Bill Cosby has sued supermodel Beverly Johnson , one of the dozens of women who have accused him of sexual assault. The suit claims Johnson lodged the allegations to jump-start her career.
The "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.
Credit: Jennifer Brett
Credit: Jennifer Brett
Johnson, who in 1974 became the first African American woman to appear on the cover of American Vogue, said in a piece in Vanity Fair that Cosby drugged her about 30 years ago.
“My head became woozy, my speech became slurred, and the room began to spin nonstop,” she wrote. “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.”
Cosby's legal action against her is the latest lawsuit against accusers.
Last week, just as Boston University announced it had stripped Cosby of an honorary degree bestowed upon him last year amid uproar over allegations , the comedian filed suit against seven women, claiming they have made "malicious, opportunistic, false and defamatory accusations of sexual misconduct against him."
"The comedian is claiming emotional distress against Tamara Green, Therese Serignese, Linda Traitz, Louisa Moritz, Barbara Bowman, Joan Tarshis and Angela Leslie … claiming the allegations of drugging and then sexually assaulting them is flatly untrue," TMZ reported.
Credit: Jennifer Brett
Credit: Jennifer Brett
MORE: Atlanta's Spelman College ends professorship tied to Cosby
Lawsuit filed stemming from Cosby’s show at Cobb Energy Center
Earlier this year Atlanta's Spelman College confirmed that it has canceled a professorship associated with Bill Cosby and returned the money after the Associated Press and the New York Times obtained documents in which Cosby detailed his provision of drugs to young women with whom he wanted to have sex. Cosby has denied wrongdoing.
Elsewhere, the Berklee College of Music removed Cosby's name from a scholarship, and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst said Cosby would leave a $300 million fundraising campaign, of which he was honorary co-chair. Temple University last year announced Cosby would step down from its board of trustees.
