Actress Lili Bernard says Bill Cosby drugged and raped her and is now suing for $225 million.
“I have waited a long time to be able to pursue my case in court and I look forward to being heard and to hold Cosby accountable for what he did to me,” Bernard said in a statement on Thursday. “Although it occurred long ago, I still live with the fear, pain and shame every day of my life.”
Bernard appeared on the Cosby Show in 1990 and says she was supposed to receive mentorship from Cosby, but was instead drugged, sexually assaulted and battered. According to the
lawsuit, Cosby arranged a “mentoring session” in Atlantic City in August 1990 and claimed to give her a nonalcoholic drink that made her feel dizzy, want to vomit and fall in and out of consciousness.The lawsuit obtained by Law and Crime states:
“When Ms. Bernard awoke, Mr. Cosby was undressing her and she remained dizzy, unable to stand, and unable to move her body.
When Ms. Bernard said, “No,” in response to Mr. Cosby’s efforts to undress her, Mr. Cosby ignored her and continued to undress her. She lost consciousness again. Ms. Bernard awoke again to find Mr. Cosby naked atop her, vaginally raping her with his penis. Ms. Bernard lost consciousness again.
When Ms. Bernard awoke again, she found herself naked and alone in an empty bathtub or jacuzzi in the bathroom, still dizzy and unable to move. She went in and out of consciousness until fully losing consciousness again. When Ms. Bernard next awoke, it was the morning and she was naked in bed.
Upon her awakening, Mr. Cosby dragged Ms. Bernard to a sitting position, dressed her quickly, handed Ms. Bernard money, and walked her to a waiting car with the assistance of a bellman.”
Cosby’s attorney, Andrew Wyatt, released a statement on Cosby’s Instagram account, stating:
“These look back provisions are unconstitutional.”
“They are a sheer violation of an individual’s Constitutional Rights and deny that individual of their Due Process rights,” he added.
“This is just another attempt to abuse the legal process by opening up the flood gates for people, who never presented an ounce of evidence, proof, truth and/or facts, in order to substantiate their alleged allegations. Mr. Cosby continues to maintain steadfast in his innocence and will vigorously fight ANY alleged allegations waged against him and is willing and able to take this fight to the highest court in these United States of America.”
Cosby was recently released from prison after being convicted of raping and drugging Andrea Constand. But in July 2020 the court threw out Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction and released him from prison. According to the court, Cosby’s agreement with a prosecutor should not have been used against him to file charges.