20 July,2015 07:41 AM IST | | PTI
US comedian Bill Cosby admitted that he offered mentorship and money to women he had sex with, according to court documents cited in the New York Times
Bill Cosby
New York: US comedian Bill Cosby admitted that he offered mentorship and money to women he had sex with, according to court documents cited in the New York Times.
Bill Cosby. Pic/AFP
Cosby used his combination of fame, concern and sedatives to pursue young women, reveals a 2005 deposition in a lawsuit filed by former Temple University employee Andrea Constand, who accused the comedian of drugging and molesting her.
In the deposition, whose transcript was obtained by the newspaper, Cosby portrayed himself as a skillful playboy, who claimed he was good in picking up the nonverbal cues that signal a woman's consent.
"I think I'm a pretty decent reader of people and their emotions in these romantic sexual things, whatever you want to call them," he had said during the questioning.
The comedian claimed that he acted as a mentor to Constand and wooed her by "inviting her to my house, talking to her about personal situations dealing with her life, growth, education."
At one point in the deposition, Dolores M Troiani, the lawyer for the plaintiff in the case seemed struck by Cosby's jocular manner.
"I think you're making light of a very serious situation," she said, to which Cosby replied: "That may very well be."
The comedian also admitted to giving Constand Benadryl to relieve stress though he maintains that it was consensual. He was also open about his access in the 1970s to quaaludes, a sedative also popular as a party drug.
The lawsuit was settled on undisclosed terms but a federal judge unsealed a 62-page memorandum of law in the case. The memorandum contained excerpts from the deposition.
The comedian, 78, also described going at length to hide his behavior from wife Camille such as blocking a magazine article to avoid publicity and funneling money to one woman through his agent so "Mrs Cosby" wouldn't find out.
The embattled comedian, who has been accused of sexual assault by dozens of women, has never been charged with a crime and has repeatedly denied the accusations.
