Renowned comedian Bill Cosby is facing a new lawsuit brought against him by a singer who claims he drugged and raped her in the late 1980s.
According to the court documents filed under the Adult Survivors Act, Morganne Picard, the plaintiff, accuses Cosby of inviting her to the set of The Cosby Show in 1987.
During her visits, she alleges that Cosby pressured her to drink beverages that made her feel extremely intoxicated on multiple occasions between 1987 and 1990.
Picard further claims that after consuming one of Cosby’s drinks at his home, she blacked out and later woke up in a hotel room nak*d, with soreness in her vagina.
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The lawsuit contends that Cosby took advantage of Picard’s incapacitation and raped her without her consent, when she was unable to make decisions.
Related: Jonathan Majors Gets New Trial Date For Alleged Assault
The court documents also mention Kaufman Astoria Studios, Astoria Studios LP II, the Carsey-Warner Company, and NBCUniversal as defendants. The lawsuit alleges that these entities did not take any action to prevent Cosby from s*xually abusing and assaulting women.
At this time, Kaufman Astoria Studios, the Carsey-Warner Company, and NBCUniversal have not responded to requests for comment from PEOPLE.
Picard’s lawsuit specifically accuses Cosby of battery, assault, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. She also sues the other defendants for negligent hiring and negligence.
Andrew Wyatt, Cosby’s representative, expressed disappointment in a statement to PEOPLE, stating that he believes some people are trying to capitalize on false allegations against Cosby. Wyatt reaffirmed that Cosby maintains his innocence and strongly denies all the accusations against him.
The Adult Survivors Act allows adult victims to sue alleged abusers for past s*xual crimes within a one-year window, regardless of the Statute of Limitations. This one-year window for new claims will end on Thanksgiving 2024.
It is important to note that this is not the first time Cosby has faced legal troubles. In June, Victoria Valentino, a former Playmate model, also sued Cosby, alleging that he drugged and raped her in 1969. Cosby’s spokesperson previously referred to that lawsuit as an attack on “Black men in America.”
Additionally, six months prior to that, five women filed a complaint against Cosby in New York’s Supreme Court, accusing him of sexual assault, s3xual battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The women named in the suit include Eden Tirl, Jewel Gittens, Jennifer Thompson, Lili Bernard, and Cindra Ladd. Cosby’s spokesperson at the time dismissed the complaint as a “frivolous civil lawsuit.”
Previously, Cosby had been convicted on three counts of aggravated indecent assault in 2018, leading to a 10-year prison sentence. However, his conviction was vacated, and he was released in 2021.
Throughout the legal proceedings, more than 60 women have accused Cosby of drugging and s3xually assaulting them, making this a highly contentious and divisive matter.
