Ex-model Janice Dickinson says in a new sworn statement that Bill Cosby’s allegation through his former attorney that she made up her accusation that the comedian sexually assaulted her in 1982 has caused her significant emotional distress.
Dickinson says she came forward to tell her story on “Entertainment Tonight” because other women had also made similar accusations against the 78- year-old Cosby and she wanted to stand with them.
“I could no longer remain silent,” Dickinson says in court papers submitted by her attorneys on Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court. “I am also older now, sober and in a better position to stand up to this wealthy and powerful man.”
Dickinson sued Cosby last May 20, alleging she was defamed when Cosby’s former attorney, Martin Singer, falsely called her a liar in two written statements provided to the media in 2014. The complaint alleges defamation, false light invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Cosby’s lawyers want the case against him dismissed on free-speech grounds.
Dickinson’s declaration was submitted in support of her opposition to the dismissal motion, set to be heard Feb. 29.
Dickinson’s lawyers attempted to add Singer as a defendant, but were turned down by a judge.
Dickinson, 60, is among more than four dozen women who have come forward to accuse Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting them.
Cosby’s lawyers have denied any wrongdoing on the part of their client and that Dickinson never claimed she was raped until the “Entertainment Tonight” interview in November 2014.
They also say she did not report her allegations against the comedian to the police.
But Dickinson maintains that before any of Cosby’s other accusers made their allegations public, she confided about what Cosby allegedly did to her to friends and business acquaintances.
Those confidantes included Dickinson’s friend, Edward Tricomi; Pablo Fenjves, the ghostwriter of her autobiography, “No Lifeguard on Duty”; and Judith Regan, who in 2002 was the president and publisher of ReganBooks, a division of HarperCollins, according to Dickinson.
Dickinson says the was disturbed the allegations that she fabricated her accusation against Cosby came so soon after the “Entertainment Tonight” interview.
“This was shocking and upsetting and remains so to this day,” Dickinson says “I have been called a liar now by countless people and media commentators based on what Mr. Cosby put out about me. “My peace of mind has been shattered.”
Dickinson says she has suffered “deep emotional pain” since the statements against her were issued.
“I have good days and bad days,” she says. “On the good days I can work and hold my head high. On the bad days I have trouble working, interacting with my family and friends and sleeping.”
Dickinson says she has worked hard to “earn a professional reputation a woman who speaks my mind, boldly directly and honestly.”
She says she is not perfect.
“I have admitted to many mistakes I’ve made in life, especially to some of the wild times I had before I became sober,” Dickinson says. “I did this to help other people who have gone through similar struggles and to show them that it is possible to rise above addiction, heal, get sober and lead a healthy life. Drew Pinsky, host of “Loveline” and HLN’s “Dr. Drew on Call,” defended Dickinson’s character in a separate sworn statement.
“In my opinion, an addict may get clean and sober and become and honest and truthful person,” Pinsky says. “I believe that has been the case for Ms. Dickinson.”
In a previous sworn statement, Dickinson said she was in Bali, Indonesia, in 1982 when Cosby offered to pay her flight to Lake Tahoe and meet with her to discuss her future show business and singing career.
She says that she experienced menstrual pain after having dinner with Cosby and that he offered her wine and a pill “which he said would help me with my cramps and with the jet lag.”
She says she took the pill “believing it was what Mr. Cosby had represented it to be. In fact, Mr. Cosby deceived me into consuming a narcotic that heavily sedated me.”
Dickinson’s earlier statement includes an account of Cosby’s alleged sexual abuse.
“Shortly after Mr. Cosby intentionally drugged me, I recall screaming, ‘No, no, no’ before he sexually assaulted me,” she says. “I then blacked out. I woke up hours later, naked … and in pain in my private areas.”
— City News Service