Bill Cosby
”I was drugged and raped by that man, he is a monster. He came at me like a monster. My hope is that others who have experienced sexual abuse will not be intimidated into silence by the famous, rich and powerful. If I can help one victim, then I’ve done my job,’‘ Comedian Hannibal Buress had said.
Counting it all together, about 13 women have accused the American comedian and TV legend of rape and the cases were all settled out of court. However, another woman, actress Barbara Bowman has now proven Hannibal right by revealing how she was emotionally and sexually abused by legend Bill Cosby during her teenage days.
In her long revelation to the Daily Mail, she described in detail how Cosby manipulated her into believing he was a father figure and took advantage of her youth, vulnerability and yes, even ambition, to have his way with her over and over again.
“My motivation to speak now is to expose Bill Cosby as the animal that he is. He went after me in that hotel room like an animal with such sexual prowess and force that he couldn’t control himself. And at 19-years-old, I knew it would be the last time he would ever get the chance to hurt me this way again.”
Here are highlights of the shocking revelations she made about Bill:
It all began in 1985 when she was a fresh-faced 17-year-old when she was studying acting. “My agent told me Mr Cosby was scouting for young talent and that I’d have a shot to be groomed by him personally. I was eager to please. This could be my big break.
He was sexually attracted to her from first contact: “The first thing Mr. Cosby said when he met me in the conference room was, “I want you to go in the bathroom and wet your hair…then sit in this chair, shut your eyes and do an improvisation exercise with me.”
He wanted me to act completely drunk, wasted, while he stood behind me and stroked my neck and upper chest. He didn’t touch me beyond that, on that day, but that’s where it certainly started. Even though it felt off to do the exercise, I gave it my all. I’d learned from years of acting classes that I had to take direction. After all, I was in the presence of the most powerful man in America at that time. Dr Huxtable chose me!’
He showed her heaven on earth: “Whenever he’d be in Denver for work, he’d make it a point to meet me, give me acting lessons, and eventually this lead to him flying me all over the country to join him…He said it was all part of his assessment to see if I was worth mentoring and grooming. He wanted to see how I handled myself around celebrities. ‘I got the royal treatment. I’d fly to wherever he was. I was met at the baggage claim curb by his right-hand man. Then, I’d be handed off to Bill’s bodyguard, who would take care of me until Bill was ready to see me. I was always met by one of his men. I was never alone.’
He manipulated her: ‘He started working on my head right away. He knew I had no father figure in my life. He knew that. yes, I was an independent girl, but he knew I was vulnerable and alone inside. He coerced and manipulated me into trusting him. He insisted I give into him 100 percent.’ ‘By the time I was drugged and raped by him in New York, he’d already broken me down, brainwashed me and made me feel like there was something wrong with me if I resisted his sexual advances.
Bill would say that he needed to guide me, and that I must trust him. When he’d fill me in on my next itinerary to meet him, he would say, “You’re not going to fight me this time, are you?” He’d remind me that if I was going to be a successful actress, I’d have to break down my barriers and “learn to be vulnerable.” ‘I knew something was wrong, that this was a twisted situation, but if I resisted, I was failing him and failing my good fortune. He was a pot of gold and I needed to take good care of it.’
Earned her mum’s trust too ”My mother totally trusted him, too. She would have never let me into dangerous hands. She sent me off with her blessings. She wanted me to have these opportunities.’
The first time it happened: ‘He turned out all the lights. It was completely pitch black. He laid me down on the couch and started caressing and touching me all over. Then he put my hand on his penis, covering it with his hand. He had me masturbate him. I couldn’t see what was going on. When it was over, I ran out of the room and threw up. It was so invasive and frightening and humiliating. There was no way I could tell my mother. I couldn’t even admit it to myself. I tried to convince myself that I’d imagined it. That it was a one-time thing, that it wouldn’t happen again. And I was paralyzed with fear.
It happened more than once, there were times she’d push him away, but then she’d give in: It did happen again. Barbara calls it ‘the apartment incident.’ ‘He invited me to his New York brownstone for dinner. Staff was there. We ate in the kitchen. I had one glass of red wine with dinner. My next recollection is me, coming to, slumped over the toilet bowl, throwing up. I was wearing a man’s white t-shirt and my panties. The t-shirt was not mine.
Bill was standing over me, holding my hair out of my face as I threw up. I had no idea how I’d gotten there. I’d had one glass of wine with dinner. He was trying to soothe me with his words, “It will be okay. It’s okay.” ‘I know for sure he forced himself multiple times upon me and since he needed to create an environment in which I could not fight him, I can’t in all honesty say that I recall penetration because at that time I was in a vacant state of mind, as I was often drugged and brainwashed. Whatever drug he gave me, didn’t allow me to think clearly when it was over and done with. It didn’t register that I should be panicking. It was like amnesia almost. It was like what a lobotomy would do to you. I couldn’t even think clearly when I was awake. I was vacant.’
The last straw that broke the camel’s back: It occurred in Atlantic City, where Cosby was performing. He flew in Barbara to be with him… Then, Bill summoned me into his room. There, he berated me, “What the hell is the matter with you! How dare you have no discretion! You know you’re supposed to be discreet. You’ve embarrassed me. You were drunk. He freaked out that I disclosed to the concierge the fact that a 19-year-old girl was calling from his penthouse. He couldn’t handle it. He throws me down on his bed and jumps on top of me.
He used his forearm to pin me down by the neck. He was trying to unbuckle his belt and take down his pants. I’ll never forget the sound of the clinking of his belt buckle. He couldn’t get his belt off. I’m screaming for help and trying to wrestle out of his grip while he’s trying to get his belt off and he’s trying to pull my pants down at the same time. I couldn’t get out from under him. ‘I didn’t stop screaming. He realizes I’m not stopping. He finally gets to a point of frustration and decides it’s too much trouble and he doesn’t want to risk it. He gets off me and calls me a “baby.” That’s when he throws me out.
Though Barbara is now a successful abstract expressionist artist in Scottsdale, Arizona and a happily married mother of two, she admits to still being haunted by what Cosby did to her. ‘Those experiences live inside me. They take up space in my brain and altered the course of my emotional development and altered the course of my career.
Being assaulted like that made a huge impact on my ability to trust my own instincts, as well as others’ actions. It was a block I’ve been working to undo. And a block that Bill Cosby is solely responsible for creating.’
Hopefully Bill Cosby releases a statement soon to address these issue.
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