The Bill Cosby Scandal Heats Up as 35 Accusers Feature on Cover Page of New York Magazine

The latest issue of the New York Magazine featured thirty five photos of women who are accusing Bill Cosby of drugging and raping them more than two decades ago.

There are, however, more than 40 women, who have come out since 2005 with claims that the renowned comedian had assaulted them, yet, no significant step has ever been taken.

Bill cosby scandal

The cover of the magazine has the photos of 35 women, all of them seated in rows with details of the alleged dates they were assaulted just below each photo. These photos first appeared on Sunday night and they immediately went viral. There is an upcoming issue that is titled “Cosby: The Women, An Unwelcome Sisterhood” and it will focus on the stories brought out by Cosby’s assault victims. There is an additional empty seat in the photo, something the magazine deliberately put there to represent the women not appearing in the post.

According to the New York Magazine, the 46 women who have managed to come out and speak about their incidences with the comedian are united by the dark experiences they’ve had in their lives and they couldn’t bear the pain of keeping mum anymore. When asked why she decided to come out, one of the women, who claims that she was assaulted by Bill Cosby when she was only 17, Chelan Lasha, said that she was no longer afraid and in fact, right now she feels more powerful than him.

The article also includes stories of Janice Dickinson who happens to be the only woman to file a case against the comedian where she alleged that Cosby’s lawyers labeled her a liar, when she came out with the rape allegations. Another one featured is Beverly Johnson, a fashion model who claims that Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her, back in 1986.

Bill Cosby

In light of the rape scandal surrounding Bill Cosby, the Spelman College recently announced that it will be discontinuing the professorship it has named after the comedian. The same had also happened at Atlanta College late last year when the institution learned of this scandal.

In legal papers that he filed last Tuesday, Cosby, who is now 78 years old, asked the court to keep his 2006 settlement on a sexual assault case confidential. This move was aimed at blocking Andrea Constand, one of the 46 women allegedly assaulted by Cosby, from successfully unsealing the documents. In 2005, a deposition was released indicating that Cosby had admitted to having given Quaaludes to Constand back in the 1970s and it was her intention to unseal these documents so that the other victims can have a right to determine the things that can be used as evidence in their cases.

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