Former model Beverly Johnson says Bill Cosby drugged her
Beverly Johnson, a groundbreaking model who was the first black woman to be featured on the cover of Vogue magazine, accused Bill Cosby of drugging her during a visit to his home in the 1980s, according to a personal essay Vanity Fair published on Thursday.
In the essay, Johnson said she was reading lines for a small part on "The Cosby Show" in the 1980s when the now-embattled comedian served her a coffee that was spiked with something.
"I knew by the second sip of the drink Cosby had given me that I’d been drugged — and drugged good," Johnson writes in the essay.
Johnson, who admitted she had used drugs while working as a model, said she began to fight Cosby and curse at him. The comedian became irritated and dragged her from his home, placing her in a taxi.
The two never spoke again, according to Johnson’s essay.
Two dozen women have accused Cosby, who became a national figure for his eponymous sitcom and his role as a spokesman for Jell-O, of sexually assaulting or drugging them, and many of the accusations stretch back decades.
Last week, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said the department would be open to investigating additional claims of sexual assault against Cosby, even if the alleged attacks were no longer eligible for prosecution.
Judy Huth, a woman who claimed Cosby got her drunk and assaulted her at the Playboy Mansion when she was a teenager in 1974, was interviewed by LAPD detectives earlier this month.
Cosby’s attorney, Martin Singer, has called Huth’s account "patently false."
Singer did not immediately respond to calls or emails seeking comment on Johnson’s essay.