Whoopi Goldberg downplays Bill Cosby's revelation he gave Quaaludes to woman before sex even JOKING about the drug as disgraced actor's accusers speak out

  • Whoopi Goldberg downplayed the revelation that Bill Cosby admitted to giving a woman Quaaludes and another Benadryl in a 2005 deposition
  • She said the disgraced actor has 'not been proven a rapist' and that he was 'innocent until proven guilty'
  • Cosby accusers Beverly Johnson and Janice Dickinson also spoke out on Tuesday
  • Johnson said the fact that a judge unsealed the deposition and released it proved how important it is for sexual assault victims to be vocal 
  • Dickinson said she did not feel anything seeing the deposition, and would not until Cosby apologized to all his victims
  • She also blasted Goldberg for defending Cosby and joking about Quaalude use on The View, saying she should be fired 

Whoopi Goldberg continued to defend Bill Cosby on The View Tuesday morning despite the release of a 2005 deposition one day earlier in which the disgraced actor admitted to buying Quaaludes with the intent of giving them to women before sex and even giving them to one woman in the past.

'This is my opinion and in America, still - I know it's a shock - but you actually were innocent until proven guilty,' said Goldberg.

'He has not been proven a rapist.' 

Meanwhile, some of the women who have come forward saying they were drugged and raped by Cosby - including models Janice Dickinson and Beverly Johnson - are also speaking out.  

Backing him up: Whoopi Goldberg (above with Nicolle Wallace) downplayed the revelation that Bill Cosby admitted to giving a woman Quaaludes in 1 2005 deposition on The View Tuesday

Backing him up: Whoopi Goldberg (above with Nicolle Wallace) downplayed the revelation that Bill Cosby admitted to giving a woman Quaaludes in 1 2005 deposition on The View Tuesday

Thoughts: Goldberg said the disgraced actor (seen above last September) has 'not been proven a rapist' and that he was 'innocent until proven guilty'

Thoughts: Goldberg said the disgraced actor (seen above last September) has 'not been proven a rapist' and that he was 'innocent until proven guilty'

Goldberg even seem to make light of Cosby's revelation at first, joking; 'As a former Quaalude user ... The '80s were...They weren't fun for everybody, clearly.'

She then added; 'We'll see what happens as more information comes out. People will make judgments.

'I don't like snap judgments because I've had snap judgments made on me, so I'm very, very careful. Save your texts, save your nasty comments. I don't care.' 

As for Dicksinson, the former supermodel spoke to Entertainment Tonight saying that the release of Cosby's formally sealed deposition makes it clear he owes all his accusers an apology, and to admit that the women had been telling the truth.

'I don't know how to feel. I don't have the strength at the moment until - until each and every one of the women that have accused Bill Cosby along with myself and a few others that have personally reached out to me that will not come forward due to character victimization - I would like an apology for each and every one of us in order for my soul to feel, ' said Dickinson.

'I don't feel any hip-hip hoorays.'

She also blasted Goldberg after hearing what she said on The View earlier in the day.

'What is wrong with you, Whoopi Goldberg? What more does it take? You need to be fired,' said Dickinson.

'How dare you sit there on The View? You need to be fired, you stupid woman. That is ridiculous.'

Tearful: Cosby accusers Janice Dickinson (above) said she did not feel anything seeing the deposition, and would not until Cosby apologized to all his victims

Tearful: Cosby accusers Janice Dickinson (above) said she did not feel anything seeing the deposition, and would not until Cosby apologized to all his victims

Strong: Beverly Johnson (above in February) said that the fact that a judge unsealed the deposition and released it proved how important it is for sexual assault victims to be vocal

Johnson meanwhile spoke to People, saying that the fact that the deposition was finally released proves how important it is for women to speak out against sexual assault and abuse. 

'In the past year of this conversation around Bill Cosby's actions against many women, including myself, the most unfortunate thing is the lesson we are teaching children about the worth of a woman's body,' said Johnson.

'I don't know if every woman who has been sexually attacked and comes forward will be one of the many – or one who stands on her own. 

'But as this conversation on Cosby's actions continues, I hope that anyone with kids is thinking of teaching them that no one has the right to another's body or sexuality.'

She then reminded women; 'Not every attacker is going to be someone who is lurking in the alley or an unattractive character.

'It is as likely that someone who is charismatic and successful will decide to do something heinous.'

Barbara Bowman and Joan Tarshis, two more of Cosby's accusers, spoke out in an interview with CNN Monday night.

'I’ve worked so long and hard to tell my story and screamed on deaf ears,' a tearful Bowman told host Don Lemon.

'It really was quite amazing… everything turned 180 today.'

Tarshis seemed to echo this, saying; 'I am feeling really great, I never thought this day would happen.' 

Happy: Accuser Barbara Bowman (above) seemed relieved the deposition became public in an interview on Monday

Happy: Accuser Barbara Bowman (above) seemed relieved the deposition became public in an interview on Monday

Happy too: fellow accuser Joan Tarshis seemed to echo this, saying; 'I am feeling really great, I never thought this day would happen.'

Happy too: fellow accuser Joan Tarshis seemed to echo this, saying; 'I am feeling really great, I never thought this day would happen.'

Cosby made the admission he gave a woman Quaaludes and also bought the prescription drug during testimony in a 2005 civil case brought by a former Temple University employee, Andrea Constand. 

Cosby admitted under oath that in the 1970s he had obtained seven prescriptions for Quaaludes, the brand name for a sedative and muscle relaxant that was widely abused as a recreational drug.

'When you got the Quaaludes, was it in your mind that you were going to use these Quaaludes for young women that you wanted to have sex with?' Cosby was asked in the 2005 deposition.

'Yes,' he replied.

Asked whether he ever gave them to young women, his lawyers raised a lengthy series of objections.

Cosby testified later that he gave Constand one and a half pills of the over-the-counter antihistamine drug Benadryl.

The lawsuit accused Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting the woman at Cosby's home. 

Cosby's lawyer argued that his client's deposition could reveal details of Cosby's marriage, sex life and prescription drug use. 

Cosby's reputation as a family man with wholesome values - despite the allegations brought against him - seem to be one of the main reasons Judge Eduardo C Roberno agreed to release the documents to the Associated Press.

He wrote of his decision Monday: 'The stark contrast between Bill Cosby, the public moralist and Bill Cosby, the subject of serious allegations concerning improper (and perhaps criminal) conduct, is a matter as to which the AP - and by extension the public - has a significant interest.'

He later said: 'This case, however, is not about [Cosby’s] status as a public person by virtue of the exercise of his trade as a televised or comedic personality.

'Rather, [Cosby] has donned the mantle of public moralist and mounted the proverbial electronic or print soap box to volunteer his views on, among other things, childrearing, family life, education, and crime... He has voluntarily narrowed the zone of privacy that he is entitled to claim.' 

Andrea Constand
Andrea Constand

Background: The 77-year-old comedian was testifying under oath in a lawsuit filed by a former Temple University employee Andrea Constand (above)

Caught: Cosby also said under oath he gave the National Enquirer an exclusive interview to kill a story they did with his ex Beth Ferrier (above in January), who accused him of slipping pills in her drink in the 1980s

Caught: Cosby also said under oath he gave the National Enquirer an exclusive interview to kill a story they did with his ex Beth Ferrier (above in January), who accused him of slipping pills in her drink in the 1980s

The woman who Cosby admitted giving Quaaludes to meanwhile is an unnamed Jane Doe who he met in Las Vegas in 1976. 

Cosby said under oath; 'I met Ms (Redacted) in Las Vegas. She meets me back stage. I give her Quaaludes. We then have sex.'

It is similar to allegations made last year by Therese Serignese (nee Picking), who claimed she met Cosby at the Las Vegas Hilton in 1976 and was invited to spend time with him after his show.

She then alleged he gave her two Quaaludes. 

'I took them, didn't know what they were didn't even ask. I just was intimidated I guess and I took them,' Serignese told WPTV in an interview last year.

'Then my next memory is feeling drugged and him having sex with me.'

Despite this, she ended up staying with Cosby, living in his penthouse for weeks, but eventually she moved out and later married.

She did however take up Cosby on his promise to pay her $500 if she went to school and earned good grades.

After attending nursing school, and doing well, she got word to go down to Western Union.

In the end, she got $10,000 from Cosby. 

The court filing also claimed multiple people told 'the police and others' that Cosby used a modeling agency to 'supply' himself with young women.

'Several people have given statements to the police and others that Defendant used a modeling agency in Denver to supply him with young women, many of whom claim to have been victimized by Defendant,' wrote Troiani.

The papers also get into what individuals at William Morris Agency, who represented Cosby at the time, may have known about his alleged actions.

'Defendant admitted that in his initial conversation with [Constand] and her mother, he asked them what they wanted and they said they only wanted an apology and to know the name of the drug Defendant had given to Plaintiff,' wrote Troiani.

'He testified that some time after that call, he decided to call Plaintiffs mother to offer Plaintiff funds for “education” and to ask them to meet him in Florida. He then had a representative of the William Morris agency call Plaintiff.' 

Cosby also said that he called his agent Tom Illus at one point and asked him to send money to a female accuser.

This is again similar to the story told by Serignese, who said Cosby's agent sent her money and even showed a letter from Illius during her interview last year. 

Hard times: Camille Cosby looks on as her husband speaks at a news conference last November about an art exhibit the two put on at the Smithsonian as rape allegations began pouring in

Hard times: Camille Cosby looks on as her husband speaks at a news conference last November about an art exhibit the two put on at the Smithsonian as rape allegations began pouring in

Cosby also said under oath that he gave the National Enquirer an exclusive interview to kill a story they did with his ex Beth Ferrier, who accused him of slipping pills in her drink when she went to visit him in his dressing room in Denver in the 1980s.

Most of the deposition involved arguments between Constand's attorney Dolores Troiani and Patrick O'Connor, who was representing the comedian and who the plantiff's lawyer felt was coaching his witness.

O'Connor also objected to almost every question asked by Troiani, telling Cosby not to respond or answer.

The deposition eventually ended after Troiani grew fed up with not getting any answers from Cosby, and filed a motion with the court requesting that they order Cosby to fully testify and hold a new deposition.

Cosby has never been criminally charged and most of the allegations exceed the statute of limitations. 

'The only reason Mr Cosby settled was because it would have been embarrassing in those days to put all those women on the stand and his family had no clue,' his actor's camp said in a statement to ABC News about the 2005 case.

'That would have been very hurtful.'  

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