Bill Cosby, NBCUniversal face new sexual assault suit from 'The Cosby Show' actresses, others


Plaintiffs further allege that the studio actively "enabled and aided" Cosby in these alleged sexual assaults to preserve their financial stake in his celebrity.

By Ben Whedon
Updated: December 6, 2022 -

Bill Cosby and NBCUniversal are facing yet another legal battle over "The Cosby Show" star's alleged sexual misconduct, with multiple plaintiffs filing a sexual assault and battery suit in New York on Tuesday.

"Each plaintiff was sexually assaulted and battered by defendant Bill Cosby in the same or similar manner when he used his power, fame, and prestige... to misuse his enormous power in such a nefarious, horrific way," the filing reads.

Plaintiffs further allege that the studio actively "enabled and aided" Cosby in these alleged sexual assaults to preserve their financial stake in his celebrity.

File
Cosby NBC suit

"Over the course of several decades, Bill Cosby engaged in the serial sexual assault of dozens of women for his sexual gratification while the co-defendants enabled and aided these sexual assaults to benefit financially by their association with Bill Cosby," the suit alleges.

The suit lists "sexual assault, sexual battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and false imprisonment," among many of the alleged torts Cosby committed. They further assert that NBCUniversal Media and the other co-defendant firms did not investigate Cosby's actions or attempt to intervene.

While the alleged incidents occurred beyond the statute of limitations, plaintiffs are able to bring the suit by virtue of the New York Adult Survivors Act, which has created a one-year window suspending those limits to allow victims to come forward, Deadline reported.

Cosby was convicted of aggravated indecent assault in 2018 but a Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned his conviction in 2021 asserting that his right to due process had been violated during the court proceedings. He was released from prison in June of that year and may not be retried on the same accusations.

Upon his release, Cosby professed his innocence and thanked the court for "upholding the rule of law."

He has since lost a civil suit against a separate accuser and must pay $500,000 in restitution, which he has thus far declined to do.