Bill Cosby boldly sues group of accusers, alleging they made up assault claims and tried to destroy his ‘honorable legacy’

Bill Cosby is hitting back at several of his accusers with a new lawsuit claiming the women lied and tried to "assassinate" his "honorable legacy" for financial gain.

In an 89-page filing in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, Cosby boldly claims accusers Tamara Green, Therese Serignese, Linda Traitz, Louisa Moritz, Barbara Bowman, Joan Tarshis and Angela Leslie fabricated their accounts of assault and should pay him compensatory and punitive damages.

Comedian Bill Cosby is suing several of the women who have accused him of sexual assault, alleging they defamed him.

"As a result of their false, opportunistic and malicious accusations, Mr. Cosby's reputation has been irretrievably damaged, and his planned reemergence to network television destroyed as they intended," the lawsuit obtained by the Daily News states.

Cosby's new defamation action is a response to a competing lawsuit filed by the women that claims he defamed them by calling them liars last year.

Green, 67, originally filed as a lone plaintiff last December, alleging the comedian, through lawyers and publicists, negligently disregarded the truth and willfully induced "an evil opinion of her."

A retired lawyer living in Southern California, Green said her public shaming started when she first stepped forward in 2005 with claims Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her in the 1970s after hiring her to help him open a club.

She was shamed again last year, she claims, when Cosby's camp trashed her account a second time.

The statute of limitations on the alleged assault ran out long ago, but her lawyer Joseph Cammarata said the veracity of Green's charges along with the other women's claims will be "central" to the defamation case.

"I want the truth of this matter to be finally established forevermore…I want justice for myself and for my sisters in arms," Green previously said.

"I want it put to a jury. I want it to be a verdict. I want it to be ended finally. And I want my name restored," she said.

Cosby, 78, has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than 50 women but has never been charged criminally.

His new counter-lawsuit includes claims of defamation, tortious interference and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

"Mr. Cosby states plainly that he neither drugged nor sexually assaulted the defendants," a Monday statement from Cosby's lawyer Monique Pressley said.

"(The) defendants' multi-decade old, false, uncorroborated, opportunistic allegations of sexual assault have caused and continue to cause him to suffer substantial injuries and damages to reputation, business contracts, shame, mortification, damages to property, business, trade, profession and occupation," the statement said.

Cammarata panned Cosby's filing as an "expected" defensive maneuver after the comedian tried but failed to get the case dismissed.

"He's got no easy way out, so this is his response," Cammarata told The News. "All claims made against Mr. Cosby are now open for investigation based on his filing."

The lawyer said Cosby is set for a deposition in the case on Feb. 22. Cosby's wife Camille is due to be deposed on Jan. 6, he said.

"He claims he lost contracts and business because of the actions of these seven ladies, so by necessity we need to understand what impact each of the other allegations had on his ability to keep contracts," Cammarata said.

"We intend to do what it takes to prove our case. That includes a vigorous examination of Mr. Cosby's conduct not only toward my seven clients but also all the other women," he said.

Also Monday, Boston University announced it was revoking an honorary degree awarded to “America’s Dad.”

The university said in a statement the entertainer’s treatment of women “brought significant and lasting discredit upon himself” and was inconsistent with the school’s values.

The school cited Cosby’s sworn deposition from a 2005 lawsuit, in which he acknowledged offering Quaaludes to women before sexual encounters.

The university joins several other schools around the country that have rescinded honorary degrees awarded to Cosby.