Bill Cosby sues seven sexual assault accusers

NEW YORK: Disgraced TV icon Bill Cosby, who allegedly used his celebrity status over the years to sexually assault more than 50 women, has filed a defamation suit against seven of his accusers, his attorney said on Monday.

The 78-year-old comedian, once among America’s biggest television stars, filed the suit in a court in Springfield, Massachusetts, his attorney Monique Pressley said in a statement.

Cosby’s suit, accusing the women of defamation and “intentional infliction of emotional distress”, staunchly rejects the sex assault allegations that have derailed his career and sullied his once sterling reputation

“Mr Cosby states plainly that he neither drugged nor sexually assaulted the defendants, and that each defendant has maliciously and knowingly published multiple false statements and accusations” against him, the statement said

The allegations were part of “an effort to cause damage to Mr Cosby’s reputation and to extract financial gains” from him, the attorney charged.

Pressley added that the alle gations have caused “signifi cant and lasting discredit” to the actor’s reputation. The suit does not seek specific damages, but asks that the court impose the maximum monetary sanctions allowed

by law.