Bill Cosby Sues Beverly Johnson for Defamation One Year After Former Model Accused Comedian of Drugging Her
Bill Cosby has filed a defamation suit against Beverly Johnson more than a year after the former model alleged that he drugged her in the ‘80s.
According
to court documents obtained by E! News, Cosby's lawyers allege that
Johnson "thrust herself back into the spotlight in attempt to revive her
flagging career as a model, actress and public personality" by joining
the campaign to "assassinate" Cosby's reputation.
Documents claim
Johnson's accusations "are entirely fabricated and nothing more than an
opportunistic attempt to resuscitate her own career and benefit herself
financially from the wave of media attention surrounding her false
allegations against Crosby."
In addition, claims are made that
Johnson is benefiting financially from sharing her story. The Grammy and
Emmy Award winner is seeking compensatory and punitive damages and a
court order that would stop Johnson from making future statements about
the actor.
Johnson has not spoken out about the recent lawsuit filed Monday in Los Angeles.
Back in December 2014, the 63-year-old model alleged in an essay posted on
Vanity Fair's
website that Cosby drugged her in the mid-1980s. Nothing further
happened because she realized what was happening and unequivocally told
him off.
In a later interview with the
Today show, Johnson explained why she finally went public with her story after so many years of silence.
"At
the time, I felt that it would hurt my career. Most certainly he was a
very powerful man," she shared. "I most certainly did not think of my
legacy as the first African-American supermodel to grace the cover of
Vogue—and drugged by Bill Cosby."
She continued, "I wanted him to know that I knew that he
had drugged me and I just went on survival mode. I woke up the next day.
I was totally disoriented, and then when I remembered exactly what
happened, I was devastated and disappointed."
Cosby's latest lawsuit comes one week after he decided to countersue seven additional accusers for defamation.
To
this day, the comedian has not been charged with a crime and has denied
the decades-old allegations of sexual assault and attempted sexual
assaults that have surfaced over the past year.
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