Another actress comes forward with Bill Cosby allegations
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest star Louisa Moritz has become the latest woman to come forward accusing comedian Bill Cosby of allegedly taking advantage of her as a young actress.
The Cosby Show star has been under scrutiny over the past 10 days as he has been hit with multiple accusations he was inappropriate with young females, including claims from model-turned-TV personality Janice Dickinson and actor Lou Ferrigno's wife Carla.
Now Moritz, who appeared opposite Jack Nicholson in the 1975 drama
and also had a starring role in series Love American Style, joins
the list of women who claim to have been assaulted by the veteran
funnyman.
In an interview with TMZ.com, Moritz alleges the incident with
Cosby happened during a visit to Johnny Carson's Tonight Show in
1971.
Moritz, now 68, tells the gossip site she never told anyone about
it, and although America's statute of limitations on prosecutions
has run out, she plans on filing a civil lawsuit against Cosby.
Cosby's lawyer has dismissed all of the sexual assault allegations,
and the comedian's longtime producing partners Tom Werner and Marcy
Carsey, who served as executive producers on Cosby's classic 1980s
sitcom, insist they are shocked by the furor, since the man they
know is a consummate professional.
Werner and Carsey released a statement on Thursday (20Nov14), which
reads, "The Bill we know was a brilliant and wonderful collaborator
on a show that changed the landscape of television. These recent
news reports are beyond our knowledge or comprehension."
Werner and Cosby were in early development stages to create a new
family-focused program for the small screen, but bosses at NBC
network decided to scrap the project amid the scandal.
Cosby first came under fire after funnyman Hannibal Buress
revisited decades-old accusations by calling Cosby a rapist during
a stand-up gig in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which prompted
multiple women to speak out publicly about their alleged sexual
interactions with Cosby.
He has never faced criminal charges, but reached an out-of-court
settlement with a woman in 2006 after she accused him of drugging
and groping her.