People: Cosby says seven women who sued him made false accusations
Bill Cosby fired back Monday at seven women who are suing him for defamation, accusing them of making false accusations of sexual misconduct for financial gain.
In a countersuit filed in federal court, Cosby alleges the women made “malicious, opportunistic, and false and defamatory accusations” against him. Cosby is seeking monetary damages “to the maximum extent permitted by law.”
The women have claimed Cosby defamed them by allowing his representatives to brand them as liars after they went public with allegations of rape and other sexual misconduct dating back decades.
In his counterclaim, the comedian says the women have “engaged in a campaign to assassinate” his reputation and character. He says their campaign is “nothing more than an opportunistic attempt to extract financial gain from him.”
The women suing Cosby in U.S. District Court in Springfield are among approximately 50 who have come forward with allegations of rape or unwanted sexual contact over the last year. Cosby has a home in Shelburne in western Massachusetts.
Joseph Cammarata, an attorney representing the women, said Cosby’s countersuit “stinks of retaliation.”
“To suggest that these ladies – each and every one of them – got together and orchestrated a campaign against Mr. Cosby is hard to fathom,” Cammarata said.
Cosby’s countersuit cites his work as an entertainer and philanthropist, saying Cosby “prides himself in the legacy and reputation he has earned throughout his life.”
Groban to sing on Broadway live
Josh Groban will be following up his album of Broadway standards by doing it for real – singing on a Broadway stage for the first time.
“I was kind of in that headspace to begin with,” Groban said Monday. “There was this nice stars-aligning-thing happening.”
Groban will play Pierre in “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812,” a musical by Dave Malloy that dramatizes a 70-page melodrama at the center of Leo Tolstoy’s “War and Peace.” It starts on Broadway in September.
Groban has been offered parts on Broadway before but timing never worked out. This time, he’ll be ending a tour in support of an album – “Stages,” for which he just earned a Grammy Award nomination for best traditional pop vocal album – that coincidentally has him singing musical theater hits from “The Phantom of the Opera,” “Les Miserables,” “Into The Woods” and “A Chorus Line,” among others.
The birthday bunch
Actor-comedian Tim Conway is 82. Singer Cindy Birdsong (The Supremes) is 76. Rock musician Dave Clark (The Dave Clark Five) is 73. Actor Don Johnson is 66. Rock musician Paul Simonon (The Clash) is 60. Country singer Doug Phelps (Brother Phelps; Kentucky Headhunters) is 55.