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Home / Entertainment

Bill Cosby's wife: 'Who is the victim?'

Daily Mail
15 Dec, 2014 11:30 PM9 mins to read

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Camille Cosby, right, looks on as Bill Cosby speaks during a news conference. Photo / AP

Camille Cosby, right, looks on as Bill Cosby speaks during a news conference. Photo / AP

Bill Cosby's wife of 50 years released a scathing statement Monday afternoon defending her husband in the face mounting allegations of sexual misconduct and condemning the way he's been portrayed in the media over the past month.

Camille Cosby broke her silence after more than two dozen women have come forward accusing her husband of drugging and raping them over the course of a half-century.

"I met my husband, Bill Cosby, in 1963, and we were married in 1964. The man I met, and fell in love with, and whom I continue to love, is the man you all knew through his work," Mrs Cosby wrote in her statement.

• Read more: Bill Cosby breaks his silence

"He is a kind man, a generous man, a funny man, and a wonderful husband, father and friend. He is the man you thought you knew.

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"A different man has been portrayed in the media over the last two months. It is the portrait of a man I do not know."

Mrs Cosby did not mince words calling out news outlets for their coverage of the controversy surrounding the trailblazing 77-year-old comic, which she panned as one-sided and unfair.

"There appears to be no vetting of my husband's accusers before stories are published or aired. An accusation is published, and immediately goes viral," Camille Cosby said.

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She then proceeded to draw a comparison between her husband's case and the infamous Rolling Stone article about an alleged rape of a female University of Virginia student, which has unravelled over the past two weeks.

• Read more: Passage of time makes proving Cosby claims tough

"The story was heart-breaking, but ultimately appears to be proved to be untrue. Many in the media were quick to link that story to stories about my husband - until that story unwound," Camille Cosby wrote.

"None of us will ever want to be in the position of attacking a victim. But the question should be asked - who is the victim?"

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Camille Cosby's full statement on rape scandal:

Bill Cosby and his wife, Camille. Photo / AP

I met my husband, Bill Cosby, in 1963, and we were married in 1964. The man I met, and fell in love with, and whom I continue to love, is the man you all knew through his work. He is a kind man, a generous man, a funny man, and a wonderful husband, father and friend. He is the man you thought you knew.

A different man has been portrayed in the media over the last two months. It is the portrait of a man I do not know. It is also a portrait painted by individuals and organizations whom many in the media have given a pass. There appears to be no vetting of my husband's accusers before stories are published or aired. An accusation is published, and immediately goes viral.

We all followed the story of the article in the Rolling Stone concerning allegations of rape at the University of Virginia. The story was heart-breaking, but ultimately appears to be proved to be untrue. Many in the media were quick to link that story to stories about my husband - until that story unwound.

None of us will ever want to be in the position of attacking a victim. But the question should be asked - who is the victim?

The women who say they were attacked by Bill Cosby:

Andrea Constand - A Temple University employee, she claimed in 2006 that Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her in his Philadelphia-area mansion two years earlier. Cosby eventually settled this suit out of court as the prosecution said they had 13 Jane Does who would testify Cosby had done the same to them.

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Barbara Bowman - Bowman told MailOnline that Cosby raped and drugged her in 1985 when she was a 17-year-old aspiring actress. Bowman was one of Constand's 13 Jane Does.

Joan Tarshis - Tarshis claimed that she was just 19-years-old when Cosby drugged and raped her twice in Hollywood back in 1969 while she was working as a writer for him.

Janice Dickinson - The supermodel said in an interview that Cosby invited her to Lake Tahoe to talk about a television role in 1982, but ended up drugging and raping her.

Janice Dickinson. Photo / AP

Tamara Green - Green, who first came forward in 2005 told MailOnline that she was an aspiring actress in the 1970s when Cosby gave her pills and pretended to care for her while she had the flu, but instead sexually assaulted her.

Therese Serignese - Another of the 13 Jane Does, she says she was 19 when Cosby drugged and raped her in Las Vegas after one of his shows.

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Louisa Moritz - She accused Cosby of sexual assault, saying he forced her into oral sex backstage at The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1971, and implied he would further her career if she complied.

Linda Joy Traitz - She said she was just 19 when Cosby drove her out to a beach and tried to get her to take pills to relax, before becoming "sexually aggressive". Traitz has been charged in the past with trafficking pills. Cosby's attorney, Marty Singer, is trying to use Traitz's past to discredit her claims.

Beth Ferrier - Ferrier claims she had a relationship with Cosby in the mid-1980s. She claims that she awoke in her car with her clothes in disarray and not remembering what had happened. Ferrier has claimed that he drugged her coffee.

Beth Ferrier. Photo / AP

Carla Ferrigno - The wife of Incredible Hulk star Lou Ferrigno, claims Cosby tried to sexually assault her during a gathering at his house in 1967. What's more, Cosby allegedly tried to use a friend to help court Ferrigno, and allegedly made his move on the former Playboy Bunny just moments after his own wife, Camille, left the room.

Angela Leslie - The former model-actress claims that Cosby forced her to masturbate him in his Vegas hotel suite after giving her a strong drink in 1992.

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Renita Chainey Hill - The 47-year-old mother-of-three who met Cosby when she was offered a role on Picture Pages in Pittsburgh claimed he would fly her to cities around the United States and drug her during a four-year relationship.

Kristina Ruehli - A New Hampshire grandmother-of-eight, now 71, claims Cosby invited her back to his house for a "party". She arrived and no one was there. Ruehli alleges that he drugged two bourbons he poured her and she came to when he was on top of her, shirtless.

Victoria Valentino - The former Playboy playmate claims Cosby drugged her and a friend, tried to rape her friend then violated her instead in a Hollywood apartment after dinner.

Jewel Allison - The former model accused Cosby of drugging her wine and making her feel his genitals before kissing her during a dinner at his home in the late Eighties.

Michelle Hurd - The 47-year-old actress, known for her roles on Law & Order: SVU and Gossip Girl, revealed she was a stand-in on the set of The Cosby Show when Cosby started acting inappropriately around her. She says he asked her to go to his house to take a shower so he could blow dry her hair straight, but she decided not to go.

Michelle Hurd. Photo / Getty Images

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P.J. Masten - The former Playboy bunny claims Cosby invited her out to dinner in Chicago. Before they left he gave her a drink and the next thing she remembers is waking up naked and bruised in his bed. Masten claims she knows of 12 other former bunnies who were attacked by Cosby but have not yet come forward.

Joyce Emmons -The former comedy club manager claims she woke up naked next to a friend of Bill Cosby after the comedian gave her a sedative when she complained of a migraine. Emmons told TMZ that the comedian slipped her a Quaalude when she was in his Las Vegas hotel suite in the 1970s. She claims Cosby drugged her but has not accused him of sexual assault.

Lachele Covington - The 20-year-old actress, who'd been an extra on the TV show Cosby, filed a police report in March 2000 against the star, accusing him of making an unwelcome sexual advance. According to The New York Post, after dinner and drinks at his home, he massaged her then 'guided her hand towards his sweatpants'. Cosby denied the claim and no charges were filed.

Shawn Brown - The only woman that Cosby admits cheating with claims that after a two-month relationship, Cosby drugged a drink and urged her to down it. He then raped her while she was unconscious and got her pregnant, she says.

Paige Young - Young shot herself dead in 1974 aged 30. She had had an affair with Cosby shortly before her death. In a suicide note she said that many Hollywood stars had used her and spat her out.

Judy Huth - Huth claims Cosby raped her at the Playboy Mansion in 1974 when she was just 15. Cosby has sued her, but Huth's is the only case that is being actively investigated by police.

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Chelan Lasha - Lasha was an aspiring model in 1986 when she says Cosby gave her two shots of Amaretto and a pill and then attacked her as she lay on his bed in the Elvis Presley suite at the Hilton Las Vegas.

Beverley Johnson. Photo / Getty Images

Beverley Johnson - The first black woman to be on the cover of American Vogue said Cosby made a drugged cappuccino for her when she visited his New York brownstone to read through lines for a small part in the Cosby Show. As she felt her body go limp she shouted at Cosby: "You are a motherf***** aren't you?" Angry, Cosby dragged her downstairs and dumped her in a taxi.

- Daily Mail

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