Beverly Johnson who says Bill Cosby drugged her in 1986 then told her to 'act drunk' in audition for part on his show as a PREGNANT woman is 'not surprised' he's admitted to giving a woman a sedative

  • Iconic black fashion model Beverly Johnson, 62,who accused Bill Cosby in December of drugging her in 1986 is 'not surprised' Cosby came forward 
  • Cosby admitted buying Quaaludes, giving sedative to at least one woman on Monday 
  • The 77-year-old was testifying in 2005 lawsuit filed by Andrea Constand
  • Claimed he gave her Benadryl and settled the sex-abuse lawsuit in 2006 
  • Judge released papers from the lawsuit on Monday describing the 'stark difference' between the 'improper' Cosby and the 'public moralist'
  • He met the woman he gave Quaaludes to backstage at a show in Las Vegas
  • More than 40 women have come forward in the past year alleging Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted them in incidents dating back decades

Beverly Johnson, 62,who accused Bill Cosby in December of drugging her in 1986 said on Tuesday she's 'not surprised' he's admitted to giving at least one woman a sedative.

Cosby, 77, on Monday admitted to giving Quaaludes to a woman he hoped to sleep with in Las Vegas in 2005.

The case was settled for an undisclosed sum in 2006 but key documents in the case have only been revealed this week.

Response: Iconic black fashion model Beverly Johnson, 62,who accused Bill Cosby in December of drugging her in 1986 said on Tuesday she's 'not surprised' he's admitted to giving at least one woman a sedative

Response: Iconic black fashion model Beverly Johnson, 62,who accused Bill Cosby in December of drugging her in 1986 said on Tuesday she's 'not surprised' he's admitted to giving at least one woman a sedative

Finally came forward: Bill Cosby admitted in a 2005 deposition that he obtained Quaaludes with the intent of giving them to young women he wanted to have sex with

Finally came forward: Bill Cosby admitted in a 2005 deposition that he obtained Quaaludes with the intent of giving them to young women he wanted to have sex with

'I had a number of reactions,' Johnson said of Cosby's coming forward.

'I was numb. ... I didn't realize that I was going to get this onslaught of people wanting to interview me again and so naturally, you know, you want to get underneath the covers and put the covers over your head — but you can't do that and I won't do that. ... I want my voice to be heard. ... I'm telling my truth.'

 I was offered a cup of cappuccino. I took a sip. I felt woozy. And I took a second sip and I knew I had been drugged.
Beverly Johnson  

Johnson said that revealing her accusation against the 'revered black man' is 'one of the hardest decisions' she has ever had to make.

She feared sharing her secret because she thought it might ruin her career though there came a time when she knew she had to speak. 

In December 2014 Beverly Johnson said that she was invited to meet with Cosby in 1986 to audition for a part on The Cosby Show to play the role of a pregnant woman.

She met with him at the studio first and later went with him to his brownstone. She brought her daughter along with her to the studio but was alone at the comedian's home.

'I was offered a cup of cappuccino. I took a sip. I felt woozy. And I took a second sip and I knew I had been drugged,' she told ABC on Tuesday.

Beverly Johnson
Beverly Johnson

Tough choice: Johnson, pictured in  1974 and in recent years, said that revealing her accusation against the 'revered black man' is 'one of the hardest decisions' she has ever had to make

Not consensual: 'I in no way asked for any drugs, or wanted to be drugged, or wanted to be unconscious at any point. So that's my story,' the glamorous supermodel said of the experience 

Not consensual: 'I in no way asked for any drugs, or wanted to be drugged, or wanted to be unconscious at any point. So that's my story,' the glamorous supermodel said of the experience 

'I in no way asked for any drugs, or wanted to be drugged, or wanted to be unconscious at any point. So that's my story.'

At one point she says Cosby grabbed her by the waist after she took a few sips and she realized she'd been drugged.

She says she started calling Cosby names and that at one point she believes he threw her into a cab downstairs because he couldn't handle her behavior.

She says she doesn't believe she was raped or sexually assaulted but that she doesn’t remember arriving home.

Johnson said that after being drugged she decided to confront Cosby by calling him up on the telephone. 

'I dialed the private number he’d given me expecting to hear his voice on the other end. But he didn’t answer. His wife did. A little shocked, I quickly identified myself to her in the most respectful way possible and then asked to speak to Bill. Camille politely informed me that it was very late, 11:00 P.M. and that they were both in bed together,' she told Vanity Fair last year.

Waited to speak out: It was hearing Cosby's wife on the phone that made her decide against pressing any charges because she didn't think anyone would believe her that a respected married man would behave in such a way. Now she says she's happy to tell her truth in the hopes it will heal others 

Waited to speak out: It was hearing Cosby's wife on the phone that made her decide against pressing any charges because she didn't think anyone would believe her that a respected married man would behave in such a way. Now she says she's happy to tell her truth in the hopes it will heal others 

It was hearing Cosby's wife on the phone that made her decide against pressing any charges because she didn't think anyone would believe her that a respected married man would behave in such a way. 

Johnson said she is 'very happy' that Cosby admitted to drugging a woman because all the women who came to the stand to speak against can now feel a sense of validity after being accused of lying by Cosby supporters.

'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,' said someone close to Cosby to ABC News.

Admission: In the above testimony, Cosby admitted to buying Quaaludes to possible give to young women he wanted to sleep with

Admission: In the above testimony, Cosby admitted to buying Quaaludes to possible give to young women he wanted to sleep with

'That would have been very hurtful.'

Johnson says she is not pressing charges against Cosby and that in her coming forward she has nothing to gain but the truth.

'The truth always comes to light,' she said. 

'The truth, you can't hide it. ... I don't revel in someone's misery. I have the most empathy for the victims. ... Perhaps, maybe, we should all now start the healing process,' she said.

Also on Tuesday the African-American network Bounce TV said that it would take all episodes of the Cosby Show off the air immediately. 

Andrea Constand, who worked at Temple University, filed a lawsuit against Cosby
Andrea Constand, now 42, she said she first met Cosby, a Temple alum, in November 2002 and the pair became friends

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

A judge on Monday agreed to release the files and described Cosby as a 'public moralist' which, he said, was in 'stark contrast' to someone who was also the 'subject of serious allegations concerning improper (and perhaps criminal) conduct'.

Cosby made the admission during testimony in a 2005 civil case brought by a former Temple University employee, Andrea Constand. 

His lawyers had argued that the documents would cause severe embarrassment to the comedian-actor, who is best known for playing lovable father figure Dr Cliff Huxtable on the hit TV comedy series 'The Cosby Show' in the 1980s and 1990s.

More than 40 women have come forward in the past year alleging Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted them in incidents dating back decades. His attorneys have consistently denied the allegations. 

Cosby testified in 2005 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 in the 1970s - and which featured heavily in the movie, the Wolf of Wall Street

THE WOLF OF WALL STREET DRUG: WHAT ARE QUAALUDES?

Quaaludes (methaqualone) were first synthesized by scientists in the 1950s, and released in the 1960s in America as a more effective substitute for barbiturates, which were then a popular sleeping pill. 

They cause relaxation, sleepiness and occasionally a feeling of euphoria. 

The prescription pills are highly addictive and are not supposed to be taken in large quantities or while drinking alcohol. 

They take just 30 minutes to kick in and last for up to eight hours. 

At high doses it can cause severe confusion and an almost complete loss of muscle control.

The drug featured heavily in the 2013 movie the Wolf of Wall Street, starring Leonardo DiCaprio. 

'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.

 

 

After the lawsuit became public on Monday Constand tweeted out 'YES!' followed soon after by 'SIR!'

After the lawsuit became public on Monday Constand tweeted out 'YES!' followed soon after by 'SIR!'

'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.' 

Constand, the former director of operations for Temple's women's basketball team and a one time college basketball star herself, launched the legal suit against Cosby, a man she called her 'mentor', in March 2005. 

Now 42, she said she first met Cosby, a Temple alum, in November 2002 and the pair became friends and she was a frequent guest at dinner parties at his home.

REVEALED: HOW COSBY ADMITTED OBTAINING QUAALUDE PRESCRIPTIONS

According to the documents, unsealed by a federal judge on Monday, Cosby had admitted obtaining seven prescriptions for Quaaludes - and said he gave them to other people. 

That was followed up by this questioning by Constand's lawyer:

Question: 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: Yes. 

Cosby also answered questions about a sexual relationship with a woman in 1978. The woman went public last November with allegations he drugged and assaulted her two years earlier, when she was 19. That woman has accused Cosby of defamation over his denials.

Cosby: I meet (the accuser) in Las Vegas. She meets me backstage. I give her quaaludes. We then have sex. I do not. I can't judge at this time what she knows about herself for 19 years, a passive personality...

(The accuser) was sweet in her personality. As far as I was concerned was well-mannered, didn't demand or give a feeling that she was above anyone. If anything, I think she may very well have been very happy to be around the show business surroundings.

Constand's lawyer: Star struck?

Cosby: You'll have to ask her. 

Earlier, Cosby's lawyer made a series of objections as he was asked whether he gave young women Quaaludes without their knowledge. 

Question: OK. So, you're saying you never gave the quaaludes to anyone other than (a specific person)?

Cosby's lawyer: Don't answer the question. You can ask all the questions you want about the Jane Does. 

Cosby's admissions nearly a decade ago - but in contrast, in the last year, his attorneys have consistently denied the allegations against him.

He has said little directly about the slew of allegations against him, telling ABC television in an interview in May that he did not wish to discuss them.

'I can't speak; I just don't want to argue; I don't talk about it,' Cosby he said. 

Constand claimed however that after arriving at Cosby's house on an evening in January 2004, the comic legend gave her three blue pills when she said she was stressed over work, which he described as 'herbal medication' to help her relax.

Then, the suit states, her 'knees began to shake, her limbs felt immobile, she felt dizzy and weak, and she began to feel only barely conscious'. 

Cosby then gave her another drug, she said, and led her to the sofa, where she says she was sexually molested.

'When Plaintiff awoke, her clothes and undergarments were in disarray,' the suit said.

Constand later returned to her native Canada, where she reported the incident to police in January 2005. 

Accuser: Therese Serignese  (above) claimed she met Cosby at the Las Vegas Hilton in 1976 and was invited to spend time with him after his show where she was given two Quaaludes

Accuser: Therese Serignese (above) claimed she met Cosby at the Las Vegas Hilton in 1976 and was invited to spend time with him after his show where she was given two Quaaludes

Speaking up: 'I took them, didn't know what they were didn't even ask. I just was intimidated I guess and I took them,' Serignese (above pictured as a teenager) said in an interview last year

Speaking up: 'I took them, didn't know what they were didn't even ask. I just was intimidated I guess and I took them,' Serignese (above pictured as a teenager) said in an interview last year

Authorities in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, followed up with an investigation, but in February 2005, they declined to press criminal charges due to a lack of evidence.

Cosby settled that sexual abuse lawsuit for undisclosed terms in 2006. 

After the lawsuit became public on Monday Constand tweeted out 'YES!' followed soon after by 'SIR!'

Cosby meanwhile released his own statement.

HOW FURIOUS LAWYERS ROWED DURING ACRIMONIOUS DEPOSITION

At times the deposition descended in to a spat between the lawyers involved - with one ordering the other to 'stop interrupting'. 

One flash point unfolded as Cosby was asked whether he had obtained any type of drug that would have the same type of effect as Quaaludes during a certain time frame.

Here is part of the exchange between Cosby's lawyer, Mr O'Connor and Ms Constand's lawyer, Dolores M Troiani

Mr O'Connor: I'm instructing him again not to answer.

Ms Troiani: That's fine. You keep disrupting this deposition.

O: I have a right...

T: No, you do not. You've done it several times. We will move on.

O: Let me explain one thing. You want me to stop this deposition? I have a right to put my objection on the record.

T: You have done that. You do not have that right. You repeated several times. This is enough. Now let's move on.

O: No one is going to threaten me, Delores.

T: This is enough.

O: I've had enough of you with your...

T: If you want to walk out, you go ahead.

O: I'm not walking out.

T: Stop interrupting.

O: Do not ever talk to me that way again.

T: Stop interrupting.

'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 camp said in a statement to ABC News

'That would have been very hurtful.' 

Cosby has said little directly about the slew of allegations against him, telling ABC television in an interview in May that he did not wish to discuss them.

'I can't speak; I just don't want to argue; I don't talk about it,' Cosby said. 

Caught: Cosby 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 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 admits 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. 

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. 

However, his career has taken a hit in the past year with TV projects and live shows being canceled. He also stepped down from the board of trustees at Temple University, his alma mater.

A number of women have come forward in the past year saying they were attacked by Cosby, some of whom were just teenagers at the time.

One of the accusers is supermodel Janice Dickinson, who claims that during a dinner in 1982 the actor gave her a pill and when she woke up he was on top of her.

Cosby's attorney later said that Dickinson was lying and she is now suing him for defamation.

Another four women; Barbara Bowman, Joan Tarshis, Tamara Green and Therese Serignese, all recounted remarkably similar stories in which they claim to have shared a drink or a pill with Cosby and then woken up after or while they say he was sexually assaulting them.

Also coming forward was Carla Ferrigno, wife of Incredible Hulk star Lou Ferrigno, who says Cosby tried to sexually assault her during a gathering at his house in 1967.

What's more, Cosby allegedly tried to use a friend to help court Ferrigno, and allegedly made his move on the former Playboy Bunny just moments after his own wife, Camille, left the room.

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 puring 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 puring in

Camille married the comedian in 1964 and the couple have three children; Erinn, Evin and Erica.

Their oldest son, Ennis, was shot dead while changing a tire in 1997 at the age of 27.

These allegations have had a major impact on Cosby's work, with Netflix postponing the airing of his new comedy special, Bill Cosby 77, which was due to air the day after Thanksgiving last year, and NBC pulling the plug on a comedy project they were developing with the Cosby Show star.

TV Land also announced they will no longer air reruns of The Cosby Show on the network.

He has still continued to tour doing stand-up shows, and in May spoke to Good Morning America about the women coming forward claiming he had raped and drugged them in the past. 

Speaking with the program to promote the nonprofit Black Belt Community Foundation's education initiative which provides funding for education reform in Alabama, Cosby explained how these claims were hurting his attempts to work with charities.

'If a young person comes up to you and says, "You know, my mom says you've done some bad things." How will you answer them if they are pressing you: are you guilty? did you do it? are the allegations true?,' correspondent Linsey Davis asked Cosby. 

'I am prepared to tell this young person the truth about life,' responded Cosby.

'I'm not sure that they will come like that. I think many of them say, "Well, you're hypocrite. You say one thing, you [do] the other". My point is, OK, listen to me carefully.

'I'm telling you where the road is out. I'm telling you where as you're driving, you're gonna go into water, and it looks like it might only be 3 inches deep but you and your car are going to go down.

'Now, you wanna go here or you wanna be concerned about who's giving you the message.' 

And while he would not specifically address the claims, he did say; 'I have been in this business 52 years and I've never seen anything like this, and the reality is the situation... I can't speak.' 

Three of the women accusing Cosby of sexually assaulting them have a defamation lawsuit pending against him in Massachusetts. 

They allege that he defamed them when his agents said their accusations were untrue. 

Cosby is trying to get their case thrown out before discovery.  

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