Bill Cosby’s lawyers try to paint accuser as ‘greedy’
For years, Bill Cosby has tried to portray Andrea Constand as his ex-lover — not a victim of sexual assault.
The comedian and his lawyers have painted the former college basketball star as confused and mendacious, a lost soul he not only seduced, but tried to guide to career success. But on Tuesday, during a key hearing in advance of Cosby’s April 2 retrial on charges of sexually assaulting Constand, the comedian’s lawyers signalled another prong in their strategy to undercut his accuser’s credibility. They hope to portray Constand as money-hungry.
Thomas Mesereau, Cosby’s lead lawyer, told a Montgomery County, Penn., judge that he wants to present evidence to the jury about a lawsuit settlement Constand received from Cosby to prove “just how greedy this person was.”
The civil suit has played an important, yet still somewhat cloaked, role in the saga of the comedian and the hoops star. It goes back to 2005, when Constand told authorities in Pennsylvania Cosby had drugged and sexually assaulted her at his suburban Philadelphia home. At the time, the local prosecutor declined to press charges, but Constand filed a lawsuit against the famous entertainer.
That lawsuit was settled for an amount that has been kept so secret the current team of prosecutors attempting to convict Cosby said they still don’t know how much money she received.