Another woman adds her name to Cosby allegations
TV Land cancels sitcom reruns, Thanksgiving marathon
LOS ANGELES — Another woman has come forward by name to allege that comedian Bill Cosby sexually assaulted her.
The Guardian newspaper reports that Therese Serignese, a Boca Raton, Fla. nurse, told West Palm Beach television station WPTV the TV star drugged and raped her in 1976, when she was 19. She alleges Cosby, who was then headlining on the Las Vegas Strip, invited her to attend his show, and at the end of the after-party handed her three large white pills and told her to take them.
Serignese said she had felt she could not say no. “Authority figure, older man — he was 20 years older than me — ah, well, I took them,” she said “Didn’t know what they were, didn’t even ask. I was just intimidated, I guess. I took them. My next memory is feeling drugged and him having sex with me.”
Serignese said Cosby let her stay in his penthouse suite for several weeks after the alleged attack.
Her account is similar to that of other women, now totalling at least seven by name. They include former supermodel Janice Dickinson, who say Cosby plied them with drugs, often mixed with alcohol, before sexually assaulting them.
Without referring to specific allegations, Cosby through his lawyer has issued a blanket denial but the star has otherwise refused to comment. Cosby has not been charged in any criminal matter and the allegations have not been heard in court. He settled a civil suit out of court in 2006.
In another development, U.S. cable channel TV Land has yanked plans for a Cosby Show marathon set to run next week around the U.S. Thanksgiving.
The Viacom cable network had been airing the show on Sundays, but episodes have been pulled immediately for the foreseeable future, Variety reports.
The marathon that had been promoted on air will also not be taking place, a source confirmed. TV Land has rerun rights to the series that aired in NBC from 1984-92, but the show has not had a prominent Monday-Friday showcase on the channel in recent months.
TV Land’s decision comes on the heels of NBC’s decision to drop the sitcom it had been developing with Cosby. Netflix has postponed the planned Nov. 28 premiere of an hour-long comedy special, Bill Cosby 77.
TV Land removed references to The Cosby Show from its website on Wednesday afternoon.