UPDATE: The Santa Monica jury has finalized that Cosby must pay Motsinger $40 million in punitive damages, according to Deadline, bringing the total to $59.25 million.
According to Deadline, America’s former dad, Bill Cosby, was found liable for the alleged drugging and rape of a former waitress in 1972. A Santa Monica jury has ordered the Cosby and I Spy actor to pay Donna Motsinger $19 million. His lawyer claims an appeal to the verdict is already in motion.
After three days of deliberation, Deadline reports a jury found Cosby, who did not testify, was liable for claims of alleged sexual assault of an intoxicated woman and alleged sexual battery. Motsinger is to receive $17 million for past trauma, and another $1.75 million for any future mental suffering. Motsinger, 84, was able to sue the 88-year-old performer due to changes to California’s statute of limitations. She filed her suit in 2023.
While Cosby did not testify, jurors did hear him admit not remembering if they had sex or not via a recorded deposition, according to Deadline. While the case for the alleged assault has been settled, the jury could seek further retribution for “malice, oppression, or fraud” from Cosby.
Since the monumental accusations against the beloved comedian, actor and humanitarian became public knowledge, Cosby has maintained all the encounters were consensual. According to Deadline, his legal team has argued their client is being vilified for his “cultural status.”
Deadline reports Motsinger detailed the alleged crime in an 11-page complaint. She described allegedly meeting Cosby while working. He allegedly invited her to his comedy show in San Carlos, and allegedly gave her what she thought was aspirin for an upset stomach. Motsinger then described what many, many women have all similarly detailed: “The last thing Ms. Motsinger recalls were flashes of light. She woke up in her house with all her clothes off, except her underwear on — no top, no bra, and no pants.”
It’s been a little over decade since a viral clip of Hannibal Buress (Mo, Spider-Man: No Way Home) alluding to Cosby’s sexual proclivities went viral, setting off a chain reaction of accusations from hundreds of women with the same story. Deadline reports Cosby was convicted of 2004 rape in 2018, and was sentenced to three to 10 years. However, the conviction was overturned in 2021 and he was released. The next year, he was found guilty of allegedly sexual assaulting 16-year-old Judy Huth at the Playboy Mansion in 1975, paying her $500,000 in damages.