Beverly Johnson has claimed Bill Cosby drugged her at his home in the Eighties
The model and actress wrote about the alleged incident in a magazine article
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Your support makes all the difference.Beverly Johnson has claimed that Bill Cosby drugged her at his home during the Eighties.
The American model and actress alleged that the incident took place after he comedian invited her to audition for a role on The Cosby Show.
Writing in Vanity Fair, Johnson claimed that Cosby invited her to his home twice to read for the part and on the second occasion urged her to drunk a cappuccino, which was allegedly laced with drugs.
“My head became woozy, my speech became slurred, and the room began to spin nonstop,” she said.
“Cosby motioned for me to come over to him as though we were really about to act out the scene. He put his hands around my waist, and I managed to put my hand on his shoulder in order to steady myself.
“As I felt my body go completely limp, my brain switched into automatic-survival mode. That meant making sure Cosby understood that I knew exactly what was happening at that very moment.
“’You are a motherf**ker aren’t you?’”
Johnson claimed that she continued to swear at Cosby, who then dragged her from the house and put her in a taxi.
“The next day I woke up in my own bed after falling into a deep sleep that lasted most of the day. I had no memory of how I got into my apartment or into my bed, though most likely my doorman helped me out.”
Johnson said she had not told anyone what happened because the alleged incident came at a vulnerable time in her life when she was going through a divorce and custody battle for her daughter.
She added that she thought it was “something that only happened to me” and that she was loathe to tarnish Cosby's reputation because “black men have enough enemies out there already”.
But she came forward following claims made against Cosby in recent months by other women.
Cosby has denied previous allegations made against him. He has defended himself, saying that “people need to fact check”. His lawyer has described the allegations as “decades old” and “discredited”.
In 2006, Andrea Constand claimed that Cosby had drugged and assaulted her in his Philadelphia mansion in 2004 - allegations firmly denied by his lawyers. Over 13 alleged victims were proposing to testify but the civil case with Constand settled in 2006. The terms of the settlement remain undisclosed.
Last week it was reported that Cosby had filed a lawsuit against Judy Huth, who claimed that she was sexually assaulted by the actor aged 15.
Cosby’s lawyers did not respond to Vanity Fair’s request for comments.
The Independent has contacted Cosby’s lawyers for comment.
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