Comedian Bill Cosby, who in recent months has been mired in numerous accusations of sexual assault, once again found himself in the line of fire on Thursday as three more alleged victims came forward.
The trio of women told their stories at the office of attorney Gloria Allred. The women, who had previously not made their allegations publicly known, included a former model who alleged that she was victimized at the Playboy Mansion in Chicago.
During Thursday’s press conference one alleged victim, Janice Baker-Kinney, claimed that she was assaulted by Cosby in May 1982 while working as a bartender in the showrooms at Harrah’s in Reno. Baker-Kinney claimed that she went to where Cosby was staying for a “pizza party,” which turned out to be a party for just three people. According to Baker-Kinney, Cosby offered her a pill, then advised her to take two pills. Her vision became blurry while playing backgammon with Cosby, she claimed, after which she passed out.
When she woke up, she claimed, her jeans were unzipped and her blouse opened. Cosby asked her if she was OK, but then put his hand inside her blouse, Baker-Kinney said. She claimed she woke up naked in bed with Cosby the next morning.
“This is between me and you,” Cosby allegedly told Baker-Kinney, placing his fingers to his mouth as if to make a “shhh” sign. The alleged victim recalled telling the comedian that she would not go to the media with her story.
A second alleged victim, Marcella Tate, told reporters at the conference that, in 1975, when she was a model, she met Cosby via mutual friends at Faces, a club in Chicago. Tate claims that Cosby later called her one night, asking her to pick him up from the airport and drop him off at the Playboy Mansion. According to Tate, she had a glass of wine with Cosby in the mansion. Though her memory of what happened next was “cloudy,” Tate said she ended up in bed in a different room with a naked Cosby.
Tate said that she knew she had been in a sexual situation with the comedian, which wasn’t her intention, adding that she believed she was “targeted and drugged by
“I feel that Mr. Cosby has no regard for women or their safety,” Tate told reporters.
The third alleged victim, Autumn Burns, claimed that she met Cosby in 1970 when she was 20 and working as a game starter at the Sahara. According to Burns, the comedian gave her $500 to gamble with or do whatever she wanted with, and invited her to his show.
After the show, Burns claimed, Cosby gave her a drink and called her into his bedroom. She recalled feeling “woozy” and “not in control” as Cosby, naked in bed, told her to sit on the edge.
Cosby then grabbed her by the back of the neck and stuck his erect penis down her throat, Burns claimed.
The comedian then lifted her up and had sex with her, claimed Burns, who added that she had carried shame all of her life due to the incident.
During the conference, Allred said that she has more alleged Cosby victims coming forward, adding, “it will be
In recent months, Cosby has been accused of sexual assault by numerous women, a
In the wake of the accusations, Cosby has suffered some career setbacks, with Netflix postponing a comedy special that was to have aired late last year, and NBC shelving a comedy that it was developing as a possible starring vehicle for Cosby.