LOS ANGELES — Bill Cosby will not dignify “decade-old, discredited” claims of sexual abuse with a response, his attorney said Sunday, the first reaction from the comedian to an increasing uproar over allegations that he sexually assaulted several women in the past.
In a statement released to The Associated Press and posted online, attorney John P. Schmitt said the fact that the allegations are being repeated does not make them true.
He doesn’t intend to “dignify” the allegations with a comment.
An uproar has grown over allegations that Cosby assaulted several women in the past.
The renewed attention to a dark chapter for Cosby began last month when a comedian, Hannibal Buress, assailed the veteran entertainer during a stand-up performance in Philadelphia, calling him a “rapist.” His remarks were captured on video and posted online, gaining wide exposure.
On Thursday, one of Cosby’s alleged victims, Barbara Bowman, published her account in the Washington Post:
Cosby “won my trust as a 17-year-old aspiring actress in 1985, brainwashed me into viewing him as a father figure, and then assaulted me multiple times,” Bowman wrote. “In one case, I blacked out after having dinner and one glass of wine at his New York City brownstone, where he had offered to mentor me and discuss the entertainment industry…”
On Saturday, NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday aired an interview recorded last week with Cosby. The comic was there to talk about artwork, but host Scott Simon said he had to ask Cosby about the sexual assault allegations. Nearly a full, uncomfortable minute goes by without Cosby offering a word.
Cosby, who was never criminally charged in any of the cases, settled a civil suit in 2006 with another woman over an alleged incident two years before….
LOS ANGELES — Bill Cosby will not dignify “decade-old, discredited” claims of sexual abuse with a response, his attorney said Sunday, the first reaction from the comedian to an increasing uproar over allegations that he sexually assaulted several women in the past.
In a statement released to The Associated Press and posted online, attorney John P. Schmitt said the fact that the allegations are being repeated does not make them true.
He doesn’t intend to “dignify” the allegations with a comment.
An uproar has grown over allegations that Cosby assaulted several women in the past.
The renewed attention to a dark chapter for Cosby began last month when a comedian, Hannibal Buress, assailed the veteran entertainer during a stand-up performance in Philadelphia, calling him a “rapist.” His remarks were captured on video and posted online, gaining wide exposure.
On Thursday, one of Cosby’s alleged victims, Barbara Bowman, published her account in the Washington Post:
Cosby “won my trust as a 17-year-old aspiring actress in 1985, brainwashed me into viewing him as a father figure, and then assaulted me multiple times,” Bowman wrote. “In one case, I blacked out after having dinner and one glass of wine at his New York City brownstone, where he had offered to mentor me and discuss the entertainment industry…”
On Saturday, NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday aired an interview recorded last week with Cosby. The comic was there to talk about artwork, but host Scott Simon said he had to ask Cosby about the sexual assault allegations. Nearly a full, uncomfortable minute goes by without Cosby offering a word.
Cosby, who was never criminally charged in any of the cases, settled a civil suit in 2006 with another woman over an alleged incident two years before.