Audio By Carbonatix
Barbara Bowman’s rape allegations against Bill Cosby, which we shared in this space late last month, have led to blizzard of allegations and castigation for the veteran entertainer. The latest to come forward is former supermodel Janice Dickinson, whose story of sex assault echoes one told by Bowman, who was raised in Denver and first met Cosby here.
See also: Barbara Bowman’s Story of Alleged Rape by Bill Cosby Begins in Denver
As we’ve reported, Bowman said she met Cosby circa 1985 at the once tony/now defunct Denver nightclub Turn of the Century, located at 7300 East Hampden, when she was just seventeen. Here’s an excerpt from the U.K. Mail piece in which she shared her experiences for the first time:
After that, Bowman says Cosby made it a point to meet with her whenever he was in Denver, where she moved when she was nine, and flew her and family members around the country, including to New York City to see Broadway shows. But according to her, he was less interested in helping her achieve her acting dreams than in hotel room rendezvous and other encounters that she characterizes as sexually and emotionally abusive.
Included among the examples Bowman offered the paper was an account of Cosby allegedly giving her a drugged glass of wine, after which she fears she was sexually assaulted while incapacitated.
Dickinson’s tale is quite similar. As noted by USA Today, she told Entertainment Tonight that in Lake Tahoe circa 1982, she was with Cosby when she got a stomach ache. According to her, he responded by giving her a glass of red wine and a pill that essentially knocked her out — but before she lost consciousness, she recalled “Bill Cosby in a patchwork robe, dropping his robe and getting on top of me. And I remember a lot of pain.”
A Cosby spokesman has refuted Dickinson’s story, but the bad PR — compounded by a social-media disaster that followed a Cosby Twitter account’s invitation to “Meme me!” — has resulted in a number of media giants distancing themselves from the comedy legend. CNN reports that Netflix has put a Cosby special on hold and NBC has dropped a project he had in development with the network.
Could other Cosby enterprises be in jeopardy? Earlier this morning, 9News’ Kyle Dyer speculated about that in this tweet:
We wonder, too — particularly given that Bowman’s story of encountering Cosby in Denver played a significant role in his current crisis.
Here’s a USA Today video featuring Dickinson’s Entertainment Tonight appearance.
Send your story tips to the author, Michael Roberts.
