A & E’s special Cosby: The Women Speak which aired tonight saw 12 women of the over 50 women who have come forward to accuse Bill Cosby of alleged sexual assault retelling their stories in disturbing detail. Of the 12 women, most appeared in the powerful New York magazine cover story from July which 35 of the women were a part of. The women recalled similar stories, though all equally monstrous, of meeting Cosby, being drugged, and allegedly being sexually assaulted (sometimes more than once) to varying degrees. The women interviewed were: Joan Tarshis, Victoria Valentino, Louisa Moritz, Sarita Butterfield, Charlotte Fox, "Elizabeth", Heidi Thomas, Beth Ferrier, Barbara Bowman, Beverly Johnson, Chelan, Lise-Lotte Lublin, and Eden Tirl. They spoke about their struggles to come forward and the troubles they’ve faced afterwards, like Joan Tarshis who said a woman drove by her recently and spit at her, calling her a, “Liar.”
Elizabeth remembered being drugged and throwing up in the back of a Rolls Royce after the assault and as she apologized to the driver he reportedly told her, “You aren’t the first.”
Through tears Chelan told the story of her alleged assault at age 17. She recalled being drugged and feeling “catatonic” as she pleaded Cosby to stop by saying, “Dr. Huxtable.” After the assault she says she woke up to Cosby clapping his hands and saying, “Daddy said wake up!” Chelan saw $1500 left on the dresser for her.
Heidi Thomas who was invited out to Reno for some acting lessons revealed she kept a scrapbook of her trip, a permanent reminder of the assault she endured on that trip. Thomas says she felt obliged to make a scrapbook since she felt people would think it was weird if she didn’t commemorate what was supposed to be a once in a lifetime opportunity. She went to a show of his to confront him, but when that fell through she told her parents who told her to never tell anyone because no one would believe her.
Supermodel Beverly Johnson recalled drinking a cappuccino and getting dizzy, she immediately knew she had been drugged. When Cosby started to grope her she reportedly cocked her head up and said, “You’re a motherfucker aren’t you!” causing Cosby to throw her out and into a cab.
Moritz and Bowman recalled what Cosby said to them after their respective assaults. Moritz, who described Cosby as a “person from hell” said his parting words were, “Don’t forget! Don’t make me mad. I'm gonna be your best friend!” after Cosby assaulted her in a dressing room right before she performed on ‘The Tonight Show.” Bowman, who had allegedly already been assaulted by Cosby, said the second time around she was able to fight him off. That’s when Cosby threatened her saying, “I better never ever hear your name or see your face again.”
On the special some of the women also voiced how angry they were that Hannibal Buress made a joke of the situation last fall at a now infamous show. Others were angry it took Buress mentioning it for people or at least consider what these women had been saying for years. One of them even called it "bullshit."
