Unsealed court documents add weight to claims of his years-long habit of abusing women and then paying for secrecy

Jul 7, 2015 07:12 GMT  ·  By
Bill Cosby admitted in court to drug raping at least 2 women, in a 2005 deposition
   Bill Cosby admitted in court to drug raping at least 2 women, in a 2005 deposition

Bill Cosby repeatedly refused to address allegations of drug-raping women these past few years, when more and more came forward to identify as his victims. Some had kept the secret for 30 years, some told the media they had been abused more recently, but all claimed that he had used his star power and powerful drugs to have his way with them.

The comedian, one of the most beloved figures in American television, let his wife, his attorneys and his supporters speak for him: he was innocent and all these women, too many to count today, were out to destroy his “legacy,” and get famous and rich in the process.

In 2005, Cosby himself admitted to giving rape drugs to women. Documents from a sworn court testimony have been unsealed at the request of the Associated Press, and have already been obtained by The Hollywood Reporter and DeadSpin. The latter has them all at the link.

Cosby gave women drugs and raped them

In 2005, Andrea Costand filed a lawsuit against Cosby, claiming that he had drugged and raped her while she worked at Temple University, his alma mater. The case has been sealed until now, and had Cosby’s attorney had his way, it would have remained so for much longer.

In December, the AP filed the papers to have the case unsealed but Cosby’s attorney tried to block the attempt by saying that the comedian wasn’t a public figure, and as such, the details would only serve to embarrass him, his family and everyone else involved in the case.

The case, by the way, was settled out of court.

Now that its details are out, it’s clear why Cosby wanted them under lock and key: having him admit on the record to buying Quaaludes and giving it to women so that he could do whatever he wanted with them is (re)opening the can of worms by adding even more weight to the claims of all the women who have been speaking out against him these past years.  

US District Judge Eduardo Robreno ruled that, despite his attorney’s claims, Cosby was a public figure. Moreover, his history of erecting himself into a moral authority on matters ranging from family life and childrearing to crime meant he was foregoing whatever claim to privacy he could have asked for otherwise.

Consequently, he unsealed the documents. And here’s what Cosby didn’t want the world to know:

“Q: When you got the Quaaludes, was it in your mind that you were going to use these Quaaludes for young women that you wanted to have sex with?”

“A: Yes.”

Deep ties within the industry

As strange as it may sound, this isn’t the most shocking revelation included in those documents. Not only did Cosby admit to buying drugs to rape women and to giving them to at least 2 of them, but he also admitted to trying to buy their silence afterwards.

Tom Illus of the William Morris Agency would often be contacted by the comedian and tasked with visiting these women with unspecified sums of money in his pockets. Cosby said Illus never asked what the money was for.

Costand, for instance, filed the lawsuit against Cosby because she wanted an apology. In his testimony, the comedian said that he visited her house and gave her mother money for her “education.” He insisted on them receiving the cash even though they were only asking for an apology.

There are also hints that William Morris Agency knew about the allegations against Cosby and did whatever they could to keep a tight lid on them.

The picture that emerges is very similar to the one painted by the victims coming forward this year: Cosby was a very powerful man who knew he could drug and rape “unknowns” because he knew the industry had his back, so the victims didn’t stand a chance. He also had money to throw around, which virtually guaranteed him that his secret would never get out.