Supermodel Janice Dickinson doesn't have a leg to stand on in her defamation lawsuit against Bill Cosby, the comedian claims.
Cosby answered Dickinson's May 20 lawsuit this week, calling the former
catwalker a "self-promoter and confessed persistent liar" who tried to
"cash in" on a "media frenzy" when she claimed last November that Cosby
drugged and raped her in 1982.
Cosby's motion to strike was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court
by a female lawyer who argued Dickinson, 60, considers lying part of
her "brand."
"In her quest to remain in the public eye, Ms. Dickinson has actively
cultivated a reputation for outrageous behavior that includes substance
abuse, mental lapses and lying," the filing said.
The lawyer said Cosby cannot be held liable for lawyer Marty Singer's
2014 remarks branding Dickinson a liar because there's no evidence the
former pudding pop pitchman ever approved the statements.
There's also no evidence Singer acted with "actual malice" when he
dismissed Dickinson's claims as "fabricated" and "outlandish," Lynda
Goldman, a lawyer at Singer's firm, argued.
Goldman said Dickinson's rape allegation "completely contradicts" what
she wrote about Cosby in her 2002 autobiography, "No Lifeguard on Duty:
The Accidental Life of the World's First Supermodel."
In the book, Dickinson said she had dinner with Cosby in Lake Tahoe in
1982 and later received "the dirtiest, meanest look in the world" from
the TV star when she declined to go back to his hotel room.
The former fashion model said in November, and in her lawsuit, that she
was forced to sanitize the encounter to get her book published.
She claimed the harsh truth is that Cosby lured her to his hotel to
discuss a role on the "Cosby Show," knocked her out with a pill she
thought was for menstrual cramps and sexually assaulted her.
Dickinson's lawyer Lisa Bloom told the Daily News in May that the
supermodel has sworn statements from her book publisher and her
ghostwriter that confirm she "argued vehemently," but ultimately failed,
to have the alleged rape included in her book.
"I want justice. I want Bill Cosby on the stand," Dickinson told The News in a phone interview last month.
"I want vindication. I'm doing it for women. I've been called a liar, and I've been re-victimized," she said.
Dickinson was in the vanguard of dozens of Cosby accusers when she stepped forward in November.
The former "America's Next Top Model" judge said the hate mail started pouring shortly after the Cosby camp denied her account.
"It's been an embarrassment to my children and my fiancé. It's
extremely embarrassing," she said, adding that the trauma of the Cosby's
denial rekindled the trauma and caused her to lose sleep.
"I'm having nightmares about this catastrophic experience again. I
can't forget these memories, the smell of his breath," she said.
"It's the right thing for me to do," she said of the lawsuit. "I'd like closure. That's my hope."
Bloom said Cosby's camp refused to issue a retraction when asked.
"The only justice available to Janice Dickinson is by way of this
defamation lawsuit," Bloom said, citing the statute of limitations on
the rape allegation.
"We also think it's righteous, not only because we allege Bill Cosby
drugged and raped her, but because he re-victimized her by having his
reps publicly ridicule her a few months ago, and for that at least he
should be held accountable," Bloom said.
Cosby, 77, has yet to personally and publicly address the assault allegations brought by his accusers.
He has not been charged with any crimes.
Three other accusers have a separate defamation lawsuit pending against him in federal court in Massachusetts.
Cosby's insurance company AIG filed a complaint related to that case
Friday asking a judge to rule that the company has "no duty to defend or
indemnify" Cosby under the terms of his homeowners policy.
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