Three More Women Come Forward to Accuse Bill Cosby, Bringing the Total to More Than 50
More than 50 women have now accused Bill Cosby of drugging, raping, or sexually harassing them. People reported Wednesday night that three new accusers have spoken out, and their stories are very similar to those of the 40-plus other women who say they’ve been victimized by the formerly beloved comedian.
Pamela Abeyta, a model, says she met Cosby in Vegas in 1979. She was 25 at the time, and looking to score a gig with Playboy. Cosby was a well-known visitor to the Playboy mansion during the ‘70s—fun fact: he reputedly punched out singer Tommy Smothers there in ‘76—and Abeyta says she thought he could help connect her to Hugh Hefner.
Abeyta, who was 25 at the time, says Cosby let her stay overnight in his suite and bought her $2,500 worth of clothes, but when they went out to a dinner show “everything became a blur.”
“When I came to I was lying in Bill Cosby’s bed not my own room. I awakened for a second time and then blacked out. When I came to again I saw two other naked people in the room by the bed. Bill was sitting on the side of the bed and I blacked out again.”
Sharon Van Ert says she met Cosby in 1976, while working as a cocktail waitress. He allegedly walked her to her car after closing one night, then got in and told her she was too drunk to drive. She says she doesn’t remember much after that.
“The next thing I remember was waking up in my car, my head hanging down from the seat, alone. I knew I was drugged because I threw up and I never threw up or drank too much. I believe that he must have put something in my drink while we were closing up the place. When I got home I realized my panties were missing and I never found them.”
Former Mrs. America Lisa Christie says she was just 18 when she encountered Cosby. He cast her in Jell-O commercials and as an extra in the Cosby show, and she says he even told her that he wanted her to replace Lisa Bonet as one of the show’s stars.
Christie isn’t accusing Cosby of raping her, but she describes an extremely close call after he flew her out to a hotel in Chicago. She says Cosby gave her a drink and tried to kiss her, but she turned him down—she described him in her statement as a “father figure”—and he got mad.
“You’re never going to make it in this business unless you sleep with me,” Christie claims Cosby told her.
“With Mr. Cosby I was one of the fortunate ones to escape,” Christie said. “Now I am here to support all of the victims.”
All 50-plus of them, allegedly.
Cosby will be deposed Oct. 9 in the case of Judy Huth, who says he molested her at the Playboy Mansion 40 years ago, when she was just 15. Because she was underage at the time, she was able to bring the allegations—specifically, that Cosby grabbed her hand and used it to masturbate—after California’s statute of limitations on criminal sexual assault had run out.
[Photo: AP Images]