Trial Underway in Donna Motsinger's Sexual Abuse Lawsuit Against Entertainer Bill Cosby
Andrea Constand is expected to take the stand later today
After six days of jury selection, testimony began in Donna Motsinger’s sexual abuse lawsuit against entertainer Bill Cosby on Wednesday.
I’m a little surprised there hasn’t been more media coverage, but Graham Bowley from The New York Times, the first reporter to get hold of Cosby’s depositions with his shocking admissions about Quaaludes in Andrea Constand’s civil suit in July 2015, wrote a piece about Motsinger’s trial that was published today so maybe that will stir up more interest.
Two witnesses for the plaintiff took the stand Wednesday – Dr. Stephen Pike, who testified about what effect Quaaludes have on a person, and Dr. Barbara Ziv, a sexual assault expert who testified about rape myths and sexual assault victim behavior at Bill Cosby’s second criminal trial in April 2018 when Cosby was convicted of drugging and sexually assaulting Constand in January 2004. Constand was the Director of Operations for Temple University’s women’s basketball team at the time and is expected to testify later today. She is one of five women Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Bradley Phillips is allowing to testify as so-called 1101(b) witnesses, which are witnesses who testify about a defendant’s uncharged prior bad acts to prove motive, intent, identity, or a common plan. However, only three of those women will be testifying – Constand, Janice Baker-Kinney, and Victoria Valentino.
Cosby is not attending this trial. In his deposition for Motsinger’s case, he said he no longer flies anywhere. “I am a celebrity, and due to negative publicity about me, I am afraid to be in crowds, and especially on airplanes, trains, and buses,” he said, according to an excerpt in a March 9 motion filed by his attorney, Jennifer Bonjean.
Maybe I should have felt a pang of sympathy for him when I read this, as well as earlier stories about Cosby being afraid to leave his house, but all I could think was, Now you understand how you made the women you drugged and sexually assaulted feel.
Another familiar face is not present at the trial either. Andrew Wyatt, Cosby’s controversial and flamboyant long-time spokesperson, no longer represents the entertainer, according to a $750,000 breach of contract lawsuit he filed against Cosby and his wife, Camille, and settled in January. In the filings, the Cosbys say Wyatt has not represented the entertainer since October 2023, which he disputed, but that has not stopped him from doing interviews about his former client.
On January 28th, after TMZ reported that Cosby had once again admitted to possessing seven prescriptions for Quaaludes which he offered to women he wanted to have sex with in a deposition for Motsinger’s case, Wyatt appeared on Jesse Weber Live on NewsNation and said Cosby denied all of the sexual assault allegations against him but did admit to having Quaaludes “in an earlier era.” The following day, Wyatt told US Weekly he was “blindsided” and “heartbroken” about the Qualuude allegations.
“I am profoundly disturbed by the newly revealed 2005 deposition admissions regarding the provision of Quaaludes to women without their consent,” Wyatt said in a statement he gave to US Weekly. “It seems that I was left in the dark by Mr. Cosby and his legal team regarding these material facts.” Wyatt did not respond to my request for comment.
Cosby may not be appearing physically at this trial, but his depositioin for Motsinger’s case was filmed, unlike in Constand’s 2005 civil suit. Motsinger’s attorney, Jesse Creech, showed excerpts from it in his opening statement, where Cosby, wearing one of the colorful sweaters he was so known for while filming The Cosby Show, admitted to giving Qualuudes to women he wanted to have sex with.
“It’s jarring to see him say it in his Cosby sweater,” one courtroom observer told me. “The sweater was so intentional. And so creepy.”
Nicki Weisensee Egan is the author of the book CHASING COSBY, host and executive producer of the podcast based on the book, coauthor of VICTIM F, and an investigative journalist. You can see more of her work, including her more than 20 years of Cosby coverage, at https://www.nicoleweisenseeegan.com/
I honor the courage of Andrea Constand and other victims and witnesses. All power to them!