Bill Cosby Has Been Sued by a Former ‘The Cosby Show’ Actress

Bill Cosby has been sued by a former actress on The Cosby Show.

Earlier this year, the 84-year-old was released from prison after being convicted of sexual assault. Now, Lili Bernard, who once starred on The Cosby Show is suing the comedian for allegedly drugging and raping her in 1990. 

“I have waited a long time to be able to pursue my case in court and I look forward to being heard and to hold Cosby accountable for what he did to me. Although it occurred long ago, I still live with the fear, pain and shame every day of my life,” said Bernard in a statement. Bernard has been vocal about allegedly being sexually assaulted by Cosby in previous years. 

Bernard says she met Cosby on the set of the show where he offered to be her mentor for her career as an actor, Yahoo! News reports. The actress says Cosby “looked upon Ms. Bernard as if she were his daughter,” explaining to her that “that chastity was a virtue,” and warning “her of the sexual pressures of Hollywood.” She claims he also told her that she could refer to him as “Daddy.”

Bernard says the night she was drugged and raped by Cosby was when he was mentoring her at a Taj Mahal suite. Cosby, at some point, made her a drink, and that’s when she says she “began to feel symptoms of dizziness, an urge to vomit, and weakness.” She goes on to say that she went in and out of consciousness and awaking at one point to find Cosby on top of her. She says she remembers telling him “no.” Bernard said when she woke up the next morning, Cosby gave her money and got her transportation back to New York, Yahoo! reports. 

“Mr. Cosby sexually assaulted, battered, and drugged Ms. Bernard on additional occasions,” she says in the lawsuit. She’s seeking “an amount no less than” $25 million in damages due to her suffering from PTSD, depression, nightmares “and multiple other permanent injuries” she gained from the alleged incident.