Bill Cosby has been hit with a new lawsuit launched by a woman who alleges that he sexually assaulted her more than three decades ago.
According to court documents obtained by the New York Post, Stacey Pinkerton has sued the disgraced comedian, claiming that he drugged and then raped her in 1986, when she was just 21.
In her suit, Pinkerton — who was then an aspiring model and actress — alleges that the 85-year-old Cosby groomed and “manipulated [her] into believing that he was trying to help her career” before ultimately sexually assaulting her in Chicago hotel room in March 1986.
Launched in Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit on Friday, Dec. 30, the lawsuit details Pinkerton’s harrowing claims, which bear a marked similarity to those of more than 60 other women who have accused Cosby of drugging and then sexually assaulting them.
Cosby was released from a federal prison in June 2021 after serving three years after being convicted for the sexual assault of Andrea Constand, after his verdict was overturned due to a pre-existing deal Cosby cut with prosecutors in which he agreed to testify about Constand’s allegations in exchange for a promise he wouldn’t be prosecuted.
Pinkerton’s suit alleges that Cosby gave her money, put her up in a hotel and cast her in a scene in “The Cosby Show”, with her scene cut before the episode aired.
Pinkerton claims that in the night in question, Cosby’s assistant instructed her to meet him at a restaurant, where he “drugged [her] meal without her knowledge,” and then forced her into a car and brought her to a room in Chicago’s Drake Hotel.
Inside the hotel room, “Cosby engaged in forced sexual intercourse” with Pinkerton, who alleges that she “was incapable of consent by reason of being physically helpless.” She “escaped hours later” while Cosby was sleeping, the suit adds.
Pinkerton’s suit also states that she remained silent about her allegations because “Cosby exerted his power, influence, and status” over her.
In addition to Cosby, other defendants in Pinkerton’s suit are NBC, Kaufman Astoria Studios (where “The Cosby Show” was shot) and the sitcom’s producers, Carsey Werner Company, alleging that they “facilitated, enabled, approved, and ratified Cosby’s sexual assaults of women.”
Pinkerton was able to file suit due to New York’s recently passed Adult Survivor’s Act, which allows victims to seek justice after the statute of limitations has passed.
Pinkerton’s suit joins another launched earlier this month by five women who also allege being sexually abused by Cosby.
“In light of the New York legislature’s move to abolish the statute of limitations, it’s not really surprising that there is a wave of new lawsuits,” Cosby’s rep Jennifer Bonjean told the New York Post of the new allegations. “We are going to examine [the lawsuits] one at a time and address them in the courts and he is going to assert all defences available to him.”
Meanwhile, earlier this week Cosby announced plans to return to the stage in a new tour he said would launch in the spring or summer of 2023.
“When I come out of this, I feel that I will be able to perform and be the Bill Cosby that my audience knows me to be,” Cosby told radio host Scott Spears during an interview with WGH Talk.
