Janice Dickinson went public last year with allegations that she had been drugged and sexually assaulted by Bill Cosby after the two had dinner in 1982. The statute of limitations on the allegation has long since passed, but Dickinson on Wednesday filed a civil suit against the comedian and alleged serial rapist claiming professional and emotional harm.
Dickinson said in November that Cosby drugged and assaulted her after the two met to discuss a possible role on “The Cosby Show."
"I remember before I passed out that I had been sexually assaulted by this man,” she said at the time. “Before I woke up in the morning, the last thing I remember was Bill Cosby in a patchwork robe, dropping his robe and getting on top of me. And I remember a lot of pain. The next morning I remember waking up with my pajamas off and there was semen in between my legs."
In response to the allegations, Cosby’s lawyer, Marty Singer, said Dickinson’s story was “a lie,” pointing out that it contradicted the account of the evening she included in her autobiography. But according to a copy of Dickinson's suit obtained by the New York Daily News, the complaint contains sworn statements from her editor Judith Regan and ghostwriter Pablo Fenjves that "confirm" Dickinson “argued vehemently” to have the alleged rape included in the book. The suit alleges that "Harper Collins' legal department would not permit it."
In an interview with the New York Daily News about the defamation suit, Dickinson said: “I want justice. I want Bill Cosby on the stand. I want vindication. I’m doing it for women. I’ve been called a liar, and I’ve been re-victimized.”
She added in an interview with "Entertainment Tonight" that she hoped the suit would show "love and support" to the more than 30 women who have come forward and said they were also assaulted by Cosby.
“I could not let myself be silent when…the other women had come forth. I am sober today and I’m in a program of vigorous honesty,” she said. “I want to protect all those women that haven’t come forward and show them the love and support worldwide that what happened to me will not happen to another woman.”
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