# Bill Cosby admitted (in 2005 lawsuit) that he drugged women for sex **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 6, 2015, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-admitted-in-2005-lawsuit-that-he-drugged-women-for-sex/724423 "2015-07-06T22:03:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-admitted-in-2005-lawsuit-that-he-drugged-women-for-sex/724423/41 "2015-07-09T14:57:17Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Cosby could, of course, file lawsuits against these women. Being accused of rape is obviously a significant defamation of character. But Cosby, for reasons I’m sure his defenders will be quick to offer, has chosen to not defend himself in court. I’m not a defender of Cosby, but even if he were theoretically innocent of all charges it would be extremely foolhardy for him to sue in court for defamation. > [@](#): > > It’s likely that these women will be accused of seeking the money. But realistically, there probably won’t be that much money involved - the damages of being called a liar are probably pretty minimal and the awards if the lawsuits will be nominal. So the goal here appears to be to bring Cosby into a courtroom and force him to testify under oath. I highly doubt that. From a purely technical standpoint, the damages of being called a liar are pretty minimal, but in a case like this one, with a deep-pocketed defendent who is being accused of serious crimes that he can’t be charged for, the sky is the limit. Being denied a wedding cake from a particular bakery is even less damaging than being called a liar, but a store was just ordered to pay $135K in “actual damages” to a gay couple who were denied this service. You take a guy like Cosby - bigger villian, much deeper pockets - and that amount could be increased exponentially. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-admitted-in-2005-lawsuit-that-he-drugged-women-for-sex/724423/42 "2015-07-09T19:43:21Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > The ghost of[Adolf Beck](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Beck_case) wants a word with you. Are you seriously claiming that somebody else has been impersonating Bill Cosby and raping women for the last few decades? ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-admitted-in-2005-lawsuit-that-he-drugged-women-for-sex/724423/43 "2015-07-09T19:50:45Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Are you seriously claiming that somebody else has been impersonating Bill Cosby and raping women for the last few decades? No. Just that multiple accusers independently stating similar facts do not necessarily mean the person is guilty, which was the crux of the case. (Incidentally, in the Beck case it was not impersonation, which did not happen, that was the issue, but the number of accusers and consistency of stories) If you want more examples, there was the [McMartin preschool trial](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMartin_preschool_trial). Again, this is not to state my opinion one way or the other. Only to point out their have been cases where you have had multiple independent claims and those turned out to be false. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-admitted-in-2005-lawsuit-that-he-drugged-women-for-sex/724423/44 "2015-07-09T19:56:38Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > I’m not a defender of Cosby, but even if he were theoretically innocent of all charges it would be extremely foolhardy for him to sue in court for defamation. Why? He’s already being publicly accused of the crimes. If he’s innocent he has nothing further to lose by taking his accusers to court. He’s got the money to pay for lawyers. Cosby’s been accused by over forty different women. If he’s innocent, all he would have to do is pick out the women who are making the most easily proven false accusations. Take them to court and show that on the day they said Bill Cosby was raping them, he was actually performing on the other side of the country. Prove that a few of his accusers are lying and that’s going to shift public opinion back to his side. That’s what I would do if a bunch of people started making false accusations against me. It’s what I would assume you would do if a bunch of people made false accusations against you. It’s what any normal person would do if a bunch of people made false accusations against them. You take your accusers to court, you prove they’re lying, and you clear your name. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-admitted-in-2005-lawsuit-that-he-drugged-women-for-sex/724423/45 "2015-07-09T20:08:42Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > No. Just that multiple accusers independently stating similar facts do not necessarily mean the person is guilty, which was the crux of the case. (Incidentally, in the Beck case it was not impersonation, which did not happen, that was the issue, but the number of accusers and consistency of stories) > > If you want more examples, there was the [McMartin preschool trial](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMartin_preschool_trial). > > Again, this is not to state my opinion one way or the other. Only to point out their have been cases where you have had multiple independent claims and those turned out to be false. No, I’m going to stick with what I said. The crimes in the Adolf Beck case all occurred. The only issue was who committed them. Adolf Beck was mistakenly identified as the culprit because he looked like the real criminal. But nobody is disputing that the real culprit existed and committed the crimes. So the only way this case would have any relevance to the Bill Cosby case is if you’re putting forth the argument that all of these rapes occurred but Bill Cosby is innocent because somebody else committed them. That, as I wrote, there’s a Bill Cosby impersonator who’s been committing rapes for the last few decades. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-admitted-in-2005-lawsuit-that-he-drugged-women-for-sex/724423/46 "2015-07-09T20:42:32Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > No, I’m going to stick with what I said. > > The crimes in the Adolf Beck case all occurred. The only issue was who committed them. Adolf Beck was mistakenly identified as the culprit because he looked like the real criminal. > > But nobody is disputing that the real culprit existed and committed the crimes. > > So the only way this case would have any relevance to the Bill Cosby case is if you’re putting forth the argument that all of these rapes occurred but Bill Cosby is innocent because somebody else committed them. That, as I wrote, there’s a Bill Cosby impersonator who’s been committing rapes for the last few decades. No. It has lots of relevance. In the Cosby case, the main line of argument has been that the allegations must be true, because of their number, In the Adolf Beck case, the authorities discounted all other evidence exculpating Beck, including the fact that he was in S America at the time of some of the crimes, because so many women could not be wrong. Indeed, my original reply was to **Gyrate** ’s post [QUOTE=Gyrate] Until we have further proof, it remains a case of “he said/she and she and she and she and she and she and she and she and she and she and she and she and she and she and she and she and she and she and she and she and she and she and she and she and she said”. [/QUOTE] As it is, I have also mentioned the McMartin case, where their was no identification issue at all, and you had abiut 300 children (and some adults) testifying as to abuse and it turned out that there was no truth in the allegations. Again, this in no way is my opinion of the veracity of the accusations in this case, merely that you need more evidence than what has been put forth. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2015, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-admitted-in-2005-lawsuit-that-he-drugged-women-for-sex/724423/47 "2015-07-09T23:59:58Z")
> [@Ibanez](#): > > Because every couple of months the rape culture monster has to eat someone publicly in order to keep the monster alive, and strong. They’re having a hard time getting Billy down the gullet but they get an A- for perseverance so far. Sorry, too many allegories in your post. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-admitted-in-2005-lawsuit-that-he-drugged-women-for-sex/724423/48 "2015-07-10T00:01:01Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > If those “people” end up with multiple rape accusations involving alcohol, then yes, “Bob really likes having sex with people who are passed out drunk” is at least something to think about. Why do you say ‘multiple rape accusations’? Aren’t all participants drunk? BTW, what was the antecedent for the ‘then yes’ part of your comment? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-admitted-in-2005-lawsuit-that-he-drugged-women-for-sex/724423/49 "2015-07-10T19:24:51Z")
I saw this posted on VICE a little while ago: [There’s a ‘Cosby Show’ Episode Where He Makes Women Horny and Docile with Magical Barbecue Sauce](http://www.vice.com/read/theres-a-cosby-show-episode-where-he-makes-women-horny-with-magical-barbecue-sauce-828). The episode’s Youtube posting is embedded in the linked article, for those who might care to watch (I did not). ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-admitted-in-2005-lawsuit-that-he-drugged-women-for-sex/724423/50 "2015-07-10T19:44:45Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Why? He’s already being publicly accused of the crimes. If he’s innocent he has nothing further to lose by taking his accusers to court. He’s got the money to pay for lawyers. Cosby’s best chance is that the story runs out of oxygen and dies down (ala Woody Allen et al). Taking it to court is feeding the flames, even if he’s innocent. In addition, there are many people who would never accept that he’s innocent, even if he theoretically were so. These people will be enraged by his “revictimizing” the victims and having the audacity to sue his victims. > [@](#): > > Cosby’s been accused by over forty different women. If he’s innocent, all he would have to do is pick out the women who are making the most easily proven false accusations. Take them to court and show that on the day they said Bill Cosby was raping them, he was actually performing on the other side of the country. Prove that a few of his accusers are lying and that’s going to shift public opinion back to his side. I disagree. I myself think he’s guilty, but I don’t think every one of his accusers is saying the truth. I just think the cumulative weight of the evidence is far to great for him to have been blameless in all these encounters. It wouldn’t surprise me if some of these accusers are opportunists looking to cash in - it would surprise me if none of them were. There are a lot of opportunists out there. If he picked the weakest cases and destroyed them it would not change my overall view of his guilt. In addition, it would be very difficult for Cosby to conclusively prove his innocence, even if he actually would be innocent. These charges are about events that happened many many years ago. Even if Cosby himself can document his whereabouts on various dates in the distant past, there’s no saying his accusers can, or will be willing to let themselves get nailed down as to specific dates and locations. (Even if they do name a date and place they can always come back later and claim they misremembered - in the Sandusky case, the prosecution shifted the date of the main molestation event by about a year, after having already presented it to the grand jury.) Cosby would have nothing to gain and quite a lot to lose by suing his accusers and it would be an extremely foolish move even if he were completely innocent (which, again, I don’t think he is). > [@](#): > > That’s what I would do if a bunch of people started making false accusations against me. It’s what I would assume you would do if a bunch of people made false accusations against you. It’s what any normal person would do if a bunch of people made false accusations against them. You take your accusers to court, you prove they’re lying, and you clear your name. It’s not what I would do if a bunch of people started making false accusations against me. I can’t speak for you with certainty, but I’m not convinced it’s what you would do either. I’m sure it’s what you now _think_ you would do if you were ever in that situation. But if you ever actually were, you would probably consult with people who were experts in dealing with that type of situation, who would advise you against it. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2015, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-admitted-in-2005-lawsuit-that-he-drugged-women-for-sex/724423/51 "2015-07-11T03:56:48Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > Being denied a wedding cake from a particular bakery is even less damaging than being called a liar, but a store was just ordered to pay $135K in “actual damages” to a gay couple who were denied this service. You take a guy like Cosby - bigger villian, much deeper pockets - and that amount could be increased exponentially. [No](http://www.rawstory.com/2015/07/oregon-bakers-werent-fined-over-cake-they-were-punished-for-sharing-lesbian-couples-home-address/). They were fined because they posted the gay couple’s address on their Facebook pages while instigating harassment, which resulted in death threats and nearly lost the couple custody of their foster children. You’re not allowed to do that in Oregon, it’s against the law. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-admitted-in-2005-lawsuit-that-he-drugged-women-for-sex/724423/52 "2015-07-12T19:13:48Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > [No](http://www.rawstory.com/2015/07/oregon-bakers-werent-fined-over-cake-they-were-punished-for-sharing-lesbian-couples-home-address/). They were fined because they posted the gay couple’s address on their Facebook pages while instigating harassment, which resulted in death threats and nearly lost the couple custody of their foster children. You’re not allowed to do that in Oregon, it’s against the law. You’re wrong about all this. Your cite originally said what you claim, but they backed off after their error was pointed out to them. They did apparently leave their original headline up, and I’m unsure if you were misled by the headline, or linked to the original article before it was revised. At any rate, if you carefully read the article in its current version, including the correction at the bottom, and the link to Eugene Volokh’s article, you’ll see that the $135K was for the discrimination and not for the harassment including the home address. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-admitted-in-2005-lawsuit-that-he-drugged-women-for-sex/724423/53 "2015-07-12T19:27:03Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > The case in question was settled a decade ago. Are there any claims out there for which the statute of limitations has not passed or that have not been settled? So far? No. Still, have you ever seen a predator stop their fetish cold turkey & never go back? Now that this is out there, there is a very good chance some people who hadn’t come forward before might come forward now. ---
**Author:** ![jimbuff314](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c57346/32.png) [@jimbuff314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbuff314)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-admitted-in-2005-lawsuit-that-he-drugged-women-for-sex/724423/54 "2015-07-12T19:29:49Z")
Apropos of not much, I noticed the other day that our city’s NBC affiliate is running _The Cosby Show_ back-to-back on a nightly basis on their secondary digital channel. (We get TV OTA) ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-admitted-in-2005-lawsuit-that-he-drugged-women-for-sex/724423/55 "2015-07-12T19:33:49Z")
Forgive a possibly stupid question, but how would a sedative aid in the enjoyment of consensual sex? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2015, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-admitted-in-2005-lawsuit-that-he-drugged-women-for-sex/724423/56 "2015-07-12T20:25:17Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Forgive a possibly stupid question, but how would a sedative aid in the enjoyment of consensual sex? Alcohol seems to help for a lot of people. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2015, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-admitted-in-2005-lawsuit-that-he-drugged-women-for-sex/724423/57 "2015-07-13T10:33:38Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Forgive a possibly stupid question, but how would a sedative aid in the enjoyment of consensual sex? By lowering the threshold of “consensual”, is my guess. ---
**Author:** ![computergeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@computergeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/computergeek)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2015, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-admitted-in-2005-lawsuit-that-he-drugged-women-for-sex/724423/58 "2015-07-19T02:37:44Z")
Hollywood Reporter ‏@THR 39m39 minutes ago Bill Cosby Reveals Tactics for Sleeping With Women, Admits Paying Hush Money [http://thr.cm/nohzXz](http://thr.cm/nohzXz) According to the New York Times who got access to the full deposition. Is the full document available online? ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-admitted-in-2005-lawsuit-that-he-drugged-women-for-sex/724423/59 "2015-12-23T17:57:16Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Why? He’s already being publicly accused of the crimes. If he’s innocent he has nothing further to lose by taking his accusers to court. He’s got the money to pay for lawyers. > > Cosby’s been accused by over forty different women. If he’s innocent, all he would have to do is pick out the women who are making the most easily proven false accusations. Take them to court and show that on the day they said Bill Cosby was raping them, he was actually performing on the other side of the country. Prove that a few of his accusers are lying and that’s going to shift public opinion back to his side. > > That’s what I would do if a bunch of people started making false accusations against me. It’s what I would assume you would do if a bunch of people made false accusations against you. It’s what any normal person would do if a bunch of people made false accusations against them. You take your accusers to court, you prove they’re lying, and you clear your name. Appropos of this post and our subsequent exchange about whether this would be a smart move if he were innocent, apparently he has decided to try exactly this approach. You can see some reaction in [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=741284&page=6), beginning with post #262. I am unsurprised. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2026, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-admitted-in-2005-lawsuit-that-he-drugged-women-for-sex/724423/60 "2026-03-23T22:09:50Z")
Updating this thread: > A civil jury in California found Monday that [Bill Cosby](https://apnews.com/hub/bill-cosby) was liable for drugging and sexually assaulting a woman in 1972 and **awarded her $19.25 million**. > > After a nearly two-week trial in Santa Monica, jurors found the 88-year-old Cosby liable for the sexual battery and assault of Donna Motsinger. > **[Jury finds that Bill Cosby sexually assaulted woman in 1972, awards her more...](https://apnews.com/article/bill-cosby-verdict-sexual-assault-motsinger-83b384df93fd9bf862b553b19b5aa4f9)** > > A California civil jury has found Bill Cosby liable for drugging and sexually assaulting a woman in 1972. It’s hard to believe strong enough evidence would exist after 51 years to win a trial for this. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-admitted-in-2005-lawsuit-that-he-drugged-women-for-sex/724423.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-cosby-admitted-in-2005-lawsuit-that-he-drugged-women-for-sex/724423.md?page=4)