"Bill Cosby Drugged Me. This Is My Story."
This is the compelling headline of a new Vanity Fair story by former American supermodel Beverly Johnson.
Johnson became the first black model to appear on the cover of US Vogue in 1974. She is now the 19th woman to come forward with allegations about the comedian and star of hit TV program The Cosby Show.
"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," says Johnson, 62.
She was therefore overjoyed when she was offered the chance to audition for Cosby's show.
After meeting the star, he invited her to his house to discuss the role.
"Cosby suggested I bring [my daughter] along, which really reeled me in," Johnson says. "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."
Several days later, Cosby, now 77, invited Johnson over again. This time she went by herself.
As they chatted, he insisted on making her a coffee, insisting she'd "never tasted a cappuccino quite like this one".
Indeed.
"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," Johnson reveals.
"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."
As her head began spinning and her speech slurred, she recalls, Cosby called her to him, allegedly wrapping his arms around her waist. Despite her body going "limp" she was aware of what was happening to her and began yelling at him, calling him a "motherf---er".
Angry at her torrent of abuse, she says he dragged her downstairs, waved down a cab "shoved me into it and slammed the door behind me without ever saying a word".
She managed to tell the driver her address before passing out.
She said it took several days for the drugs to wear off and, when they did, she decided to call the star to confront him.
"I dialled 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," Johnson writes.
"I apologised 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."
She never phoned back and never went public with the story, afraid she says of the hit her career would take by speaking out against America's beloved actor.
Until now.
"Over the years I've met other women who also claim to have been violated by Cosby. Many are still afraid to speak up. I couldn't sit back and watch the other women be vilified and shamed for something I knew was true."
While allegations about Cosby's sexual assaults and drugging of women were raised over a decade ago, the claims have only received worldwide attention this year.
In February, Newsweek published a story interviewing two women about alleged assaults and in October, a comedian's video heckling Cosby about the rape charges went viral.
Since then, numerous other women have come forward with allegations, with one of the accusers, who claims he assaulted her when she was 15, filing a lawsuit, suing Cosby for damages based on "psychological damage and mental anguish".
Cosby, in turn, has filed a lawsuit back at the woman, claiming she is trying to extort him.
TV Land has subsequently pulled all Cosby Show reruns from its schedule and NBC has scrapped the sitcom it was developing with him.
Cosby's lawyer has previously called all the accusations "ridiculous" but has not responded to the most recent allegations, including Johnson's account.
Fairfax Media
