This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/28/lawyer-gay-accuser-bill-cosby
The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Previous version
1
Next version
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Bill Cosby's ability to 'read' sexual cues questioned by lawyer of gay accuser | Bill Cosby's ability to 'read' sexual cues questioned by lawyer of gay accuser |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A lawyer for Bill Cosby’s first accuser on Tuesday questioned his self-described ability to “read” people’s sexual cues given that her client is gay. | A lawyer for Bill Cosby’s first accuser on Tuesday questioned his self-described ability to “read” people’s sexual cues given that her client is gay. |
| Andrea Constand, employed by the Temple University women’s basketball team when she met Cosby in the early 2000s, was dating a woman around that time, according to court filings unsealed this month. She considered Cosby to be a friend and mentor. | Andrea Constand, employed by the Temple University women’s basketball team when she met Cosby in the early 2000s, was dating a woman around that time, according to court filings unsealed this month. She considered Cosby to be a friend and mentor. |
| “Despite his talent for interpreting female reactions to him, he did not realize plaintiff was gay until the police told him,” lawyer Dolores Troiani wrote in a motion Tuesday involving the secrecy clause underpinning their 2006 settlement. | “Despite his talent for interpreting female reactions to him, he did not realize plaintiff was gay until the police told him,” lawyer Dolores Troiani wrote in a motion Tuesday involving the secrecy clause underpinning their 2006 settlement. |
| Related: #TheEmptyChair: New York magazine's Cosby cover ignites dialogue on rape | Related: #TheEmptyChair: New York magazine's Cosby cover ignites dialogue on rape |
| Constand’s lawsuit inspired a cascade of similar accusations that Cosby drugged and molested women throughout his 50-plus years as an entertainer and champion of family values. | Constand’s lawsuit inspired a cascade of similar accusations that Cosby drugged and molested women throughout his 50-plus years as an entertainer and champion of family values. |
| The 78-year-old Cosby, in a deposition released this month, said he had romantic feelings for Constand the moment he spotted her at Temple, where he served on the board of trustees. Cosby’s lawyers didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday and have not returned repeated messages left this month. | |
| The two sides have renewed their battle a decade after they settled Constand’s sexual-battery and defamation lawsuit. Each side accuses the other of breaking the confidentiality clause through public comments and court filings. Cosby wants a judge to impose sanctions. Constand has asked for the freedom to speak out. | The two sides have renewed their battle a decade after they settled Constand’s sexual-battery and defamation lawsuit. Each side accuses the other of breaking the confidentiality clause through public comments and court filings. Cosby wants a judge to impose sanctions. Constand has asked for the freedom to speak out. |
| Constand, then about 30, accused Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting her at his Philadelphia-area home in January 2004. Cosby said he considered their “spooning” on his couch consensual. He said the same of his “rendezvous” and affairs with other accusers. | Constand, then about 30, accused Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting her at his Philadelphia-area home in January 2004. Cosby said he considered their “spooning” on his couch consensual. He said the same of his “rendezvous” and affairs with other accusers. |
| “I think that I’m a pretty decent reader of people and their emotions in these romantic sexual things, whatever you want to call them,” Cosby said in his 2006 deposition, which was made public this month by a court reporting service. | “I think that I’m a pretty decent reader of people and their emotions in these romantic sexual things, whatever you want to call them,” Cosby said in his 2006 deposition, which was made public this month by a court reporting service. |
| According to the deposition, Constand said she went to Cosby’s home to discuss her next career move. He offered her pills for her reported stress. She thought she was taking an herbal medication. Cosby told police he had given her Benadryl, but Constand believed it was something stronger that left her semiconscious. She woke up on his couch at 4 am feeling sore, with her clothes dishevelled. | |
| Related: Obama on Bill Cosby allegations: drugs and having sex without consent is rape | Related: Obama on Bill Cosby allegations: drugs and having sex without consent is rape |
| Cosby said he saw her before she left and did not sense anything amiss. | Cosby said he saw her before she left and did not sense anything amiss. |
| “I walk out. She does not look angry. She does not say to me, don’t ever do that again. She doesn’t walk out with an attitude of a huff,” he said. | “I walk out. She does not look angry. She does not say to me, don’t ever do that again. She doesn’t walk out with an attitude of a huff,” he said. |
| Cosby also acknowledged that he had obtained quaaludes in the 1970s to give to women he hoped to seduce but said they took them knowingly. His lawyers this month said that he was “one of the many people who introduced quaaludes into their consensual sex life in the 1970s” and that that doesn’t make him a rapist. | Cosby also acknowledged that he had obtained quaaludes in the 1970s to give to women he hoped to seduce but said they took them knowingly. His lawyers this month said that he was “one of the many people who introduced quaaludes into their consensual sex life in the 1970s” and that that doesn’t make him a rapist. |
| Troiani said her client never took a quaalade or a similar drug. | Troiani said her client never took a quaalade or a similar drug. |
| She argued that Cosby has hired a team of lawyers and publicists to defend the various accusations, while Constand, now a physical therapist in the Canadian province of Ontario, has been forced to remain silent. | She argued that Cosby has hired a team of lawyers and publicists to defend the various accusations, while Constand, now a physical therapist in the Canadian province of Ontario, has been forced to remain silent. |
| The latest addition to Cosby’s publicity team is Monique Pressley, a lawyer, ordained minister and motivational speaker who made a round of television appearances this month defending Cosby. She said his deposition shows no evidence he committed a crime. | The latest addition to Cosby’s publicity team is Monique Pressley, a lawyer, ordained minister and motivational speaker who made a round of television appearances this month defending Cosby. She said his deposition shows no evidence he committed a crime. |
| Cosby’s lawyers, for their part, insist Constand broke the confidentiality clause with her brief comments to a Toronto newspaper and tweets on 6 July – the day a judge unsealed excerpts of Cosby’s deposition – that said “Yes!” and “Sir!” She also tweeted this spring: “I won’t go away, there is a lot more I will say.” | |
| Troiani said Cosby’s “narcissistic view of the world” led him to believe that Constand’s “every tweet must be about him”. She suggested the tweets were instead about gay marriage. | Troiani said Cosby’s “narcissistic view of the world” led him to believe that Constand’s “every tweet must be about him”. She suggested the tweets were instead about gay marriage. |
Previous version
1
Next version