Disgraced former actor Bill Cosby is being sued by an actress who claims that he sexually assaulted her at a 1971 audition, reported The Messenger on Wednesday.
"According to court documents reviewed by The Messenger, Linda Ridgway-Whitedeer alleges Cosby forced her to perform oral sex on him during what was supposed to be an audition in 1971," reported Mike Vulpo and Elizabeth Rosner. "The actress' attorney alleged in court docs that Cosby 'utilized his power and authority' to sexually assault Ridgway-Whitedeer at a filming location in Los Angeles," where she had been expecting to meet with a director and other casting officials, but where instead she was apprehended by Cosby and led into an empty director's office, where she was allegedly assaulted.
Cosby has not issued comment, but his attorney has responded by saying, "That Mr. Cosby is forced to defend a claim that is over 50 years old is nothing short of insanity."
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Cosby, once known affectionately in pop culture as "America's Dad" because of his numerous parental roles on camera, was originally convicted for the 2004 drugging and sexual assault of Andrea Constand, a former administrator Temple University administrator, in 2018, and sentenced to three to ten years in Pennsylvania state prison.
However, in 2021, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned Cosby's conviction, finding that prosecutors had improperly charged him in violation of a non-prosecution agreement made with him in 2005.
Several other women have come forward to claim that Cosby assaulted them. He has denied all the allegations and continues to maintain his innocence.
