The sexual assault scandal surrounding comedian Bill Cosby continues growing, with eighteen women now accusing him of rape and sexual assault.
On Monday, the number of women publicly accusing the comedian of sexual assault has reached 18, stretching back to 1965. Some of the accusations have been anonymous, the Washington Post reported.
The number of accusers increased after Cosby broke the silence on recent accusations by speaking through his attorney, who denounced the accusations as “unsubstantiated, fantastical stories.”
[quote text_size=”small” author=”– Bill Cosby” author_title=”Comedian accused of sexual assault”]
I know people are tired of me not saying anything, but a guy doesn’t have to answer to innuendos. People should fact check. People shouldn’t have to go through that and shouldn’t answer to innuendos.
[/quote]
Bill Cosby has never been criminally charged in connection with any of the claims, which go back nearly fifty years, and he has repeatedly denied them in the past. Multiple allegations have come forward over the last month.
Janice Dickinson, the 59-year-old former supermodel, is one of the latest to claim that Cosby raped her in 1982. She says he reached out to her to meet about a job offer after she got out of rehab. Dickinson claims that during dinner, Cosby gave her a glass of red wine and a pill that she requested for cramps. She claims she woke up and realized she had been assaulted, she said in an exclusive interview with Entertainment Tonight.
Over the weekend, two new allegations surfaced. A former NBC employee, Frank Scotti, said Cosby paid off eight women. Scotti said he sent money orders for thousands of dollars to several women on Cosby’s behalf. He claims Cosby would invite models to his dressing room and tell him to keep them there and send everyone else away. Scotti said he quit working with Cosby “because of the girls.”
Victoria Valentino, a former Playboy Bunny, also went public, giving a detailed account of being drugged and raped by Cosby in 1970. She said she met Cosby shortly after the death of her young son and went to dinner with Cosby and her friend Meg Foster. She claims they were given red pills, and her friend Meg passed out and Cosby attacked her when she tried to stop him from assaulting her sleeping friend, USA Today reported.
