015, a charge of aggravated indecent assault, a Class 1 Felony, was filed against Cosby in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania based on the 2005 allegations by Andrea Constand concerning a January 2004 incident.

Sexual assault allegations

Earliest allegations (1965 - 1996)

Cosby in 1969

Of the many other allegations against Cosby, the earliest date claimed was December 1965; Kristina Ruehli accused Cosby of drugging and assaulting her in his Beverly Hills home on that date. At that time, Ruehli told her boyfriend about the incident, and in the 1980s also told her daughter. However, she did not speak further about it until 2005, when she came forward in the Andrea Constand case as Jane Doe #12.

In the early 1980s, Joan Tarshis told her story to freelance reporter John Milward. However, Milward decided not to publish the story.

In 1996, former Playboy Playmate Victoria Valentino gave a videotaped interview in which she made sexual assault allegations against Cosby. The interview was for an exposé on the lives of Playboy models, which was never published.

Later allegations and investigations (2000 - 2005)

On February 1, 2000, according to a statement provided by Det. Jose McCallion of the Manhattan Special Victims Bureau, Lachele Covington, who was 20 years old at the time, filed a criminal complaint against Bill Cosby alleging that on January 28, 2000, at Cosby's Manhattan townhouse, Cosby tried to put her hands down his pants and then exposed himself. Covington also alleged that Cosby grabbed her breasts and tried to put his hands down her pants at his home. Cosby was questioned and insisted "it was not true". The police referred her complaint to the D.A., but they declined to prosecute.

In January 2004, Andrea Constand, a former Temple University employee, accused Cosby of drugging and fondling her; however, in February 2005, Montgomery County's District Attorney said there would be no charges due to insufficient credible and admissible evidence. Constand then filed a civil claim in March 2005, with 13 women as potential witnesses if the case went to court. Cosby settled out of court for an undisclosed amount in November 2006.

After learning that charges were not pursued in the case, California lawyer Tamara Lucier Green, the only publicly named woman in the prior case, came forward with allegations in February 2005 that Cosby had drugged and assaulted her in the 1970s. Cosby's lawyer said that Cosby did not know her and the events did not happen.

In a July 2005 Philadelphia Daily News interview, Beth Ferrier, one of the anonymous "Jane Doe" witnesses in the Constand case, alleged that in 1984 he drugged her coffee and she awoke with her clothes partially removed.

In 2005, Shawn Upshaw Brown, a woman whom Cosby admitted to having an extra-marital affair with in the 1970s, claimed in the National Enquirer that Cosby drugged and raped her the last time the two were together sexually. Brown is the mother of Autumn Jackson, who claims to be Cosby's illegitimate daughter. Jackson was convicted in 1997 of extortion after she threatened to make the claims public in The Globe. In 2015, Brown went into more detail with her renewed allegations in an interview for the Daily Mail.

Buress remarks and aftermath (2014)

Cosby in 2011

In October 2014, as part of Hannibal Buress's stand-up comedy routine in Philadelphia, Buress addressed Cosby's legacy of "talk[ing] down" to young black men about their mode of dress and lifestyle. Buress criticized the actor's public moralizing by saying, "Yeah, but you raped women, Bill Cosby, so that kind of brings you down a couple notches." The audience appeared to respond to Buress's accusation as an incredulous joke before he encouraged everyone to "Google 'Bill Cosby rape'" when they got home. Buress had been using the same Cosby routine for the previous six months with little response, but the October performance went viral after being posted on Philadelphia magazine's website. A media firestorm ensued, with numerous publications tackling the question of how Cosby had managed to maintain, as Buress called it in his routine, a "teflon image" despite more than a decade of public sex abuse accusations.

Shortly after Buress's comedy routine went viral, Cosby's social media team started a "meme me" campaign on Twitter, in hopes of generating amusing memes to promote the comedian. It backfired when users created memes referencing the rape allegations which were shared under the hashtag #CosbyMeme. They included memes such as: "Define 'drugged'" and "My two favorite things...Jello Pudding and Rape".

Buress's viral routine also happened to roughly correspond with the release of Cosby: His Life and Times, a biography of the comedian that was released several weeks earlier. The 544-page Cosby-approved biography was touted as the most prolific look at Cosby's life to date, but did not include a single word about the public sexual abuse allegations against him. In the wake of the unfolding controversy, the biography became a lightning rod for criticism and a symbol for how Cosby had been able to manipulate the media for so many years. After originally defending his decision not to mention the allegations, author Mark Whitaker faced swarming criticism by the end of the year, and eventually issued an apology after The New York Times called him one of Cosby's "media enablers."

Additional assault allegations

See also: § Table of known accusers

After the Buress routine, in November 2014, journalist Joan Tarshis, model Janice Dickinson, actress Louisa Moritz, Lou Ferrigno's wife Carla Ferrigno, Florida nurse Therese Serignese, Playboy Playmates Victoria Valentino and Sarita Butterfield, TV host Charlotte Laws, actress Michelle Hurd, and 11 other women also made accusations of incidents allegedly occurring between 1965 and 2004. An article by model Beverly Johnson in Vanity Fair alleges she was drugged during an audition in 1986, and knows other women with similar accounts.

Cosby's attorney stated that Dickinson's account differed from prior accounts she gave of the incident, and released a statement that said in part: "Mr. Cosby does not intend to dignify these allegations with any comment." A follow-up statement dismissed the allegations as "unsubstantiated" and an example of "media vilification". A joint statement from Cosby and Andrea Constand, who had received a civil case settlement in 2006, clarified the statement released a few days prior by stating that it did not refer to Constand's case which was resolved years ago.

In January 2015, Cindra Ladd alleged that Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her in 1969.

In May 2015, Lili Bernard claimed that Cosby sexually assaulted her in 1992 and that she had been interviewed by police in Atlantic City, New Jersey regarding the allegation. Because that state has no statute of limitations for rape, Bernard hoped charges will be brought, but media reports noted, "it wasn't clear ... if what [Bernard] says happened to her happened in New Jersey."

On July 27, 2015, New York magazine's cover featured images of 35 women sitting in chairs with the last chair empty, suggesting there may be more victims who have not come forward yet. The 35 women told "their stories about being assaulted by Bill Cosby, and the culture that wouldn’t listen." Eleven other women known to New York magazine who allege sexual assault by Cosby declined to be photographed and interviewed for the feature. According to Vox, the stories span "more than five decades" and are "remarkably similar, typically involving the comedian offering a woman a cup of coffee or some sort of alcoholic beverage — which may be spiked with drugs — and allegedly sexually assaulting the victim as she's impaired or unconscious." On September 17, 2015 A&E broadcast the documentary program Cosby: The Women Speak, in which thirteen alleged victims provided interviews regarding their experiences.

As of August 20, 2015, more than 50 women have claimed that they were sexually abused by him, and the terms "sociopath" and "serial rapist" have been used about him. Jewell Allison, one of his accusers, described him as a "sociopath" and stated: "We may be looking at America’s greatest serial rapist that ever got away with this for the longest amount of time. He got away with it because he was hiding behind the image of Cliff Huxtable."

Cosby's acquisition, illegal distribution, and mention of drugs

As the allegations against Cosby unfolded, a theme developed involving the use of drugs. Accusers complained of blacking out after having a drink or taking a pill offered by Cosby. In November 2014, Linda Joy Traitz detailed an alleged incident more than 40 years earlier where she claims Cosby had a "briefcase filled with assorted drugs" in his car. Cosby's attorney Marty Singer specifically criticized that detail of her story as "utter nonsense," adding, "There was no briefcase of drugs and this is an absurd fabrication."

Comedy Club owner Joyce Emmons also claimed that in the 1970s Cosby would brag to her about the "drawer full of drugs," including Quaaludes, that he kept in his Las Vegas suite, despite her repeatedly telling him she was not interested. Emmons said Cosby would liberally give drugs to other people but never took any himself. Emmons was among the first to specifically accuse Cosby of using Quaaludes. Emmons repeated her story in numerous subsequent interviews, including the New York Magazine exposé that featured 34 other Cosby accusers. When asked about Emmon's accusations Cosby's lawyer Marty Singer responded directly: "The brand new claims about decade-old events are becoming increasingly ridiculous." Singer noted that for decades these claims went unreported and are "unsubstantiated, fantastical stories."

2005 deposition and use of Quaaludes

In his 2005 deposition, Cosby admitted under oath to receiving Quaaludes from gynecologist Leroy Amar, and illegally dispensing them to other people, including one woman with whom he said he wanted to have consensual sex. Cosby admitted he received seven prescriptions of the drug, not for medical reasons, but because "Quaaludes happen to be the drug that kids, young people were using to party with and there were times when I wanted to have them just in case." Cosby described his illegal dispensing of the drug casually, saying that he would offer them "the same as a person would say, 'Have a drink.' "He testified that he never gave Quaaludes to a woman without her consent. When asked for more specific details regarding the use of Quaaludes in his sex life, Cosby said he could not remember since the events in question happened nearly 30 years earlier.

Spanish fly

See also: It's True! It's True! § Spanish Fly

In Cosby's 1969 biographical comedy album It's True! It's True!, he talks of his obsession with "Spanish fly" and jokes about slipping the aphrodisiac into unsuspecting women's drinks. The joke begins with a 13-year-old Cosby first hearing of the substance and ends with an adult Cosby excitedly asking about getting Spanish fly while in Spain, only to be disappointed when a local cab driver asks him for "American fly."

In a December 1991 interview with Larry King, Cosby made jokes about drugging women with Spanish fly by dropping it into their drinks so they would then want to have sex with him. In his 1992 book Childhood, Cosby devotes an entire chapter to Spanish fly, recalling how enamored he was with the concept as a pubescent boy. An entranced young Cosby asks what Spanish fly looks like, how to give it to a girl ("In a sandwich of somethin'?"), and how much of it to use, to which one of Cosby's childhood friends replies, "Soon as her clothes come off, that's enough." Kirkus Reviews summarized the book in the following manner, "From musical beds with Russell to a pubescent hunt for fabled Spanish Fly, it's all contrived and easy enough reading for both those now caught in the undertow of childhood and their seniors who somehow survived it long ago. With a book that's transparent, easily digested, low calorie, and inoffensive, Cosby is still selling Jell-O."

Drinking joke

On January 8, 2015, in a stand up routine by Cosby at Budweiser Gardens in London, Ontario, he quipped, "You have to be careful about drinking around me," to a woman in the front row who reportedly was exiting to get a beverage and offered to grab him one. MSNBC and National Post journalists interpreted Cosby's joke as a reference to the drugging and sexual assault allegations against him.

Alleged hush money payments and cover-up

After the allegations resurfaced in 2014, Wendy Williams recalled that during her radio show in the 1990s, she made a reference to sexual assault allegations against Cosby that had been published in the National Enquirer. Williams said Cosby called her boss in the middle of the radio broadcast demanding that Williams be fired.

It has been reported that one of the reasons why many of Cosby's accusers did not initially come forward is because Cosby gave them money in exchange for their silence. In November 2014, former NBC facilities manager Frank Scotti told the New York Daily News that while working on The Cosby Show, Cosby funneled regular payments to several women via money orders that Scotti was told to purchase in his own name. Among the women identified in receipts that Scotti preserved for more than 20 years were Shawn Thompson, Cosby's admitted mistress who later accused him of fathering her child, and Angela Leslie, who claimed Cosby made unwanted sexual advances toward her in the early 1990s. Scotti "suspected that [Cosby] was having sex with them." He also noted that Cosby "was covering himself by having my name on [the money orders]. It was a coverup." Scotti also claimed that Cosby regularly took aspiring models and actresses into his dressing room and instructed Scotti, "Stand outside the door and don't let anyone in." In a later interview for NBC's Today Show, Scotti said he "felt like a pimp." Cosby's lawyer Martin Singer denied Scotti's accusations and said the walker-bound 90-year-old was merely seeking "his 15 minutes of fame."

In the 2005 deposition that was made public in July 2015, Cosby admitted to making regular payments to Therese Serignese after having sex with her in the 1970s. Serignese is one of several women now suing Cosby for denying that he sexually assaulted her.

Also, in Cosby's 2005 court deposition, he recalled that the National Enquirer was about to run a story about accuser Beth Ferrier's alleged assault, but Cosby was able to use his influence to get the magazine to pull that story in exchange for an exclusive, more positive interview with him.

Unsealing of Constand v. Cosby deposition

On July 8, 2015, Andrea Constand and her attorney Dolores Troiani filed a motion to negate the confidentiality agreement in the 2005 case against Cosby, claiming that Cosby had already engaged in "total abandonment of the confidentiality portions of the agreement" by way of the recent, sweeping denials of all allegations against him. The entire deposition from 2005 was released 10 days later, causing Cosby's lawyers to file a new motion in the case on July 21, 2015, asserting that Constand and Troiani may have orchestrated the release of the deposition. In the deposition, Cosby testified he obtained Quaaludes from gynecologist Leroy Amar, who knew that Cosby had no intention of taking the drugs himself. Cosby instead intended to give them to women he wanted to have sexual relations with and admitted that he had given the drug to at least one woman and other people. Cosby admitted knowing it was illegal at the time to dispense the drug to other people. Amar would later have his medical license revoked in California and New York. The judge ruled that releasing the sealed document was justified by Cosby's role as a "public moralist" in contrast to his possible criminal private behavior. On July 18, 2015 The New York Times, having obtained the complete deposition from a court reporting service, hired by Constand, that had released the document to the public domain, published a summary and excerpts. Cosby's testimony shows a history of casual sex involving use of Quaaludes with a series of young women.

In a court filing condemning the release of the deposition, Cosby's attorneys stressed that none of the testimony so far unsealed by a judge stated that he engaged in non-consensual sex or gave anyone Quaaludes without their knowledge or consent. "Reading the media accounts, one would conclude that the Defendant has admitted to rape," the document said. "And yet the Defendant admitted to nothing more than being one of the many people who introduced Quaaludes into their consensual sex life in the 1970s". Cosby's lawyers further contended that a court reporting service hired by Constand had released the 2005 court transcript to the New York Times, days earlier, in a 'massive breach of protocol'. The court reporters' code of ethics prohibits the release of testimony without all parties first being contacted.

Reactions

Recalling encounters with Cosby

Demonstrators in Kitchener, Ontario

Columnist Norm Clarke recalled an encounter with Cosby in the 1990s in Denver, where the comedian embraced a crowd of adoring fans but treated Clarke with contempt. Clarke wrote: "Last week, as allegations of sexual assault mounted against Cosby, I found myself wondering why a man so beloved, here and around the globe, who had won over everyone from school kids to media, kept a Denver newspaperman at bay.... So what if he didn’t want to talk to another journalist? But now I tend to think something else may have been involved. Self-preservation."

Clarke related the experience of Donna Tagliaferri, who described "a terrifying incident after meeting Cosby in the mid-1970s through tennis" when she was in her early 20s. After playing tennis with Cosby a number of times, he invited her on a dinner date and then invited her up to his hotel room. Fortunately she had a girlfriend accompany them. After showing them around the penthouse, "things changed dramatically and quickly. He made it clear to me in a very aggressive way what his intentions were. He chillingly said to me, 'I will have you.' Those words are imprinted on my brain along with the evil I felt. My first thought was, 'No you will not.' Then shock took over, and when words wouldn't come a paralyzing feeling did." At this point her girlfriend started talking and got them out of the situation: "I have no way of knowing what would have happened if Wendy had not been there. What I do know is his words were an assault to me never to be forgotten. And the betrayal of a friendship was staggering."

Dana Kennedy, a journalist and correspondent, profiled Cosby for the Associated Press in 1992, noting that even though Cosby was at the height of his success and did not have any measurably negative publicity, he went on at length about "why he mistrusts the press," saying he likes to "control" his interviews. The AP piece reflected more on how uncomfortable the interview was than the substance of the interview itself. In 2014, Kennedy recalled that after the critical AP piece ran, Cosby sent her a cryptic package with a withered piece of fruit wrapped up in a paper towel. She noted that despite her interviews with some of the most notorious celebrities, it was Cosby—during the time of his highest popularity—who stood out as having a "scary" persona, recalling the mysterious package as something that "has always given" her "the creeps." It was her remembrance of "how intimidating and menacing" Cosby was during that experience which led her to believe the stories of the women who were accusing Cosby.

Defenses of Cosby

In 2014, Camille Cosby, who married Cosby in 1964 when she was 19, released a statement supporting her husband, describing him as a victim of unvetted accusations: "The man I met, and fell in love with, and whom I continue to love, is the man you all knew through his work. He is a kind man ... and a wonderful husband, father and friend."

In a January 2015 Time magazine article about why black women should stop defending Cosby, actress Phylicia Rashad is quoted defending him: "What you’re seeing is the destruction of a legacy. And I think it’s orchestrated. I don’t know why or who’s doing it, but it’s the legacy. And it’s a legacy that is so important to the culture."

In a July 2015 USA Today article about how the actors of The Cosby Show responded to the allegations, Keshia Knight Pulliam of the cast stated "All I can speak to is the man I know and I love the fact that he has been such an example [and] you can't take away from the great that he has done, the millions and millions of dollars he has given back to colleges and education, and just what he did with the Cosby Show and how groundbreaking that was. The Cosbys, we were the first family that no matter what race, religion, you saw yourself in," Further addressing the charges against Cosby. "At the end of the day they are allegations. ... I don't have that story to tell."

In September 2015, comedian Damon Wayans attacked the accusers, calling them "un-rape-able", and defended Cosby by stating, "It's a money hustle."

Defenders change minds

Two notable people who had previously defended Cosby, and believed in his innocence, changed their minds. American actress and talk show host Whoopi Goldberg and Joseph C. Phillips (a Cosby Show regular for three years) each made public statements on July 15, 2015. Goldberg said, "If this is to be tried in the court of public opinion, I got to say all of the information that's out there kind of points to guilt." In an interview Goldberg had a message for Cosby: "It looks bad, Bill. Either speak up or shut up." Goldberg had received threats for staunchly standing by Cosby. Goldberg, in the form of a question, referred to Cosby as a "serial rapist" and questioned why he was still on the streets. Phillips was more direct in a separate comment from Goldberg, saying "Of course Bill Cosby is guilty!"

Obama reaction

Also on July 15, 2015, President Barack Obama was asked at a news conference if Bill Cosby’s Medal of Freedom award (which Cosby received from President George W. Bush in 2002) would be revoked. President Obama responded by stating:

"There's no precedent for revoking a medal. We don't have that mechanism. And, as you know, I tend to make it a policy not to comment on the specifics of cases where there might still be, if not criminal, then civil, issues involved. [long pause] I'll say this, if you give a woman, or a man for that matter, without his or her knowledge, a drug, and then have sex with that person without consent, that's rape. And I think this country, any civilized country, should have no tolerance for rape."

New criminal investigations

Judith Huth

On December 16, 2014, after a 10-day investigation, Los Angeles prosecutors declined to file any charges against Bill Cosby after Judy Huth claimed the comedian molested her around 1974 at the Playboy Mansion. Huth had met with Los Angeles police detectives for 90 minutes. In rejecting the case, prosecutors evaluated the charge Cosby would have faced in 1974. Prosecutors took into account legislative changes that extend the statute of limitations for certain crimes but found no way that Cosby could be legally prosecuted.

Lili Bernard

In May 2015, Cuban-American visual artist Lili Bernard filed a sexual assault complaint against Cosby in New Jersey, a state that has no statute of limitations for sexual assault. On July 1, 2015, prosecutors declined to prosecute Cosby because the alleged offense happened before 1996 (the year the law was changed to lift the statute of limitations).

Chloe Goins

On July 7, 2015, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed that its criminal investigation into Bill Cosby's alleged sexual assault of then 18-year-old model Chloe Goins is open and active. "There is an investigation open," LAPD spokesperson Norma Eisenman told FOX411. The following day, in a statement to ABC News, the LAPD said it will explore any sexual assault accusations against Cosby, including accusations for which the statute of limitations has expired.

On October 1, 2015, the LAPD completed its investigation and has referred the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office.

On November 10, 2015, the British tabloid Daily Mail reported that federal prosecutors are also involved in the case, that the statute of limitations had not expired, and that a decision over whether or not to charge Cosby was "imminent." This has been refuted since that time. The Guardian, a highly-respected British daily, is certain that the statute of limitations in California - where the alleged sexual assalt occured - is actually six years, indicating that the case is statute barred and cannot proceed. No charge had been laid in the Goins case as of December 31. The statute of limitations issue was confirmed in a Los Angeles Times article, and reporter Richard Winton offered the following rationale for the continuing investigation of the Goins case: "At the time, LAPD officials said there were many reasons to investigate sexual assault allegations that fall beyond those legal deadlines. Old accusations may lead investigators to more recent incidents with other victims" and Goins would be allowed to testify if charges were laid in any other (more recent) cases.

Cosby's former attorney Martin Singer has stated he would provide documentary evidence to the Los Angeles police that established Cosby was in New York on August 9, 2008, the date of the incident alleged by Goins.

Cosby's response

After Tamara Green, one of the witnesses in Constand's case, re-told her story to Newsweek in February 2014, Cosby's publicist David Brokaw issued a statement at the time calling Green's story a "10-year discredited accusation that proved to be nothing at the time, and is still nothing." When the sexual assault claims against Cosby exploded at the end of 2014, denials by Brokaw and other Cosby representatives became even more vehement, with lawyer Martin Singer calling all of the allegations "unsubstantiated, fantastical stories ... [that] have escalated past the point of absurdity."

When Dickinson came forward in November 2014 to accuse Cosby of raping her in 1982, Martin Singer issued a denial on behalf of Cosby, saying explicitly, "Janice Dickinson’s story accusing Bill Cosby of rape is a lie."

Around the time of these interviews, Cosby's lawyers began sending sharply-worded letters to publications that wrote about the sexual assault allegations, threatening them with legal action and using phrases like "proceed at your own peril" if they published certain stories. News outlets published the threatening letters from Cosby's attorneys.

In November 2014, one of Bill Cosby's lawyers, John Schmitt, released a statement reading, "Over the last several weeks, decade-old, discredited allegations against Mr. Cosby have resurfaced. The fact they are being repeated does not make them true. Mr. Cosby does not intend to dignify these allegations with any comment." This statement was also posted to the front page of Cosby's official website.

Interviews

Cosby was asked directly about Buress's comments and the resulting fallout in two November 2014 interviews, which were originally intended to be about a new art exhibit at the Smithsonian that featured his private collection of African American art. In an NPR interview on November 15, 2014, reporter Scott Simon said: "This question gives me no pleasure, Mr. Cosby, but there have been serious allegations raised about you in recent days." Cosby became silent, leading to an awkward radio exchange in which Simon verbally described Cosby's actions to listeners: "you're shaking your head no." Simon continued asking Cosby to comment on the allegations before finally wrapping up the interview with no further communication from Cosby. In a November 6, 2014, interview with Associated Press reporter Brett Zongker, Cosby appeared visibly rattled by unexpected Buress questions and told Zongker, "No, no, we don't answer that." In the proceeding minutes, Cosby repeatedly attempted to get Zongker to confirm that the AP would edit out the Buress questions, implying that Zongker's "integrity" and ability to be a "serious reporter" would be compromised if that portion of the interview was not "scuttled." When Zongker failed to guarantee this request, Cosby turned to his off-camera publicist David Brokaw and told him to get on the phone with Zongker's editors "immediately." When the interview was first released on November 10, the Buress questions had indeed been omitted. However, after the allegations continued to gain new traction, including a new accusation from Janice Dickinson, the AP decided to release footage of the full exchange on November 19.

In a November 21, 2014, Florida Today interview, Cosby stated: "I know people are tired of me not saying anything, but a guy doesn't have to answer to innuendos. People should fact check. People shouldn't have to go through that and shouldn't answer to innuendos."

2015 Criminal charges

On December 30, 2015, in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Cosby was charged with three second degree felony counts of aggravated indecent assault as a result of a single incident alleged to have occurred at his home in Elkins Park in January 2004. These are the first and only criminal charges as a result of sexual assault allegations that have been made by many women against Cosby. He was arraigned that afternoon without entering a plea; his bail was set at $1 million. Cosby surrendered his passport, posted bond, and was escorted to the Cheltenham Township police department where he was booked, fingerprinted and photographed for a mug shot. The preliminary hearing is scheduled for January 14, 2016.

The charges are based on allegations by Andrea Constand of a sexual assault in January 2004 that had been reported to police in 2005. At the time, the then-district attorney had decided not to proceed with charges, but the current Montgomery County district attorney-elect Kevin Steele decided to proceed not long before the 12 year statute of limitations would have expired in January 2016. (CNN pointed out that the prosecutor did not specify the identity of the victim but that "the criminal complaint and Constand's attorney, Dolores Troiani, confirmed [they] relate to Constand's case.")

Cosby had settled the civil suit with Constand in 2006 and the testimony from that case was finally unsealed during the summer of 2015; that contained new information including Cosby's deposition. (Cosby had also told police in 2005 that sexual contact with Constand had been with her consent.) The authorities re-interviewed witnesses before laying the charge. The criminal court documents allege that Benadryl or some other unidentified substance was used during the January 2004 incident and the original complaint contained a great deal of additional information now available to the press.

According to the Chicago Tribune, "the statute of limitations for bringing criminal charges against him in other places has run out in nearly every case" but the writer suggests that charges could still be laid in a Los Angeles case. Presumably, the reference is to the accusation that Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted Chloe Goins in 2008 at the Playboy Mansion, reported to police in 2015. While the sexual assault alleged by Goins occurred less than 12 years ago, the statute of limitations is six years in California, not 12 as in Pennsylvania; hence, that case is also statute barred.

The maximum penalty for a conviction on aggravated indecent assault in Pennsylvania is 10 years in prison and a fine of $25,000. Cosby's attorney issued the following statement after the arraignment: "The charge ... came as no surprise, filed 12 years after the alleged incident and coming on the heels of a hotly contested election for this county's DA during which this case was made the focal point. ... We intend to mount a vigorous defense against this unjustified charge and we expect that Mr. Cosby will be exonerated by a court of law."

Fallout

File:Cosby communications center.png

The Camille O. and William H. Cosby Mass Communication Telecommunication Center at Central State University before (above) and after (below) Cosby's 2005 court deposition was made public.

Numerous institutions, colleges, universities, businesses and broadcast networks have severed ties with Cosby as a result of the allegations.

Bill Cosby's massive amount of honorary degrees has been the subject of controversy. It is estimated that the comedian received more than 60 honorary degrees between 1985 and 2014, many of which were conferred after Cosby admitted to funneling money to mistress Shawn Upshaw in the 1990s, was accused of sexually assaulting Lachele Covington in 2000, and faced a sexual abuse lawsuit in 2005 by Andrea Constand with 13 other alleged victims prepared to come forward. Nevertheless, Cosby continued to collect honorary degrees, up until Boston University granted the honor to him in May 2014. And the University of Arizona was still in discussions as late as November 2014 to award a degree to Cosby in 2015.

However, as the Cosby controversy continued to unfold, there was an increasing movement to draw attention to sexual violence on college campuses, with growing criticism that the bureaucracy of higher education led to a culture where sexual crimes were not taken seriously. New York Magazine referred to the movement in 2014 as a "revolution against campus sexual assault." It became so prevalent that Vice President Joe Biden released an op-ed in 2015 to combat the issue. It was under this backdrop that numerous colleges and universities began to sever their ties with Cosby, with an unprecedented number of them rescinding his honorary degrees.

When announcing their condemnation of Cosby, many universities used the opportunity to voice strong no-tolerance policies of sexual violence of any kind. Brown University said Cosby's alleged actions were "particularly troubling as our university community continues to confront the very real challenges of sexual violence on our campus and in society at large." In Baylor University's statement announcing Cosby's rescinded degree, it added, "Through the efforts of our Title IX Office, we are encouraging victims to report acts of interpersonal and sexual violence, and making sure those suffering from the effects of such acts are provided the necessary support and services to feel safe and be academically successful."

Despite 20 institutions rescinding Cosby's degrees, several others refused to do so, often citing their policy never to rescind anyone's degree for any reason. Most of these schools nevertheless included statements abhorring Cosby's conduct.

University of Pennsylvania received some of the greatest backlash when it announced it would not rescind Cosby's honorary degree because of university policy. It had no comment when confronted about the fact that Penn had actually previously rescinded two other honorary degrees. Philadelphia magazine published an op-ed titled "Penn, Are You Serious About Not Revoking Bill Cosby’s Honorary Degree?" summarizing, "On a campus where 27 percent of women report being sexually assaulted, the hesitation is unacceptable."

Institutions sever ties

In November 2014, colleges and universities with ties to Cosby began removing their affiliations with him. The University of Massachusetts Amherst, one of Cosby's almae matres, asked Cosby to step down as an honorary co-chairman of the university's fundraising campaign. The Berklee College of Music, which had previously awarded Cosby with an honorary degree, got rid of a scholarship that it offered in Cosby's name. High Point University in North Carolina also pulled Cosby from its advisory board, and Freed-Hardeman University rescinded its invitation for Cosby to appear at an annual dinner in December.

On December 4, 2014, the United States Navy took the rare step of revoking Cosby's honorary title of Chief Petty Officer, which he had received in 2011. The Navy released a statement saying the "allegations against Mr. Cosby are very serious and are in conflict with the Navy's core values of honor, courage and commitment."

In December 2014 amid pressure to cut long-term ties with Temple University, Cosby resigned from the board of trustees.

On December 14, 2014, Spelman College indefinitely suspended its "Camille Olivia Hanks Cosby Endowed Professorship," named after Bill Cosby's wife. The college said it would restore the endowed professorship when its "original goals can again be met," but after Cosby's 2005 deposition became public in July 2015, Spelman discontinued the professorship entirely.

By the end of 2014, talent agency CAA dropped Cosby as a client, leaving him without a Hollywood agent.

On July 7, 2015, Walt Disney World removed a statue of Bill Cosby that had been featured as part of the Hollywood Studios park's "Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame Plaza."

In mid July 2015, after enormous public pressure to remove art work owned by Cosby, the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art decided to post a disclaimer reminding visitors that an exhibition featuring Bill Cosby's art collection is about the artists, not a tribute to the embattled comedian.

On July 20, 2015, it was announced that Cosby would no longer appear in the upcoming documentary Painted Down, about the history of African American stuntmen in film and television. Cosby is credited with helping to create the Black Stuntmen's Association in 1967. Producer Nonie Robinson claimed, "We were the last project standing behind him" but said that pulling him from the documentary was "the right thing to do in light of the recent court deposition being made public." At the same time, The Black Stuntmen's Association removed a tribute to Cosby on its website.

On July 23, 2015, Simon & Schuster confirmed to the Associated Press that it would not be releasing a paperback version of the Cosby-approved 2014 biography Cosby: His Life and Times, which gained criticism for not addressing the then-few public sexual assault allegations against Cosby. The publisher also pulled celebrity endorsements for the book after David Letterman and Jerry Seinfeld reportedly asked to distance themselves from the biography.

On July 23, 2015, according to the Philadelphia City Paper, a "Father’s Day" mural depicting Cosby, Nelson Mandela, and Desmond Tutu, was scheduled for removal. It was painted over after being defaced with graffiti reading "rapist" and "dude with ludes," referencing the recently unsealed 2005 deposition in which the comedian admitted to obtaining Quaaludes to give to women with the intention of having sex with them. The Mural Arts Program was already intending to remove the mural, but rapidly accelerated the removal due to pressure.

On August 17, 2015, New York University's free 12-week film program for high school students cut all ties with Cosby. NYU had previously named the program “William H. Cosby Future Filmmakers Workshop”. NYU has since removed Cosby’s name from the Future Filmmakers program, and deleted the webpage containing program information. “The workshops will be continuing, but Cosby’s name has been removed ... in light of recent events” NYU spokesperson Matt Nagel told NYU Local in an August 28 email.

On September 2, 2015, a portrait of Bill Cosby made from seeds sparked outrage from attendees at the Minnesota State Fair held at the Agriculture Horticulture Building in Minnesota. Artist Nick Rindo made the crop portrait of Bill Cosby from a type of canola seeds called rapeseed. He accompanied the Cosby portrait with a small card, explaining that it was made from rapeseed, but one of the staff taped over the word rapeseed. Due to the outrage, it was taken down after a day of display.

On September 11, 2015, Central State University, a historically black college which Cosby has donated over $2 million to, officially permanently removed Cosby's name from the Camille O. & William H. Cosby Communications Center and renamed it the CSU Communications Center. The school had been temporarily covering Cosby's name since July while it made a final decision.

On October 7, 2015, Temple University announced that it would be further distancing itself from Cosby by replacing the vacated seat that he resigned from in December 2014, with Temple alumnus and NBC correspondent Tamron Hall. The board was expected to vote on this on October 13, 2015. Hall was expected to take her seat on the board in December.

On November 19, 2015, Central High School's alumni board voted to remove Cosby from its Hall of Fame. Board president Jeffrey Muldawer said the decision was made to "eliminate an issue" that was distracting from its mission. He says some board members didn't feel comfortable holding Cosby up as a role model for children. Muldawer says Cosby's removal doesn't reflect an opinion about the allegations. Cosby attended Central only for part of his freshman year. He was inducted in 1998.

Honorary degrees rescinded

A total of 23 academic institutions have rescinded honorary degrees they awarded to Cosby. Most of them cited Cosby's 2005 depostion. Several of these institutions had never rescinded an honorary degree before, or only once before.

Fordham University rescinded Cosby's honorary degree. Fordham said, "The University has taken this extraordinary step in light of Mr. Cosby’s now-public court depositions that confirm many of the allegations made against him by numerous women." and that "Mr. Cosby was willing to drug and rape women for his sexual gratification, and further damage those same women’s reputations and careers to obscure his guilt, hurt not only his victims, but all women, and is beyond the pale." The next day Cosby's attorney John P. Schmitt sent a letter to Fordham University calling its statement "so irresponsible as to shock the conscience", and saying "The mischaracterization of Mr. Cosby's testimony is so egregious that one can only conclude that it was written by one either unfamiliar with the testimony or determined deliberately to misrepresent Mr. Cosby's words." Schmitt criticized the university for an apparent effort to lend "gratuituous support" to defamation suits pending against Cosby, citing what he called the school's unfounded claim that the entertainer has a "longtime strategy of denigrating the reputations of women who accused him of such actions."

Also rescinding degrees were Marquette University, the University of San Francisco, Brown University, * Wilkes University Baylor University, Lehigh University, Goucher College, Tufts University, Franklin & Marshall College , Amherst College, Springfield College, Muhlenberg College, Drexel University, Bryant University, The University of Pittsburgh, Drew University, The California State University, The City University of New York, Swarthmore College, Boston University, Occidental College and Oberlin College,

A number of universities and educational institutions emphasized that they conferred honorary degrees on Cosby based on information known at the time of the award, and while some said they deplored recent revelations about Cosby's conduct, they lacked a policy or mechanism for revoking the honor. Other colleges refused comment, or stated that decisions were still pending. As of November 2015, Cosby maintained valid honorary degrees from Berklee College of Music, Boston College, Carnegie Mellon University, Colby College, Colgate University, Cooper Union, Delaware State University, Fashion Institute of Technology, George Washington University, Hampton University, Haverford College, Howard University, Johns Hopkins University, New York University, North Carolina A&T State University, Ohio State University, Old Dominion University, Paine College, Pepperdine University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Rust College, Sisseton Wahpeton College, Talladega College, Temple University, The College of William & Mary, University of Cincinnati, University of Connecticut, University of Maryland, University of Notre Dame, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of South Carolina, University of Southern California, University of Pennsylvania, Virginia Commonwealth University, Wesleyan University, West Chester University, and Yale University.

Broadcast networks cancel shows

On November 17, 2014, Netflix postponed a Cosby stand-up comedy special after accusations surfaced that Cosby had sexually assaulted Janice Dickinson in 1982.

Reruns of The Cosby Show and other shows associated with Cosby have also been canceled. On November 19, 2014, TV Land and NBC both ended their relationships with Cosby: TV Land announced that it was pulling reruns from its schedule and also removing clips of the show from its website, while NBC scrapped its plans to develop a brand new sitcom starring Cosby. In December 2014, the Magic Johnson-owned Aspire removed the two series, I Spy and The Bill Cosby Show from its lineup. In July 2015, broadcast network Bounce TV pulled reruns, and BET's Centric (another Viacom unit) stopped airing reruns. The show is still available on Hulu Plus.

Civil lawsuits against Cosby

As of November 13, 2015, there are nine lawsuits currently active against Bill Cosby. Judith Huth and Chloe Goins are both suing Cosby for damages related to their alleged sexual assaults. Although the statute of limitation has run out for most other accusers to sue directly for their alleged assault, multiple accusers have filed defamation lawsuits claiming that Cosby continued to call them liars through 2014: Janice Dickinson, Renita Hill, Kristina Ruehli and Katherine McKee have filed individual lawsuits. Tamara Green, Therese Serignese, Linda Traitz, Barbara Bowman, Joan Tarshis, Louisa Moritz and Angela Leslie are also involved in a combined lawsuit against Cosby. Andrea Constand, the woman who sued Cosby in 2005, filed a lawsuit in 2015 claiming Cosby violated their confidentiality agreement and is seeking the full details of her 2005 suit to be released. Twenty nine of the accusers are being represented by attorney Gloria Allred. One accuser, Janice Dickinson, is represented by Allred's daughter, Lisa Bloom.

Tamara Green, et al.

Green filed a lawsuit against Cosby and his representatives in December 2014, claiming that the continued denials amounted to publicly branding her as a liar, resulting in defamation of character. Tamara Green's lawsuit was filed in Cosby's home state of Massachusetts.

In January 2015, the lawsuit was amended to allow fellow accusers Linda Joy Traitz and Therese Serignese to be added as co-plaintiffs. Martin Singer had released a statement specifically targeting Traitz after she posted allegations against Cosby on Facebook in November, calling her story "ridiculous," "absurd," and "utter nonsense." No such denials were leveled explicitly at Serignese, but she claims the sweeping denials against all of Cosby's accusers included her and has damaged her reputation as well.

On October 20, 2015, AIG filed legal papers in this case to try to put a stay on the litigation, pending a court declaration of whether the insurance company has a duty to help defend Bill Cosby as well as pay for any actual damages won. AIG Property Casualty Company claims that Cosby’s policy doesn’t cover the liability he’s currently facing in the lawsuit — but they’ve nonetheless been funding Cosby’s legal defense “at a considerable cost.”"

On November 13, 2015 it was reported that four more women -- Barbara Bowman, Joan Tarshis, Louisa Moritz and Angela Leslie -- have joined the lawsuit as additional plaintiffs. Bowman, Tarshis, and Leslie are co-represented by Chicago attorney Michael Bressler. Lawyers for Cosby declined to comment.

On December 3, 2015 it was reported by the Associated Press that the plaintiff's Attorney Joseph Cammarata has set depositions for Camille Cosby on Jan 6, 2016 and Bill Cosby on Feb 22, 2016. Both are to happen in Springfield, Massachusetts. Cammarata announced the deposition dates during a hearing in federal court in a separate lawsuit filed against Cosby by his insurer, AIG Property Casualty Co. which is claiming it is not responsible for defending Cosby or his wife

On December 14, 2015 Bill Cosby filed a countersuit against all seven plaintiffs, according to his lawyer Monique Pressley. In the suit, Cosby claims the women have made "malicious, opportunistic and false and defamatory accusations of sexual misconduct against him." He also claims each defendant "knowingly published false statements and accusations."

Janice Dickinson

Janice Dickinson brought forth a similar defamation lawsuit against Cosby in May 2015, filed in California. According to Dickinson's attorney, Lisa Bloom, "Calling Dickinson a liar is a defamatory statement under the law ... and that's the mistake Bill Cosby made." Later court filings included sworn statements from friends and colleagues who confirm that Dickinson has provided a consistent story for many years about her alleged abuse. Pablo Fenjves, Dickinson's ghostwriter, as well as former ReganBooks president Judith Regan, both assert that Dickinson came forward with her allegations for her 2002 autobiography, but they were not included in the book because ReganBooks' parent company HarperCollins was afraid of being sued by Cosby.

On November 2, 2015, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Debre Katz Weintraub ruled Cosby and his former lawyer Martin Singer must give a deposition despite their efforts to have the case thrown out (Singer is not named as a defendant in the case). The ruling states Dickinson's lawyers can only seek answers as to whether the denials were made maliciously, and Cosby and Singer can assert attorney-client privilege and refuse to answer some questions. Singer is scheduled to be deposed November 19 in Los Angeles, with Cosby's deposition occurring on November 23 in Boston. On November 12 a California appeals court temporarily halted an order requiring them to testify. Both parties are required to provide information by the end of this month to state their cases as to why or why not the deposition should proceed. "We are confident that once the Court of Appeals hears full argument on the issues it will allow the deposition of Mr. Cosby and his attorney to go forward," Dickinson's attorney Lisa Bloom wrote in an email. An email sent to Cosby's Attorney seeking comment was not answered. Marty Singer announced that he was planning a new legal move of his own. “I’m looking forward to pursuing claims against Janice Dickinson and Lisa Bloom after I prevail in this action,” Singer told Deadline tonight.

On November 16, 2015, City News Service reported that Dickinson amended her suit and named Cosby's former attorney Marty Singer as a co-defendant. The amended suit states Singer prepared four press releases denying that Cosby drugged and raped Dickinson that were released three days after she made her allegations on CNN. Singer called Dickinson's allegations "fabricated" and "an outrageous defamatory lie" the suit states. The suit alleges that Singer "acted with reckless disregard to the falsity of the statements" and that there were "obvious reasons to doubt the accuracy of his statements." Cosby and Singer also refused to retract those statements despite requests from Dickinson's lawyers. Singer and Cosby terminated their work relationship soon afterwards, and the comedian is now represented by Christopher Tayback of Quinn Emanuel.

Judith Huth

In December 2014, Judy Huth filed a lawsuit alleging sexual assault in 1974 at the Playboy Mansion when she was 15 years old. It is one of two active lawsuits against Cosby directly alleging sexual assault. Even though the incident occurred more than 40 years ago, California laws allow alleged child sexual abuse victims to bring their cases forward as an adult. Cosby is countersuing both Huth and her Attorney Marc Strecker for legal fees.

On August 4, 2015, a Los Angeles superior court judge ordered Cosby to give a sworn deposition in the lawsuit. The deposition lasted 7.5 hours on October 9, 2015 in Boston, though no further details have been made public. The deposition will be sealed until at least December 22, 2015. Allred has announced that she would be seeking to depose Cosby again.

Judith Huth is scheduled to give her deposition for Cosby's attorney's on January 29, 2016.

Chloe Goins

On October 6, 2015, Chloe Goins filed a lawsuit against Cosby. Goins is suing Cosby for an unspecified amount claiming the alleged attack left her suffering from ‘emotional distress, psychological and psychiatric trauma, mental anguish, humiliation, confusion, embarrassment, loss of self-esteem, loss of dignity’, and also caused her to miss out on a ‘proper and complete education’. However, Goins’s lawyer, Spencer Kuvin, said his client’s number one priority was that the truth comes out and Cosby is criminally prosecuted for his actions.

Cosby's former attorney Martin Singer has stated he would provide documentary evidence to the Los Angeles police that established Cosby was in New York on August 9, 2008, the date of the incident alleged by Goins.

Renita Hill

On October 14, 2015, Cosby accuser Renita Hill, who claims that the star gave her a bit part on television, funded her college education and pledged to assist her career, all while sporadically sexually abusing her from 1983 to 1987, filed a defamation suit against Cosby, his former attorney Marty Singer & Cosby's wife and manager Camille Cosby alleging that all three last year defamed her, cast her in a false light and intentionally inflicted emotional distress. She is seeking a jury trial. Attorneys George M. Kontos and Katie A. Killion are representing Ms. Hill. Cosby's attorneys asked the court to dismiss the suit (now in federal court) in late December 2015 alleging that Cosby's denials are opinions and invoking the First Amendment. Hill's attorneys have responded to the court indicating that Cosby's denials are published facts and hence are defamatory and not covered by First Amendment protections.

Kristina Ruehli

On November 9, 2015, Kristina Ruehli filed a defamation lawsuit against Cosby for denying her claims of rape. Ruehli's allegations against Cosby date back the furthest, with claims that Cosby assaulted her in 1965. She claims Cosby's vehement denials leveled against the numerous accusers in 2014 are grounds for defamation. Ruehli's complaint states, in part, "It is one thing for an accused sexual assailant to remain silent and allow the legal process, or public opinion, to run its course, but it is quite another for him to unleash his agents to deny that he attacked the plaintiff and other women, to invite others to republish his statements, and to brand them as unreliable liars."

Katherine McKee

On December 22, 2015, Katherine McKee, a former girlfriend of Sammy Davis, Jr., sued Bill Cosby for defamation over claims he and his attorney lied about her being raped by him in a Michigan hotel room in the early 1970s. Katherine McKee alleged in 2014 that Cosby forced himself on her after inviting her to a party on a boat in Detroit.

Related litigation

Suit against Cosby attorney

On November 16, 2015, it was reported that accusers Tamara Green and Barbara Bowman filed a joint lawsuit against John Schmitt, one of Bill Cosby's lawyers. In November 2014, Schmitt released a statement reading, "Over the last several weeks, decade-old, discredited allegations against Mr. Cosby have resurfaced. The fact they are being repeated does not make them true. Mr. Cosby does not intend to dignify these allegations with any comment." This statement was also posted to the front page of Cosby's official website. Green and Bowman contend that this widely-circulated statement amounted to branding them as liars, resulting in emotional distress and other damages.

Insurance coverage dispute

AIG Property Casualty Company, Cosby's homeowner's insurance, has tentatively agreed to pick up Cosby's legal costs for the Tamara Green, et al. case in Massachusetts, as well as for Janice Dickinson's case in California, over whether these women were defamed when Cosby's representatives denied the occurrence of sexual misconduct. But the insurer has also filed lawsuits related to both cases, aiming for declaratory relief that it is not responsible. Cosby's homeowners insurance does cover him for "personal injury," which is defined in his policy as including "bodily injury"; "shock, emotional distress, mental injury"; "invasion of privacy"; and "defamation, libel, or slander." However, the policy contains an exclusion for "sexual, physical or mental abuse," setting the stage for a potentially novel legal battle over whether a defamation claim about the denial of sexual abuse is or isn't covered.

In September 2015, Cosby filed a motion to either dismiss AIG's lawsuit or put it on hold. Cosby's attorneys argued that AIG was acting against Cosby's best interests, and that fighting both the lawsuits from the accusers as well as from his insurance company would drain his resources.

On October 9, 2015, AIG filed a blistering response, calling Cosby's motion "bizarre and possibly unique in the entire history of American jurisprudence," criticizing Cosby's lawyers for referencing irrelevant case law from other states, and saying that if the court sided with Cosby, it "would amount to a wholesale abandonment of this Court’s jurisdiction, all for no apparent reason."

On November 13, 2015, California Federal Judge Beverly O'Connell granted Cosby's motion to dismiss in the Janice Dickinson case and concluded that AIG had a duty to defend. In her opinion, O'Connell looked at the "arising out of" exclusion noted above and declares the meaning is ambiguous. "The Court finds that both Plaintiff’s broad interpretation and Defendant’s narrow interpretation of 'arising out of' are reasonable," she writes. "The sexual misconduct exclusion could reasonably be read to require that Dickinson’s claims merely relate to sexual misconduct, or that Dickinson’s claims be proximately caused by the sexual misconduct." Since ambiguous terms are interpreted in favor of finding coverage, Cosby prevails. O'Connell also gave a second independent reason for finding in Cosby's favor. She looked at the Dickerson complaint and concluded that there are allegations independent of sexual misconduct. "For example, allegations that Defendant 'intentionally drugged' Dickinson 'even though he knew that she had been in a rehab center for addiction a few months before' could reasonably be interpreted as independent of sexual misconduct, and therefore, within the Policies’ coverage," she writes. "Similarly, the Dickinson Complaint alleges that Defendant’s statements contain numerous implications about Dickinson, including the implication that 'Dickinson has copied the claims made publicly by other women against Defendant' and 'the implication that Ms. Dickinson’s rape disclosure is and that therefore she is a liar.'" Since courts impose coverage in a "mixed" action, Cosby prevails here as well. This ruling does not apply to the Massachusetts' case, where AIG and Cosby are still fighting to determine who is liable.

Gloria Allred vs Cobb-Marietta Coliseum, et al.

On November 18, 2015, Gloria Allred announced she was suing Cobb County, GA; Cobb-Marietta Coliseum; and Michael Taormina for violating her first amendment rights when she was denied entry to Bill Cosby's stand-up comedy performance on May 2, 2015 at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center in Atlanta. Allred participated in a protest outside of the venue, but had also purchased a ticket to the show. Nevertheless, local police officers told her she would be arrested for trespassing if she entered the theater. Allred said Cosby's team coordinated with security and police to deny entry to individuals they had placed on a list of "agitators." Cobb-Marietta Coliseum is the name of the company that organized the show, and Michael Taormina is its managing director. The police officers are employed by Cobb County.

"Performers should not be able to commandeer a police force (as Bill Cosby's representatives appeared to do) in order to exclude individuals from the performance because they have a different viewpoint than the performer has," Allred said. She is seeking a court order to prohibit what she calls the venue's "censorship policy on admissions."

Bill Cosby vs Beverly Johnson

On December 21, 2015 Bill Cosby sued supermodel Beverly Johnson for defamation, marking the first time Cosby has sued a woman who has claimed he has sexually assaulted them without being sued himself first. Cosby's lawsuit accuses Johnson of lying about an incident in which she says Cosby drugged her with a cappuccino in his New York home before letting her go after she angrily rebuked his advances. The suit contends Johnson, 63, has been using the story—first told in a Vanity Fair story and repeated in numerous interviews and a memoir—to try to rekindle her career. Johnson's "false allegations against Mr. Cosby have been the centerpiece of her attempted resurgence and she has played them to the hilt, repeatedly and maliciously publishing the false accusations in articles, interviews, and television appearances," Cosby's lawsuit states. It seeks unspecified damages and an injunction preventing the model from repeating her claims and requests they be removed from Johnson's memoir, which was released in August." A friend of Johnson said, “She expected this to happen. She didn’t seem upset 'with the news', but I think she’s prepared to counter-sue.”

Legislative changes

In March 2015, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne announced a new plan titled "It's Never Okay" which includes an unprecedented $41 million budget to combat sexual violence and harassment: "The new plan was drafted in response to high-profile incidents that remain under investigation, including sexual-assault allegations against members of the University of Ottawa men's hockey team, Jian Ghomeshi, and Bill Cosby."

On May 26, 2015, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval signed a bill that extends the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution of rape from four years to twenty years. Lise Lotte Lublin, who accused Bill Cosby of drugging her in 1989 in a Las Vegas, Nevada hotel, testified in support of the new law and asked Nevada Assembly Member Irene Bustamante Adams to introduce bill AB212 earlier this year.

On September 15, 2015, Cosby accusers Beth Ferrier, Heidi Thomas, and Helen Hayes met with State Representative Rhonda Fields, 18th Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler, and others at the Capitol in Denver, Colorado. There they discussed lengthening the current ten-year statute of limitations in Colorado for sexual assault. Gloria Allred, who represents most of the more than 50 alleged Cosby victims, spoke to the gathering via Skype: "I have been to New Jersey, and I'm not aware of any down side since they eliminated the statute (of limitations) for rape and sex assault." Brauchler said he doesn't want any victim denied a fair hearing because of Colorado's statute, but "I don't have a magic number." Any change would have to be done carefully, he said, because the more time that passes between an alleged sex assault and prosecution, the harder it is for the accused to defend themselves. Fields noted that Colorado has no statutory limit on murder. "Why have an arbitrary cap for sex assault?"

Table of known accusers

Alleged victim	Alleged offense	Alleged drug involvement	Year(s)	Location	First reported	Details
Bowman, Barbara*	Rape	Yes	1986	New York; Atlantic City, New Jersey	2005	One of the most outspoken accusers. Claims Cosby mentored her until she turned 18, then offered her a drug-laced glass of wine and raped her in his NYC home. Later allegedly attempted to assault her in Atlantic City and attempted to destroy her career when she fought back.
Johnson, Beverly	Attempted assault	Yes	1980s	New York	2013	Claims Cosby offered her a spiked espresso but was able to resist his actions and leave his house. Initially came forward in 2013 while working on her memoir, but editors feared prosecution from Cosby.
Moritz, Louisa	Rape		1971	New York	2014	Claims Cosby forced oral sex backstage at The Tonight Show
Ruehli, Kristina	Rape	Yes	1965	Los Angeles	2014	Claims Cosby invited her to a "party" at his house where she was the only guest. Cosby then allegedly drugged and raped her.
Serignese, Therese*	Rape	Yes	1976	Las Vegas, Nevada	2005	Claims Cosby randomly approached her in the Vegas hotel where he was performing, gave her Quaaludes and then raped her. Cosby admitted under oath he made repeated payments to her after the incident, though he asserts it was consensual.
Green, Tamara*	Sexual assault	Yes	1970s	Los Angeles	2005	Was feeling ill one day while working at Cosby's restaurant Cafe Figaro. Cosby allegedly offered her a "decongestant" then drove her to his house, where he attempted to rape her. Green alleges she was conscious enough to fight back. Was the only witness in Constand's case to be publicly named at the time.
Ferrier, Beth*	Other	Yes	1980s	Denver, Colorado	2005	Ferrier says she had been in a consensual relationship with Cosby for several months, but some time after breaking up, she says he drugged her when she visited him before a performance in Denver. She claimed she woke up in a car in a parking lot with her clothes disheveled, after Cosby offered her a cup of coffee the night before.
Tarshis, Joan	Rape	Yes	1969	Los Angeles	1980s	Claims Cosby mixed her a drink while they were working together, and awoke to Cosby raping her. Originally told her story to a reporter in the 1980s who declined to publish it.
Valentino, Victoria	Rape	Yes	1970	Los Angeles	1996	Claims Cosby offered her pills before driving her to his home. Conscious but too drugged to move, she alleges Cosby turned her over and raped her. Valentino's friend confirmed she detailed the incident to her immediately after it happened. She also mentioned it in a videotaped interview in 1996.
Dickinson, Janice	Rape	Yes	1982	Lake Tahoe, Nevada	2002	Claims Cosby had been following her career and invited her to his hotel immediately after she got out of rehab for drug addiction. Alleges Cosby gave her wine and a pill, and awoke to him raping her. Provided her story in 2002 for her autobiography but her publisher cut it in fear of being sued. Also made vague allegations in a 2006 interview with Howard Stern, saying she could not go into too much detail because she feared being targeted by Cosby.
Ferrigno, Carla	Attempted assault		1967	Los Angeles	2014	Claims that while on a date with a man claiming to work in the record industry, she was taken to a party at Cosby's house, after which her date and Cosby's wife left, leaving the two alone. Alleges Cosby then forcefully grabbed and kissed her, repeatedly attempting to get her to have a drink before she insisted on leaving.
Traitz, Linda Joy	Sexual assault	Yes	1969	Los Angeles	2014	Claims that Cosby offered to give her a ride home after her shift at his restaurant, Cafe Fiagro. Alleges that Cosby instead drove her to a secluded area and opened a briefcase full of pills, groped her, and insisted on her taking one of the pills; she declined and demanded to be driven home.
Hill, Renita Chaney	Child sexual abuse	Yes	1982	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	2014	Claims that while being involved with Cosby's children's show Picture Pages, at the age of 15, Cosby made her consume drinks that would make her unconscious until the next day; when she complained about the drinks, Cosby said that was the only way she could continue seeing him. Claims she has one memory of Cosby kissing her before she passed out. Cosby paid for her college tuition.
Leslie, Angela	Sexual assault		1992	Las Vegas, Nevada	2014	Claims that during an acting audition in Cosby's Las Vegas hotel room, Cosby told her to sip from a drink and act intoxicated, although she only pretended to sip it. He then allegedly stripped and forced Leslie's hand on his penis but told her to leave when she resisted. Afterward, she received regular payments from Cosby.
Covington, Lachele	Sexual assault		2000	New York	2000	Claims that after working as an extra on Cosby, she visited Cosby's townhouse for career advice, where he attempted to put her hand on his genitals. Covington reported the allegation to the NYPD three days later but no charges were filed.
Leary Steuer, Patricia*	Sexual assault	Yes	1978, 1980	Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts; Atlantic City, New Jersey	2015	Claims Cosby invited her to a party at his house, but she was the only guest. After having a drink, claims she woke up not remembering what happened. In a similar incident 2 years later, she woke up fully naked.
Kirkpatrick, Linda	Sexual assault	Yes	1981	Las Vegas, Nevada	2015	Claims that after being invited backstage to Cosby's Las Vegas show, he handed her a drink causing her to blackout with intermittent memories of Cosby trying to mount her.
Brown, Linda	Sexual assault	Yes	1969	Toronto, Ontario	2015	Claims after having dinner with Cosby, he insisted on taking her to his hotel, where he offered her a soda. Alleges she then woke up naked as Cosby began to assault her "like a real-life blow-up doll."
Thompson, Kaya	Sexual assault		1980s	New York	2015	Claims that on the set of The Cosby Show, Cosby forced himself on her and told her to use a bottle of Lubriderm to pleasure him. He offered her $700 as she left.
Welles, Sunni	Sexual assault	Yes	1960s	Los Angeles	2015	Claims that Cosby offered her drinks at a jazz club, then remembers only waking up naked the next day. Unsure what happened, alleges she accepted another invitation to meet Cosby where she again had a drink and then woke up naked.
"Kacey"	Sexual assault	Yes	1996	Los Angeles	2015	Claims after a long-running professional relationship with Cosby, on one occasion he insisted she take a white pill to help her relax. Alleges she blacked out and awoke next to Cosby in bed. Came forward in 2015 under condition of anonymity and an assumed name.
Lasha, Chelan	Sexual assault	Yes	1986	Las Vegas, Nevada	2014	Claims Cosby offered to help her pursue a modeling career; alleges Cosby lured her to his hotel room, offered her an "antihistamine" and a shot of Amaretto, which knocked her unconscious as Cosby began humping her. Gave her $1500 when she woke up and left.
Hayes, Helen	Other		1973	Pebble Beach, California	2014	Claims that after attending the 1973 Celebrity Tennis Tournament, Cosby stalked her throughout the evening until eventually confronting her and groping her breasts. Not to be confused with the actress Helen Hayes
Thomas, Heidi	Rape	Yes	1984	Reno, Nevada	2015	Claims that during an audition, Cosby instructed her to sip a drink and act intoxicated. After sipping the drink, alleges she became unconscious and awoke to Cosby performing oral sex.
Masten, PJ	Rape	Yes	1979	Chicago, Illinois	2014	Claims Cosby invited her to dinner where he offered her a cocktail, knocking her unconscious and waking up later in Cosby's bed naked and bruised. Alleges she believes she was raped. Claims after she confronted management at the Playboy club, her supervisor said, "shut your mouth."
Butterfield, Sarita	Other		1977	Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts	2014	Claims that Cosby cornered her at a party and groped her breasts but she was able to fend off further advances.
Baker-Kinney, Janice	Rape	Yes	1982	Las Vegas, Nevada	2015	Claims that a friend invited her to a party at Cosby's residence, where they were the only guests. Alleges that Cosby offered her a drink, causing her to blackout as her friend was leaving. Claims she awoke naked in bed next to Cosby, who was also naked.
Burns, Autumn	Rape	Yes	1970	Las Vegas, Nevada	2015	Claims that while working at a Vegas casino, Cosby approached her to help her break into the entertainment industry. Alleges he invited her to his hotel suite where he offered her a drink, causing her to feel heavily drugged as Cosby had forcible oral sex.
Bernard, Lili	Rape	Yes	1990s	New York	2015	Claims that after forming a friendship with Cosby as a guest star on The Cosby Show, he offered her a drugged drink and raped her, then said that she was dead to him.
Mays, Sammie	Sexual assault	Yes	1987	Las Vegas, Nevada	2015	Claims that Cosby invited her to his suite while she was attending a TV industry conference in Vegas; once alone, she alleges Cosby offered a drink which caused her to black out and awake to find her bra disheveled and Cosby standing over her.
Shapiro, Margie	Rape	Yes	1975	Santa Monica, California	2015	Claims Cosby randomly invited her to a party and later a personal visit to the Playboy Mansion, after seeing her in a doughnut shop. At the Playboy Mansion, alleges Cosby played a game where she would have to swallow a pill. Claims she regained consciousness while Cosby was raping her.
Emmons, Joyce	Other	Yes	1979-1980	Las Vegas, NY	2014	Claims that during Cosby's appearance at her comedy club, he offered her a pill to help with her headache. Alleges the next thing she remembers was waking up naked with Cosby's friend and when confronted, Cosby said he gave her a Quaalude. Further asserts that Cosby had repeatedly offered to show off his large collection of drugs to her, even though he never took any drugs himself.
Neal, Rebecca Lynn	Rape	Yes	1986	Las Vegas, Nevada	2015	Claims Cosby repeatedly visited the health club where she worked and invited her to his show; upon accepting, alleges that Cosby gave her a shot of Stoli, which rendered her disoriented but still conscious while Cosby raped her, ignoring her weakened pleas to tell him to stop. Says Cosby never visited her health club again.
Allison, Jewel	Rape	Yes	1990	New York	2015	Claims Cosby invited her to his NYC townhouse for dinner, where he offered her a glass of wine. Alleges the next thing she remembers was seeing semen on the floor as Cosby helped escort her outside into a cab. Gained distinction for being one of the few African American women to accuse Cosby.
Lublin, Lise-Lotte	Rape	Yes	1989	Las Vegas, Nevada	2015	Claims that during an audition in Cosby's hotel suite, he offered her two shots of liquor, causing her to black out and awaken to Cosby straddling her. Has helped champion new Nevada legislation to extend statute of limitation on rape cases.
Ladd, Cindra	Rape	Yes	1969	New York	2015	As a friend of Cosby, claims that she once complained of a headache, to which Cosby responded by offering a pill. Alleges the next thing she remembers is waking up naked with Cosby standing nearby in a robe. As a respected philanthropist and powerful media executive, she became a noteworthy counterbalance to critics who claimed Cosby accusers were seeking money or fame.
Gumpel, Helen	Attempted assault		1987	New York	2015	Claims that after being called back for a potentially second appearance on The Cosby Show, Cosby invited her into his dressing room and made repeated advances on her, attempting to get her to have a drink. She declined and did not appear on any future episodes.
McKee, Kathy	Rape		1973	Detroit, Michigan	2014	Claims that after knowing Cosby personally for eight years, he invited her to his Detroit hotel room where he spun her around and penetrated her.
Fox, Charlotte	Rape		1970s	Los Angeles	2015	Claims that while working on Uptown Saturday Night, she was invited to a party at the Playboy Mansion hosted by Cosby. After drinking at the club, began to feel "incapacitated" as Cosby raped her. Did not explicitly accuse Cosby of drugging her.
Tate, Marcella	Rape	Yes	1975	Los Angeles	2015	Claims that Cosby offered her a drink during a party at the Playboy Mansion, after which she blacked out and woke up in a bed next to Cosby, who was naked.
Brown, Shawn	Rape	Yes	1970s	San Antonio, Texas	1990s	Cosby admitted to this extramarital affair with Brown in the 1990s. She alleged in 2014 that despite their consensual sex, she was not "freaky enough" for him so on one occasion he insisted she drink alcohol and smoke marijuana, leading her to black out while he raped her.
Jones, Lisa	Attempted assault	Yes	1986	New York	2014	Met Cosby when she was 17 and alleges that after she turned 18, Cosby invited her to New York to audition for The Cosby Show where he offered her alcohol and then began trying to spread her legs apart. Claims she was able to escape to avoid further assault.
Huth, Judith	Child sexual abuse	Yes	1974	Los Angeles, California	2014	Claims that at the age of 15, she wandered onto a movie set where Cosby was working. Alleges Cosby took her to his house and plied her with drinks, then to the Playboy Mansion where he instructed her to tell people she was 19, then took her to a room where he masturbated himself with her hands. Because it is an alleged child sexual abuse case, statute of limitations began when Huth realized the trauma as an adult. An LAPD investigation resulted in no criminal charges; a civil case is currently underway.
Tirl, Eden	Rape		1990	New York	2015	The former actress who guest starred as a police officer on The Cosby Show in 1990, said she was pulled off the set during a taping of the show and groped by Cosby inside his dressing room. Tirl said she later told two of the show’s staffers what happened, but was ignored.
"Elizabeth"	Rape	Yes	1976	Los Angeles	2015	Claims she met Cosby while working as a flight attendant and accepted an offer for dinner, where Cosby gave her a glass of sake, causing her to fall into a "trance-like state" where Cosby forced her to perform a sex act she described as "the most horrifying thing that could happen to an innocent young woman." Came forward in 2015 under condition of anonymity and an assumed name.
T., Jena	Sexual assault		1988	New York	2015	Claims Cosby started paying an unwanted amount of attention to her while working as a model at age 17-18. Alleges that after she voiced her concerns to Cosby, he offered to buy her a car and then eventually forced her into unspecified sexual activity, giving her $700 as she left.
"Lisa"	Sexual assault	Yes	1988	New York	2015	Claims Cosby invited her to his home while she was trying to further her modeling career. Alleges Cosby offered her a shot of alcohol, causing her to feel dizzy and out of control while Cosby began petting her as she blacked out. Came forward in 2015 under condition of anonymity and an assumed name.
Hurd, Michelle	Attempted assault		1995	New York	2014	Claims Cosby invited her to his dressing room for acting exercises while working on The Cosby Mysteries. Alleges that some exercises involved inappropriate touching of her body, leading to Cosby to invite her to his home and take a shower. Hurd says she refused and claims Cosby told her to never tell anyone about their acting exercises.
Constand, Andrea	Sexual assault	Yes	2004	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	2005	Cosby invited Constand to his house to discuss career goals after meeting her at Temple University. He provided her pills to relax her anxiety, which he claimed were Benadryl. Afterward, he fondled her and digitally penetrated her, according to his own sworn testimony though he claims it was consensual. Constand alleged sexual abuse to the local police, who decided not to file charges against Cosby. Constand then filed a civil lawsuit where thirteen other women came forward to allege similar abuse. The case was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. On December 30, 2015, shortly before the expiry of the statute of limitations re: the alleged January 2004 incident, Cosby was charged with sexual assault based on the 2005 allegations by Constand, a reversal of a 2005 decision not to lay a charge. Documents from the case were sealed until the summer of 2015, and the charge was based on new evidence according to the current district attorney for Montgomery County.
Goins, Chloe	Sexual assault	Yes	2008	Los Angeles	2014	Claims that Cosby drugged and assaulted her while she was at the Playboy Mansion. The case is currently with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office for potential prosecution.
Christie, Lisa	Attempted assault		1989	Chicago, Illinois	2015	Claims that after years of seeing Cosby as a mentor, he offered to audition her for the movie Ghost Dad in his hotel room, when Cosby attempted to kiss her "like a boyfriend" and said he would give her "the biggest orgasm" of her life. When she refused, Cosby told her she'd "never make it in this business" unless she slept with him. Christie went on to be Mrs. America less than 10 years later.
Abeyta, Pamela	Rape	Yes	1979	Las Vegas, Nevada	2015	Claims Cosby offered to help her with her ambitions to become a Playboy model; while having dinner with Cosby, alleges she drank something that caused her to pass out, and when she awoke there were three naked men near her, including Cosby.
Van Ert, Sharon	Sexual assault	Yes	1976	Redondo Beach, California	2015	Claims Cosby gave her something to drink while she was working at a jazz club, then walked her out to her car when he said she needed to "sober up." She alleges Cosby then began caressing her before she blacked out, and when she woke up realized her panties were missing.
Doe, Jane (Multiple)*	Other	Yes	Varied	Varied	2005	Numerous witnesses who agreed to testify in Andrea Constand's 2005 civil suit have not yet come forward publicly. Due to active lawsuits seeking to unseal further details in that case, some Jane Doe witnesses have been contacted in attempts to allow their identities to be revealed.
"Sandy"	Rape	Yes	1980	Las Vegas	2014	TV host Charlotte Laws claims her close friend, whom she referred to as "Sandy" in a Salon article, had a consensual sexual relationship with Cosby, but was alarmed one morning when she realized Cosby had intentionally drugged her the night before and had sex while she was unconscious. "Sandy" said she could not understand because she would have had no issues having consensual sex with him. Laws further stated that when Constand's allegations came forward in 2005, he joked about whether or not he had ever drugged her.
Myers, Cynthia	Other	Yes	< 1997	Los Angeles	< 2011	Prior to Myers's death in 2011, she provided interviews for the book Centerfolds which was released in 2015. In these undated interviews, Myers claimed she personally witnessed Cosby "use drugs to have sex with women" at the Playboy Mansion stating that his actions repulsed her so much, she was unable to "shed a tear" when Cosby's son Ennis was murdered in 1997.
Kemp, Charlotte	Attempted assault	Yes	1980s	Los Angeles	2014	Claims that she was with Victoria Valentino on the night Cosby raped her. Alleges she received drinks from Cosby along with Valentino, but passed out in Cosby's home and later left with Valentino before Cosby assaulted her.
Dottye	Rape	Yes	1984	New York	2015	Claims that Cosby invited her to his New York apartment to audition for The Cosby Show, where he drugged and raped her. Came forward on condition of only being identified by her first name.
Barrett, Donna	Sexual assault		2004	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	2015	Claims that during a photo shoot with her track team at the University of Pennsylvania, Cosby grabbed her and forcefully pressed his body against hers.

^* Witness in 2005 Constand civil case

References For Accuser Table:

External links

• Viral video referencing the sexual assault allegations by comedian Hannibal Buress, October 2014
• Excerpts From Bill Cosby’s Deposition in the Andrea Constand case