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A female individual accused Bill Cosby of sexually assaulting her during her time as a young comedy writer over 50 years ago. She filed a lawsuit against the actor on Thursday, taking advantage of a New York law that is set to expire soon. This law allows victims of sexual abuse to make claims that would normally be barred due to time limits within a one-year window.
In 2014, Joan Tarshis first spoke out about her accusations against Cosby, which are also mentioned in the recent lawsuit. According to Tarshis, Cosby gave her drugs and coerced her into performing oral sex on him in either 1969 or 1970. She also claims that he drugged and raped her in another incident a year or two later.
According to the lawsuit filed in state Supreme Court in New York City, the individual who lived in New York had moved to California when the initial assault occurred. They had become acquainted with Cosby through a mutual friend during his time on “The Bill Cosby Show.”
A representative for Cosby did not discuss the details of Tarshis’s allegations.
“When will this end?” stated spokesperson Andrew Wyatt, mentioning Diddy, LA Reid, Steven Tyler, and others who have been recently sued under New York’s Adult Survivors Act.
86-year-old Cosby has faced accusations of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment from over 60 women. He has denied all claims of sexual misconduct. In 2021, he was the first celebrity to be found guilty and imprisoned during the #MeToo movement, spending almost three years in a Philadelphia state prison before his conviction was overturned by a higher court and he was released.
Tarshis was one of the initial individuals to publicly accuse Cosby, whom she encountered at 19 years old while starting out in the field of comedy writing. Her interview with CNN’s Don Lemon, shortly after coming forward, gained significant traction on social media and prompted an apology from Lemon. During the interview, Lemon suggested that Tarshis could have bitten Cosby’s genitals during the first assault, something she had not considered before.
Tarshis had previously taken legal action against Cosby in the state of Massachusetts, where Cosby resided. She was one of seven women who filed lawsuits for defamation after Cosby accused them of lying. The lawsuits were resolved in 2019.
The recent legal action claims physical attack, unlawful touching, purposeful causing of emotional pain, and wrongful confinement. It requests unspecified compensation.
Tarshis claimed that Cosby asked her to come to the studio lot while he was filming his show, saying they would work on a skit she had written. However, when she arrived at his bungalow, she passed out after drinking a beverage given to her by Cosby. When she woke up, she found herself being undressed by him and then being coerced into performing oral sex.
According to the lawsuit, Ms. Tarshis was extremely embarrassed and scared for her safety. She ultimately went back to New York without disclosing the incident to anyone.
According to the lawsuit, in 1971, Cosby contacted the woman again and spoke to her mother, inviting her to his performance at Westbury Music Fair.
The lawsuit states that even though Ms. Tarshis was scared to see Cosby again, she had not disclosed the previous sexual assault to anyone, including her mother. Despite this, she reluctantly agreed to meet with Cosby at her mother’s urging.
According to her, she passed out in a limousine arranged by Cosby and woke up the next day in a bed next to him. She stated that he had undressed and sexually assaulted her.
The Adult Survivors Act is scheduled to end next week.
Last week, there was a lawsuit filed against music executive Antonio “L.A.” Reid by an executive who claims that Reid sexually assaulted her twice in 2001. Attempts to reach Reid’s attorney, Joel Katz, who previously represented him when the allegations were made in 2017, were unsuccessful on Friday night.
Sean Combs, also known as “Diddy,” has refuted accusations of rape and mistreatment made by a former partner earlier this week.
Steven Tyler, the lead singer of Aerosmith, has not made a public statement in regards to the lawsuit that was filed earlier this month.
Source: independent.co.uk
