Chelsea Handler: Bill Cosby "tried to Cosby me"

Handler claims the embattled comedian invited her to come to his Atlantic City hotel room alone a decade ago

Published March 26, 2015 6:29PM (EDT)

Chelsea Handler           (<a href='http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-842284p1.html'> s_bukley</a> via <a href='http://www.shutterstock.com/'>Shutterstock</a>)
Chelsea Handler ( s_bukley via Shutterstock)

In a new joint interview with Nick Offerman in the April issue of Esquire, Chelsea Handler claims she narrowly escaped becoming another of Bill Cosby's alleged rape victims, saying the embattled comedian invited her -- alone -- to meet him in his Atlantic City hotel room nearly a decade ago.

At one point during Offerman and Handler's exchange, interviewer Scott Raab decided to "throw out" an expression of pity for Cosby, calling him a "poor guy." Handler did not take kindly to the sentiment.

"Not poor guy," Handler said. "He tried to Cosby me."

The star then recalled being asked to come meet Cosby in his room while she was performing standup at the same hotel (emphasis original):

[At] like three o'clock in the afternoon, someone from the hotel came down and said, "Oh, you know, Mr. Cosby would really like to meet you up in his hotel suite." And I thought, That's really weird. This was like ten years ago. And I said, That's really weird. I don't want to go alone. I go, I don't know him. So the three guys I was with—thank God these guys were with me. One was filming and one was like a producer; we were filming something—I brought them up with me to his room and thank God I did, because now I know what would've happened if I went up there alone. And I forgot about it when all the stories about Bill Cosby came out. I was like, I didn't even think of it. Then my friend texted me the other day saying, "Do you remember that night we went up to, or that afternoon we went up to Bill Cosby's and you were so freaked out you made us come with you?" And I said, Yeah, and he said, "Hello! You could've been one of his victims if we weren't there."

Handler kept any additional details of her interaction with Cosby to herself, but said she believes the incident is a sign of his guilt.


By Jenny Kutner

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Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Bill Cosby Chelsea Handler Comedy Esquire Nick Offerman Rape Sexual Assault