Women come forward, say that Bill Cosby drugged, took advantage of them while young
Long-time actor and comedian Bill Cosby is in the midst of a sex abuse scandal after yet another woman has come forward with the allegations.
Barbara Bowman, a 46-year-old artist, says Cosby adopted her as a mentee in the late 80s when she was a teenager–and repeatedly subjected her to emotional and physical abuse. Bowman is the second woman to share her story this year.
Both Bowman and Green joined the 2004 lawsuit as witnesses after hearing about it on television; neither had anything to gain financially, as the statute of limitations had expired for both of them.
How did you know Bill Cosby?
I was a 17-year-old model and up-and-coming actress in Denver, Colorado. My agent knew Bill. I was told that he wanted to scout some new talent — if we were lucky, we would be groomed to go to New York and get more solid training so we could move up the ladder, maybe eventually get to audition for the Cosby Show.
Bill came to town, and my agent set up a meeting for us. I was told that Bill wanted to get to know me and my acting abilities and skill level, and wanted to know what sort of marketing ability I had. He had me come meet him whenever he was in town to do meet-and-greets, and he’d give me acting lessons. Then, he started flying me around to major cities to events to get accustomed to being around celebrities, and, he said, to see if I was worthy of mentoring.
What was it like having Bill Cosby as your mentor?
It was overwhelming. It was surreal and exciting, but it was also scary. He worked me over emotionally and psychologically. He broke me down and really preyed on my insecurities… I had no father figure in my life, so he zoomed right in on that and tried to make me feel as though he loved me like a father would.
Last week, Newsweek interviewed Tamara Green who was one of 13 women who accused Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting them in a civil suit in 2004. She also told tales of the alleged abuse and how it has affected her.
Thoughts on the allegations and story?
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