BIll Cosby Accusers Fight Against Lawsuit Dismissal, Say Comedian Thinks He Has a Right to Lie

The comedian is claiming self-defense.

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Bill Cosby recently spoke out for the first time amidst the over 30 accusations from women accusing him of sexual assault. But it’s what he’s saying off camera that’s causing more problems for him in court. Some of his accusers are firing back in court, saying that Cosby cannot (verbally) attack his accusers in ‘self-defense.’ 

Tamara Green, Therese Serignese and Linda Traitz, three women who have accused Cosby are suing him for defamation, saying that his denial (via spokespeople) of the actions he’s been accused of, is detrimental to them. Cosby went so far as to try to get the suit dismissed last month by standing by the fact that he himself has never denied accusations.

“Although the complaint is filed against Mr. Cosby, it is his publicist and his attorneys who are alleged to have made the relevant statements,” Cosby’s team stated. Back in November, Cosby’s attorney Martin Singer, denied the sexual assault accusations saying, “People are coming out the woodwork with fabricated or unsubstantiated stories about my client. ... This continued pattern of attacks has entered the realm of the ridiculous.” He even discredited accusers, including Traitz, by releasing her criminal records which showed charges for fraud and drug possession. 

The new court filing in the women's lawsuit read: 

1.

“In Defendant Cosby’s Motion to Dismiss, Defendant Cosby claims a privilege to defame where none exists; tries to shield himself from liability, by hiding behind the actions of his spokespersons; tortures the plain defamatory meaning of the statements at issue; and infects the Motion with irrelevant matters, in an attempt to prejudice the court,” the new papers read.

The new papers also addressed the argument Cosby’s defense made that he had a right to “rebut allegations without facing defamation claims” because it was in “self-defense.”

2.

“Defendant Cosby claims that, under a so-called ‘self-defense privilege,’ he enjoys a license to lie about anyone who truthfully accuses him of misconduct,” the new filing reads. “The law does not permit a defendant to attack an accuser in ‘self-defense,’ when the defendant know that the accuser is telling the truth.”

Cosby has been skirting around accusations by making jokes like telling one woman at his show not to trust him around drinks, a reference to several women's statements that Cosby had fed them drinks and drugged them.

[via The Wrap]

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