Bill Cosby: University Commencement Address (1999 Speech to Students)

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• published: 24 Feb 2015
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Cosby married Camille Olivia Hanks on January 25, 1964. Together, they have had five children, Erika, Erinn, Ensa, Evin, and Ennis. Their only son, Ennis, was murdered on January 16, 1997, while changing a flat tire on the side of Interstate 405 in Los Angeles. The Cosbys have three grandchildren. Cosby is an alumnus supporter of his alma mater, Temple University, particularly its men's basketball team, whose games Cosby frequently attends. He is also a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity; he was initiated in the fraternity's Beta Alpha Alpha graduate chapter in White Plains, New York, in 1988. In July 1997, Cosby testified that he made private payments to Shawn Upshaw, a woman who had briefly been his lover in Las Vegas during the early 1970s. Upshaw later told Cosby that he was the father of her daughter, Autumn Jackson. Cosby denies being the father and said that he gave Upshaw a total of about $100,000 because he did not want her to publicly reveal the affair. Twenty-two-year-old Autumn Jackson was sentenced to 26 months in jail for trying to extort $40 million from Cosby. As of late December 2014, at least 27 women have accused Cosby of drugging them and/or sexually assaulting them, including rape. Cosby has declined to directly discuss the claims. On January 28, 2000, actress Lachele Covington alleged in a police report filed on February 1, 2000, that Cosby had groped her in his apartment. Covington was 20 years old at the time and had appeared as a waitress on the CBS television show Cosby. In January 2004, Andrea Constand, a former Temple University employee, accused Cosby of drugging and fondling her. In February 2005, Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor said in a statement that Cosby would not be charged over the allegations because of "insufficient credible and admissible evidence". Constand filed a civil claim against Cosby in March 2005 and thirteen women were named as potential witnesses if the case went to court. Cosby settled out of court for an undisclosed amount in November 2006. Upon hearing that the prosecutor was unlikely to pursue charges in relation to Constand's accusation, in February 2005, California lawyer Tamara Lucier Green came forward with allegations that Cosby had drugged and assaulted her in 1969. Cosby's lawyer said that Cosby did not know the accuser and that she had described events that did not happen. In a July 2005 interview with the Philadelphia Daily News, Beth Ferrier alleged that in 1984, Cosby drugged her coffee; she felt woozy, passed out and woke up with her clothes partially removed. In November 2014, journalist Joan Tarshis, model Janice Dickinson, actress Louisa Moritz, actor Lou Ferrigno's wife Carla Ferrigno, Florida nurse Therese Serignese, Playboy Playmates Victoria Valentino and Sarita Butterfield, actress Michelle Hurd, and eleven other women alleged that Cosby drugged, sexually assaulted and/or raped them between 1965 and 2004. Cosby's attorney, Martin D. Singer, stated that Dickinson's account differed from prior accounts she gave of the incident and released a statement on Cosby's website that said in part: "Mr. Cosby does not intend to dignify these allegations with any comment." A follow-up statement by Singer dismissed the allegations as unsubstantial, lacking in evidence, and an attempt to vilify Cosby. Lawyers for Cosby and Constand released a joint statement saying "the statement released by Mr. Cosby's attorney over the weekend was not intended to refer in any way to Andrea Constand. As previously reported, differences between Mr. Cosby and Ms. Constand were resolved to the mutual satisfaction of Mr. Cosby and Ms. Constand years ago. Neither Mr. Cosby nor Ms. Constand intends to comment further on the matter." On December 1, 2014, Cosby resigned from Temple University's board of trustees. On December 3, Judy Huth filed a lawsuit against Cosby in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging that Cosby sexually assaulted her in 1974 at the Playboy Mansion when she was 15 years old. The honorary title and status of Chief Petty Officer given to Cosby by the United States Navy in 2011 was revoked on December 4 as a result of the sexual assault allegations against him. In a press release, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Michael Stevens stated, "allegations of sexual abuse made against the comedian are serious and conflict with the Navy's core values of honor, courage and commitment." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Cosby