"BILL COSBY DRUGGED ME. THIS IS MY STORY." Beverly Johnson

[Aion Divinity]

 

 

Like most Americans, I spent the 60s, 70s, and part of the 80s in awe of Bill Cosby and his total domination of popular culture. He was the first African American to star in a dramatic television series, I Spy, a show my family in Buffalo, New York, always watched. Cosby cut a striking figure on-screen then. He was funny, smart, and even elegant—all those wonderful things many white Americans didn’t associate with people of color. In fact, as I thought of going public with what follows, a voice in my head kept whispering, “Black men have enough enemies out there already, they certainly don’t need someone like you, an African American with a familiar face and a famous name, fanning the flames.â€

 

Imagine my joy in the mid-80s when an agent called to say Bill Cosby wanted me to audition for a role on the The Cosby Show. Cosby played an obstetrician, and he sometimes used models to portray pregnant women sitting in his office waiting room. It was a small part with one or two speaking lines at most, but I wanted in.

I was in the midst of an ugly custody battle for my only child. I needed a big break badly and appearing on The Cosby Show seemed like an excellent way of getting Hollywood’s attention. I’d appeared in one or two movies already, but my phone wasn’t exactly ringing off the hook with acting jobs.

 

Cosby’s handlers invited me to a taping of the show so I could get the lay of the land and an idea of what my role required. After the taping I met all the cast and then met with Cosby in his office to talk a bit about the hell I’d been through in my marriage. He appeared concerned and then asked what I wanted from my career going forward. He seemed genuinely interested in guiding me to the next level. I was on cloud nine.

 

I brought my daughter to the next taping I attended. Afterward, Cosby asked if I could meet him at his home that weekend to read for the part. My ex-husband had primary custody of my daughter at the time, and I usually spent my weekends with her. Cosby suggested I bring her along, which really reeled me in. He was the Jell-O Pudding man; like most kids, my daughter loved him. When my daughter and I visited Cosby’s New York brownstone, his staff served us a delicious brunch. Then he gave us a tour of the exceptional multi-level home.

 

Looking back, that first invite from Cosby to his home seems like part of a perfectly laid out plan, a way to make me feel secure with him at all times. It worked like a charm. Cosby suggested I come back to his house a few days later to read for the part. I agreed, and one late afternoon the following week I returned. His staff served a light dinner and Bill and I talked more about my plans for the future.

After the meal, we walked upstairs to a huge living area of his home that featured a massive bar. A huge brass espresso contraption took up half the counter. At the time, it seemed rare for someone to have such a machine in his home for personal use.

Cosby said he wanted to see how I handled various scenes, so he suggested that I pretend to be drunk. (When did a pregnant woman ever appear drunk on The Cosby Show? Probably never, but I went with it.)

 

As I readied myself to be the best drunk I could be, he offered me a cappuccino from the espresso machine. I told him I didn’t drink coffee that late in the afternoon because it made getting to sleep at night more difficult. He wouldn’t let it go. He insisted that his espresso machine was the best model on the market and promised I’d never tasted a cappuccino quite like this one.

It’s nuts, I know, but it felt oddly inappropriate arguing with Bill Cosby so I took a few sips of the coffee just to appease him.

Now let me explain this: I was a top model during the 70s, a period when drugs flowed at parties and photo shoots like bottled water at a health spa. I’d had my fun and experimented with my fair share of mood enhancers. I knew by the second sip of the drink Cosby had given me that I’d been drugged—and drugged good.

 

[Editor’s Note: Cosby’s attorneys did not respond to Vanity Fair’s requests for comment.]

My head became woozy, my speech became slurred, and the room began to spin nonstop. Cosby motioned for me to come over to him as though we were really about to act out the scene. He put his hands around my waist, and I managed to put my hand on his shoulder in order to steady myself.

As I felt my body go completely limp, my brain switched into automatic-survival mode. That meant making sure Cosby understood that I knew exactly what was happening at that very moment.

“You are a motherfucker aren’t you?â€

That’s the exact question I yelled at him as he stood there holding me, expecting me to bend to his will. I rapidly called him several more “motherfuckers.†By the fifth, I could tell that I was really pissing him off. At one point he dropped his hands from my waist and just stood there looking at me like I’d lost my mind.

What happened next is somewhat cloudy for me because the drug was in fuller play by that time. I recall his seething anger at my tirade and then him grabbing me by my left arm hard and yanking all 110 pounds of me down a bunch of stairs as my high heels clicked and clacked on every step. I feared my neck was going to break with the force he was using to pull me down those stairs.

It was still late afternoon and the sun hadn’t completely gone down yet. When we reached the front door, he pulled me outside of the brownstone and then, with his hand still tightly clenched around my arm, stood in the middle of the street waving down taxis.

When one stopped, Cosby opened the door, shoved me into it and slammed the door behind me without ever saying a word. I somehow managed to tell the driver my address and before blacking out, I looked at the cabbie and asked, as if he knew: “Did I really just call Bill Cosby ‘a motherfucker’?â€

Why that was even a concern of mine after what I’d just been through is still a mystery to me? I think my mind refused to process it.

The next day I woke up in my own bed after falling into a deep sleep that lasted most of the day. I had no memory of how I got into my apartment or into my bed, though most likely my doorman helped me out.

I sat in there still stunned by what happened the night before, confused and devastated by the idea that someone I admired so much had tried to take advantage of me, and used drugs to do so. Had I done something to encourage his actions?

In reality, I knew I’d done nothing to encourage Cosby but my mind kept turning with question after question.

It took a few days for the drug to completely wear off and soon I had to get back to work. I headed to California for an acting audition. Not long after arriving, I decided I needed to confront Cosby for my own sanity’s sake. I thought if I just called him, he would come clean and explain why he’d done what he had.

I dialed the private number he’d given me expecting to hear his voice on the other end. But he didn’t answer. His wife did. A little shocked, I quickly identified myself to her in the most respectful way possible and then asked to speak to Bill. Camille politely informed me that it was very late, 11:00 P.M. and that they were both in bed together.

I apologized for the late call and explained that I was in Los Angeles and had forgotten about the three-hour time difference. I added that I would call back tomorrow.

I didn’t call back the next day or any other day after that. At a certain moment it became clear that I would be fighting a losing battle with a powerful man so callous he not only drugged me, but he also gave me the number to the bedroom he shared with his wife. How could I fight someone that boldly arrogant and out of touch? In the end, just like the other women, I had too much to lose to go after Bill Cosby. I had a career that would no doubt take a huge hit if I went public with my story and I certainly couldn’t afford that after my costly divorce and on going court fees.

---

For a long time I thought it was something that only happened to me, and that I was somehow responsible. So I kept my secret to myself, believing this truth needed to remain in the darkness. But the last four weeks have changed everything, as so many women have shared similar stories, of which the press have belatedly taken heed.

 

 

c

 

 

Bill is the fucking pits.

[ctothekay]

Wow....really???  I didn't grow up watching him so I could care less about him but to think (if it's true) that he drugged, raped, sexually assaulted that many women is like...how does that happen...

[PD101 Rep: BoA]

Fuck.

[TAEMONT]

Can't wait for him to die ole fucking bastard.

[Thigh-high feminist]

He's been known as an upstanding and powerful man for as long as I can remember. I got addicted to Cosby Show repeats this year and it is just amazing that that man is a sociopath serial rapist. You would honestly never know. He's a lunatic. I hope the victims sue him and take all of that money.

 

But, yeah, I'm learning to never trust the image.

[Aion Divinity]

I would love to hear what Phylicia has to say about this.

 

Like, he's of the utmost FILTH.

[�SHERRY�]

can they just put this rat ass in jail already?? multiple women already claimed to be raped or sexually assaulted by him but he is still free. is it because no one press charge? or the statute of limitation already ended?

[Blonde Jeonghan]

I'm so surprised when I hear about this because I really liked The Cosby Show and he never seemed like the type of person that will do things like that.. I guess that's why it's acting.. because now when looking at him, the image isn't the same.. it's creepy

 

The weird thing is that everyone is talking about it all at once, like decades after it happened.. out of all these people why didn't at least one of them come forward before now??

[xxxnamie]

I'm so disgusted by him. 

[Irrelephant]

He's been known as an upstanding and powerful man for as long as I can remember. I got addicted to Cosby Show repeats this year and it is just amazing that that man is a sociopath serial rapist. You would honestly never know. He's a lunatic. I hope the victims sue him and take all of that money.

 

But, yeah, I'm learning to never trust the image.

If you've watched gap dong, you've learned to trust no bitch.

[mayxalka]

He's been facing these rape/sexual abuse/etc allegations since 2000. His ass should have been in jail a loooonngg time ago. It's a shame it's really only coming to light now.

[hallah]

 

I would love to hear what Phylicia has to say about this.

 

Like, he's of the utmost FILTH.

 

 

tbh i've wondered where she stood on this matter the whole time, esp. because she continued to act alongside him in another tv show after the cosby show ended. so i can't help but wonder if she knew.

[crayola6]

I completely love bill but damn too many women are popping up with these allegations. But then again why wait so long to tell thats why i feel this story is shady. Theres no evidence which is key imo. Eother way i wish her the best but she should came forward earlier i dont care how famous he was at that time atleast theyre wouldve been more evidence.

[Aion Divinity]

I completely love bill but damn too many women are popping up with these allegations. But then again why wait so long to tell thats why i feel this story is shady. Theres no evidence which is key imo. Eother way i wish her the best but she should came forward earlier i dont care how famous he was at that time atleast theyre wouldve been more evidence.

 

Girl, move.

 

Multiple women from different sides of entertainment aren't just making this shit up to make it up.

 

He's trash, luv.

[JamaisVu]

can they just put this rat ass in jail already?? multiple women already claimed to be raped or sexually assaulted by him but he is still free. is it because no one press charge? or the statute of limitation already ended?

From what I was watching in the news, for most of these cases the statute of limitation is done

 

Which is messed up, because it's only now that all of the cases are coming to light.

[Thigh-high feminist]

can they just put this rat ass in jail already?? multiple women already claimed to be raped or sexually assaulted by him but he is still free. is it because no one press charge? or the statute of limitation already ended?

This. At least on the women who have come forward so far.

 

If you've watched gap dong, you've learned to trust no bitch.

I've never seen an episode. I might check it out.

[removed929393303]

I've been so tired of hearing people defend him over the past few weeks. 

 

He is fucking trash and no one can make me believe otherwise. People have been calling him a rapist for a long ass time, it's just getting media traction now. It's gross that people's first reaction is to think women are lying, especially when they're talking about high profile people. 

[Symphonyâ„¢]

I never liked his ass. He seem to think he was above his own race and people in general most of the time. I never understood how he was funny anyway.

[MangoTea]

hes so old now though its not even worth it to send him to jail. should just rest in hell tbh

[ImJustASlyFox]

I completely love bill but damn too many women are popping up with these allegations. But then again why wait so long to tell thats why i feel this story is shady. Theres no evidence which is key imo. Eother way i wish her the best but she should came forward earlier i dont care how famous he was at that time atleast theyre wouldve been more evidence.

 

Um maybe because these women were extremely terrified of the consequences such as the amount of power he may have? What if they were horrified of the judgement they would have faced? What if they were traumatized from the experience and couldn't speak up? Alot of sexual assault victims are too scared to speak up and never do. This should be a common fact. If he raped them a long time ago, what proof can they have? And if they did have proof, he can easily use money to save his filthy ass since he is  Maybe one women finally gained courage and it had a domino effect. Look at Woody Allen.Why the fuck isn't his bitch ass in jail? Even with evidence, can someone with money and influence really get the punishment he deserves?

 

Or maybe, as you might be assuming, they were lying. But if this was the case, why isn't he speaking up? Why won't he sue them for defamation? This is why he's the one that looking helluva shady...and since there are so many women, it makes it worse.People need to realize that the celebrities they see on tv aren't like what their tv personality is alike. And something like this isn't uncommon in Hollywood

[baeting]

Lol Cosby has so much power, he was a powerful figure back then (Not only was he on the Cosby Show as Cliff Huxtable, he did several educational videos that I grew up watching as well). Had these women spoken up then, they would either be a) paid money to shut up or b) not taken seriously because again, Cosby was powerful back then. Actually, this entire thing has been going for a while now, just that nobody really paid attention/came out until now.

 

People forget that Cosby created an image. An image does not define his true character = a rapist.

Cosby is a piece of shit and acted like he was superior anyway. It's about time people see how he truly is.

[✴✧SeoulYoon✧✴]

I really loved The Cosby show as a child. But recently when my local cable channel decided to air the reruns this year, I just can't get myself to watch it. After all these conffesions and allegations, I just couldn't look at Bill Cosby in the same light again. Just shows that the Ent industry is a dark, fake and shady world. Most celebs put on a fake front. As if we don't know this already. The same can be said about kpop world, just saying since this is a kpop forum and all.

 

Whats even funny, I've been noticing lately that my local cable network doesn't air The Cosby show all of a sudden now. Its as if it got cancelled. (Its not like many people here know who Bill Cosby is. This is not America). Could be that the local tv cable network felt uncomfortable broadcasting it due to these recent accusations and rumor about Bill Cosby. Well, not that I'm complaining or anything. Better that way tbh.

[SEWER RAT]

I can't @ people fending for his ass, is he paying for your rent, utility bills or student loans...?

[Seulo]

can they just put this rat ass in jail already?? multiple women already claimed to be raped or sexually assaulted by him but he is still free. is it because no one press charge? or the statute of limitation already ended?

[wiz109]

People keep asking why everyone is coming out what this now, but he's had the rumours around him for years, I remember when I was a teen it was in the news here in Canada that he was visiting a friend up here and she also accused him.  The thing is that after that it seemed like the case disappeared, it makes me think she was paid off or something.

 

I find it highly disappointing, and I know I will never be able to see his shows again though I loved them to death and was a huge fan of his.  But I hope the truth comes to light and I hope to hear from those who worked with him what they think of this.