A year and a half after disgraced comedian Bill Cosby was released from prison in June 2021, five women — two of which appeared on the star’s eponymous sitcom The Cosby Show — sued the actor this week, alleging several instances of sexual abuse.
On Monday, December 5, Jewel Gittens, Jennifer Thompson and Cindra Ladd as well as actresses Lily Bernard and Eden Tirl — who held minor roles on the long-running series — named Cosby in a civil suit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, accusing the star of rape and sexual assault among other acts of sexual misconduct.
“Plaintiffs were all sexually battered, assaulted, and abused by Bill Cosby as a part of the same conduct, occurrence, plan, or scheme that was perpetrated, conducted, organized, and/or performed in New York and other states by Bill Cosby and his associates and enablers,” read the suit.
Alongside Cosby, the women, who have all previously spoken out against the comedian, also named Kaufman Astoria Studios Inc., The Carsey-Werner Company and NBCUniversal Media in their filing. These entities, they allege, were also "culpable and liable because they knew and/or should have known that Bill Cosby was sexually abusing, assaulting, and/or battering women, including on their premises, but did nothing to stop it.”
The suit was filed under New York’s newly-minted Adult Survivors Act. Enacted late last month, the law temporarily lifted the statute of limitations on certain sex crimes.
Back in 2018, Cosby was previously convicted on three felony counts of aggravated assault. After serving three years in prison, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court controversially overturned the decision, claiming the star’s right to due process was violated.
Roughly 60 women have come forward accusing Cosby of sexual assault over the past several years, per NBC News.
More to come...
