Cosby, NBC, studio face new sex abuse lawsuit from 5 in NY

PHILADELPHIA — Five women who have long accused Bill Cosby of sexually assaulting them early in their careers have filed the latest lawsuit against the 85-year-old comedian — and this one calls NBCUniversal, a studio and a production company complicit in the abuse. The lawsuit filed Monday under New York’s one-year window for adults to file sexual abuse complaints involves accusers Lili Bernard, Eden Tirl, Jewel Gittens, Jennifer Thompson and Cindra Ladd. “It was well-known that Bill Cosby would regularly take young women into his dressing room, and when you read the complaint, you’ll see there were instances where staff saw this happening and even encouraged the plaintiff to submit,” said lawyer Jordan Rutsky, who represents all five women. “It was just accepted.” The lawsuit alleged that NBC, Kaufman Astoria Studios and Carsey-Werner Television “facilitated the sexual assault of women” by failing to check Cosby’s power and proclivities, and failed to protect the women from being alone with him, because they profited from his work. “This isn’t about justice for victims of alleged sexual assault, it’s all about money,” Wyatt said in a statement, echoing the defense arguments in Cosby’s criminal retrial, when the Pennsylvania jury convicted him of drugging and sexually assaulting a Temple University employee at his Philadelphia-area home in 2004.