Speaking
out: Bill Cosby, pictured left on Monday, has been accused of rape by a
third woman, Joan Tarshis (right), who said he attacked her twice in
1969 when she was working as a writer for him
In
the piece for Hollywood Elsewhere, she explained that she had been in
Los Angeles to write for comedian Godfrey Cambridge and she was
introduced to Cosby by two women she was staying with.
He
invited her to have lunch with him at Universal Studios and 'seemed to
take a liking' to her, she said. He invited her back a few times and
always poured her strong drinks, she wrote.
One
day, he asked her to work on some material with him so she went to his
bungalow, where he poured her a drink and she started talking about her
ideas, she said.
'The next thing I remember was coming to on his couch while being undressed,' she wrote.
'Through
the haze I thought I was being clever when I told him I had an
infection and he would catch it and his wife would know he had sex with
someone.
'But
he just found another orifice to use. I was sickened by what was
happening to me and shocked that this man I had idolized was now raping
me. Of course I told no one.'
'Victim': Tarshis has claimed that
Cosby gave her strong drinks that caused her to pass out and that she
wake up naked. She said she felt that she could not speak out because of
his 'whiter than snow' reputation
Her
mother was proud of her daughter's new connection and so when Cosby
called to invite Tarshis to a theater production, she felt as if she had
to go to the show, she said.
She
met him at his hotel, where she says his shaving kit was filled with
bottles of pills, and then they went to the show together. In the car,
he gave her a drink, she said.
After the show, she was having difficulties standing up and asked the chauffeur to take her back home, she said.
'The
next thing I remember was waking up in his bed back at the Sherry,
naked,' she wrote. 'I remember thinking "You old s***, I guess you got
me this time, but it’s the last time you’ll ever see me".'
Afterwards, she said nothing for 20 years.
'During
those years as I grew into adulthood, I watched Cosby be praised by
everyone from Presidents to Oprah to the Jello Corporation,' she wrote.
'It all made me ill.'
Speaking to Inside Edition, she explained she felt helpless.
'He’s
too powerful,' she said. 'How can you stop him? I’m just a little
person. What am I going to say? "He raped me?" Who is going to believe
that?'
Speaking
to The Wrap after she wrote the piece, she said that she decided to
speak out after other women came forward. MailOnline exclusively shared
Barbara Bowman's story last month.
'All
through the years, before I mentioned it, before anything else came
out, I knew I wasn't the only person,' she said. 'That it wasn't just
me... I knew that he was a serial rapist.'
She said she hopes her claims go some way to affecting the public's view of him.
Accusations: Last month, Barbara
Bowman, who is pictured with an image of her teenage self, told
MailOnline how she had been attacked by Cosby. Bowman's story gave
Tarshis strength to speak out, she said
She
also said she waited until now because she didn't want her parents to
find out. Both are now in their 90s and the news won't reach them, she
said.
'They would have really, really been damaged by me telling them something, or finding out something like this,' she said.
Squeaky clean image: Tarshis said that she hated seeing Cosby on TV, knowing what he had done
Today, she continues to blame herself, she said.
'It
still kind of feels that way, that I should have known better,' she
said. 'I know intellectually that's incorrect, but that's still a
feeling that I have.'
Tarshis,
who lives in upstate New York, became a music publicist in the 1980s
and represented Bob Marley and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, among others.
She later worked as a journalist and is now getting a master's in mental
health counseling, the Wrap reported.
The
renewed attention on Cosby's past began last month when comedian
Hannibal Buress assailed him during a stand-up performance in
Philadelphia, Cosby's hometown, calling him a 'rapist'.
His remarks were captured on video and posted online, gaining wide exposure.
Adding
to the growing firestorm: One of Cosby's accusers, Barbara Bowman,
leveled allegations of sexual assault against him - first speaking to
MailOnline last month and later in an online column for the Washington
Post.
She
explained that in 1985, she was 17 and an aspiring actress when Cosby
'brainwashed me into viewing him as a father figure, and then assaulted
me multiple times'.
Cosby,
who was never criminally charged in any case, settled a civil suit in
2006 with another woman over an alleged incident two years before.
On Sunday, Cosby's lawyer said he will not dignify 'decade-old, discredited' claims of sexual abuse with a response.
John P. Schmitt said the fact that the allegations are being repeated 'does not make them true.'
Silence: Bill Cosby, pictured with his
wife Camille on November 6, refused to answer questions about the
allegations when the couple were being interviewed by NPR this weekend
Support: Legendary saxophonist Tony
Williams, pictured front with Cosby, has stood up for his long-time
friend, saying that he believes that the alleged victims are going after
the comedian's fame and fortune
'He
would like to thank all his fans for the outpouring of support and
assure them that, at age 77, he is doing his best work,' Schmitt said.
Also at the weekend, Cosby stonewalled National Public Radio host Scott Simon during an interview with Cosby and his wife, Camille, about their African-American art collection.
Cosby fell silent when asked by Simon about 'serious allegations raised about you in recent days'.
'You're shaking your head, no,' the host said. 'Do you have any response to those charges? Shaking your head, no.'
Legendary
saxophonist, Tony Williams, has also defended his friend, saying he is
angry that the claims have resurfaced again and believes the women are
just after Cosby's fame and money.
'No, No. He don't have to rape anybody,' Williams told Fox Philly 29 in an interview on Sunday.
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