Cosby rape accuser tells CNN: "Nobody would believe me ... Everybody loved him"

Actress Barbara Bowman opens up about being drugged, raped and disbelieved decades ago

Published November 14, 2014 3:25PM (EST)

Barbara Bowman       (CNN)
Barbara Bowman (CNN)

Following up on her powerful Op-Ed in the Washington Post, actress Barbara Bowman sat down with CNN's Don Lemon on Thursday to discuss her allegations of rape against comedian Bill Cosby. While Cosby's camp maintains the star did not sexually assault any of the dozen plus women who have accused him of rape, Bowman charges that Cosby drugged, manipulated and molested her in the 1980s. In her conversation with Lemon, Bowman reiterated the frustration she shared in her Op-Ed, describing her feelings of fear as she was left with virtually no recourse for addressing the assaults.

"When things started to happen with him, I couldn't go to my agent," Bowman said. "I was terrified of her, and I was terrified of [Cosby]."

Describing the struggle she has faced over the years to have her allegations take hold publicly, Bowman recalled why she never pressed charges against Cosby. "I've been speaking publicly and trying to have this story believed and heard since 2004," she said. "It's been a long, hard, lonely dark road ... A friend brought me to an attorney in 1989; he laughed me out of the office. At that point, nobody would believe me. He was Dr. Huxtable. He was America's dad. Everybody loved him. I loved him. I wanted him to be my dad."

Watch a segment of Bowman's interview with CNN below:

(h/t Mediaite)


By Jenny Kutner

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Barbara Bowman Bill Cosby Don Lemon Rape Sexual Abuse Sexual Assault Video