Bill Cosby files defamation countersuit against seven women who accused him of defamation
Bill Cosby. Image from Randy Miramontez / Shutterstock.com.
Seven women who accused Bill Cosby of defamation for denying sexual assault allegations are facing a counterclaim by the comedian claiming it is they who are defaming him.
Cosby filed the counterclaim (PDF) in Massachusetts federal court Monday, the New York Times, the New York Daily News and USA Today report. The action follows a federal judge’s refusal to dismiss the women’s suit in October.
Cosby’s counterclaim says the seven women who sued him in Massachusetts have engaged in “a campaign to assassinate” Cosby’s reputation with false claims of decades old sexual misconduct in “an opportunistic attempt to extract financial gain from him.”
The countersuit alleges defamation, tortious interference with Cosby’s deal to star in a new TV series, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Cosby has never been charged with sexual assault.
The seven women who sued Cosby in Massachusetts are among 10 women who claimed defamation in lawsuits against Cosby over sexual-assault denials by his lawyer and publicists, according to the New York Times. The other three women each filed separate suits.
One of the Massachusetts plaintiffs is retired lawyer Tamara Green, according to the New York Daily News. She has alleged Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her in the 1970s after he hired her to help him open a club.
