Bill Cosby, Convicted Rapist, Seeks Supreme Court Review of Janice Dickinson Defamation Lawsuit

Bill Cosby—who you might recall was actually found guilty on all counts of sexual assault in a Norristown, PA trial last month—is currently awaiting a September sentencing. This, however, is not the end of his legal battles: Former supermodel/America’s Next Top Model judge Janice Dickinson, who accuses Cosby of drugging and raping her in the 1980s (separate from the PA ruling), has sued Cosby for defamation. When Dickinson first came forward in 2014, Cosby’s attorney at the time, Marty Singer, told the press her accusations were “fabricated” and “an outrageous defamatory lie.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, a California appeals court allowed Dickinson to move forward with her case in November—and now, Cosby wants the Supreme Court to weigh in. Basically, Cosby’s team believes Singer’s words were stated as opinion, not fact (??) and wants the high court to determine whether his opinions—again, not facts—are actionable in a defamation suit.

From California associate justice Laurence Rubin, who believes Singer’s words were stated as factual:

“Cosby takes the position that the demand letter is not actionable as it is simply Singer’s opinion, based on fully disclosed facts. We disagree. As we shall explain, nearly every factor of the totality of the circumstances test points strongly toward the conclusion that a reasonable fact finder could conclude the demand letter states or implies a provably false assertion of fact—specifically, that Cosby did not rape Dickinson, and she is lying when she says that he did.”

Makes sense to me!

Becky James, Cosby’s current lawyer, is currently compiling a petition of Dickinson’s claims to file to the Supreme Court—they plan on moving forward July 12.