NBC Also Being Sued Over New Bill Cosby Rape Allegations
Just months after several cases against him wrapped up, Bill Cosby is heading back to court, but this time he’ll have company. According to The Hollywood Reporter, broadcasting corporation NBC will be marching to the courtroom alongside Bill Cosby, as five women have launched claims against both the comedian and the network which he was previously heavily involved with. Filing their report under a New York law that puts a temporary hold on the statute of limitations on sexual assault claims, the women are stating that NBC and its affiliates did nothing to help them while they were allegedly assaulted by The Cosby Show star.
With the majority of claims reaching back to the late 1980s and early 1990s, the five women involved are stating that NBC allowed Bill Cosby to carry on with his alleged sexual assaults by “bestowing Bill Cosby with power or the appearance of power” during his time starring in the uber-popular sitcom, The Cosby Show. The filing also pushes the brunt of the responsibility onto NBC by saying that the company should have been fully aware that “Cosby was sexually abusing, assaulting, and/or battering women” on and around the set. They believe that because the studio was making hand over fist due to the popularity of the entertainer, they weren’t concerned with what was allegedly going on behind closed doors.
The women stepping forward with the latest slew of allegations against NBC and Bill Cosby include Lili Bernard, Eden Tirl, Jewel Gittens, Jennifer Thompson, and Cindra Ladd. Each woman shared harrowing accounts of their alleged attacks with Bernard stating that she was drugged and raped while working on The Cosby Show; Tirl claiming to have been visiting Cosby’s dressing room when she was assaulted; Gittens saying that she was auditioning for a role in the popular show when she was drugged and assaulted; Thompson stating that she was just 18-years-old when her mentor, Cosby, assaulted her; and Ladd saying that she and the comedian had been long-time platonic friends before he drugged and raped her. While the allegations are just that at this time, they’re certainly heartbreaking to hear.
Although the statute of limitations may have technically been up on the case, New York state now has the Adult Survivors Act, which gives sexual assault survivors over the age of 18 a chance to have their voices heard. After being signed back in May, the new Act puts the power back in the survivor’s hands allowing them a broader range to file their claims without the statute of limitations holding them back. This new act was crucial in the women’s filings against NBC and Bill Cosby, and without it, they may not have been given the chance to voice their claims.
As always, the comedian and television star’s team of lawyers is hitting back, calling the latest filings against NBC and Bill Cosby a grab for money. Spokesperson Andrew V. Wyatt stated that these new claims are just a show from those unable to accept Cosby’s acquittal by the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court back in 2021. He goes on to say that Cosby “vehemently” denies the accusations currently pressed against him, just as he has in the past, and that the truth will prevail when he heads to court.
