Bill Cosby, once celebrated as “America’s Dad,” could be facing renewed legal attention following the resurfacing of deposition testimony related to decades-old sexual assault allegations, according to a new report.
The 88-year-old comedian allegedly stated under oath that he obtained a recreational prescription for quaaludes with the intention of giving the drug to women before having sex with them, TMZ reported. The testimony is said to date back more than half a century, to a period prior to 1972.
According to the report, Cosby claimed he received the prescription from a gynecologist friend while playing poker. The prescription was reportedly refilled seven times. TMZ identified the physician as Dr. Leroy Amar, whose medical license was later revoked by California regulators in 1979.
The deposition testimony is expected to play a role in a civil lawsuit filed by Donna Motsinger, who alleges Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her in 1972 while she was working as a waitress at a California restaurant. Motsinger has previously said her lawsuit is about accountability rather than financial gain.
A legal representative for Cosby has denied the accuracy of TMZ’s report, stating that the claims regarding the deposition are not true.
Cosby Camp Pushes Back
Andrew Wyatt, a former crisis manager for Cosby, addressed the allegations during an appearance on “Jesse Weber Live” this week, where he strongly defended the disgraced entertainer.
Wyatt said he confronted Cosby directly about the allegations and claimed Cosby denied all accusations of rape.
“He said, ‘Andrew, I wouldn’t take you through the valley of shame,’” Wyatt recalled.
Wyatt acknowledged that Cosby admitted to possessing quaaludes during the era but framed their use as common in entertainment circles at the time.
“He said, ‘Yes, I had quaaludes. Quaaludes were called disco biscuits, and all of the entertainers had them,’” Wyatt said.
Cosby has long denied allegations that he used drugs to sexually assault women, despite testimony and accounts from multiple accusers over several decades.
A Career Undone by Allegations
Cosby was once one of the most influential figures in American entertainment, earning acclaim as a groundbreaking stand-up comedian and as the star of NBC’s The Cosby Show, which dominated television throughout the 1980s and early 1990s.
However, long-simmering allegations that he sexually assaulted multiple women erupted into public view in 2014, after a comedian’s viral routine reignited scrutiny of Cosby’s past behavior. Dozens of women eventually came forward with accusations spanning several decades.
In 2018, a Pennsylvania jury convicted Cosby of aggravated indecent assault, finding that he drugged and sexually assaulted Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. Constand, a Temple University employee at the time, had viewed Cosby as a mentor.
Cosby was sentenced to prison but was released in 2021 after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned the conviction, citing a violation of his due process rights related to a prior agreement with prosecutors.
While Cosby has remained largely out of the public eye since his release, civil lawsuits and resurfacing testimony continue to cast a long shadow over his legacy — and may yet present new legal challenges.
