35 Bill Cosby Accusers Appear Together on the Cover of ‘New York’ Magazine
Thirty-five Billy Cosby accusers appear on the cover of New York magazine. Photo: @nymag/Instagram
New York magazine photographed 35 of the 46 women who have accused Bill Cosby of sexually assaulting them over the past few decades for the cover of its latest issue.
On Sunday night, the publication shared a powerful image — 35 individual portraits taken by photographer Amanda Demme — uniting the women together, albeit digitally, for the first time. Across social media, the magazine shared quotes from the larger story, compiled over six months in Noreen Malone’s accompanying article, “‘I’m No Longer Afraid’: 35 Women Tell Their Stories About Being Assaulted by Bill Cosby, and the Culture That Wouldn’t Listen.”
“Today, the way we think and talk about rape has evolved, creating a safer space for survivors to feel empowered by speaking up and reclaiming their victimhood. And that’s led us here,” the magazine shared on Instagram. The “sorrowful sisterhood” of women, as the story calls them, are united by their “dark experiences, steadfast in their resolve to remain silent no more.”
Louisa Moritz in New York magazine. Photo: @nymag/Instagram
Louisa Moritz, 68, is one of the many women featured. An actress, she was allegedly assaulted by Cosby in 1971 when she was getting ready to appear on the Tonight Show and someone knocked on the door. “He never knocked. I knew it was Mr. Cosby. I’d seen his picture. He walked in and closed the door behind him. It went on for maybe four minutes, five minutes. But it was the longest five minutes that I ever experienced,” she shared. “And when they called my name, he ran out. When he walked down the stage, he introduced himself as Louisa Moritz. And then a huge laugh. When they called me to go onstage, I was a zombie. He didn’t look at me while we were on the show. I didn’t look at him. I just felt him.” She added, that like many of her fellow victims, “I was afraid to tell anybody. I knew who Mr. Cosby was and that prevented me from telling anybody. I felt ashamed. I was embarrassed to be me.“
New York’s cover comes after decades of speculation regarding Cosby’s alleged continued assaults; the story reached fever pitch last week when the New York Times released a 2005 court deposition from Andrea Constand’s case in which the comedian admitted to using both fame and Quaaludes, a powerful sedative drug that can lead to immobilization, in pursuit of victims. Cosby’s legal team continues to fight the charges, they filed legal papers on Friday hoping to discover “legitimate concerns about the true role that” Constand and her attorney, Dolores Troiani, “may have played in … the public release of Defendant’s complete deposition.”
The New York magazine piece is the second significant feature since the story resurfaced in October, thanks to comedian Hannibal Burress, since Beverly Johnson’s Vanity Fair essay last year.
Click here to read the full story from New York magazine. *
*** Unfortunately, the article cannot be viewed online at the moment. Shortly after being posted, nymag.com began experiencing technical difficulties. A hacker named ThreatKing claims to be behind the attack. ThreatKing told the Daily Dot that the hack has nothing to do with silencing the accusers but because he hates New York. “Many stupid people at [sic] New York,” ThreatKing said. “I have not even seen the cover, LOL.”
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