Bill Cosby faces lawsuit from singer alleging sexual assault

Comedian Bill Cosby has been accused of sexual assault by another woman, who claims he drugged and raped her in the late 1980s.

According to a new lawsuit filed in New York City, singer Morganne Picard accused Cosby, 86, of inviting her to the sets of The Cosby Show in 1987, and alleges that he “insisted and encouraged” her to drink beverages that made her feel “extremely intoxicated” on “multiple occasions” between then and 1990.

Picard claimed that the disgraced comedian invited her to the sets of his The Cosby Show “under the pretence” of helping her career as an aspiring singer.

“Upon information and belief, when Ms Picard was physically incapacitated by the unknown intoxicant, Cosby undressed and raped her, without her consent and when she did not have the capacity to consent,” the lawsuit alleged.

The document also named Kaufman Astoria Studios, Astoria Studios LP II, the Carsey-Warner Company and NBCUniversal as defendants, as they did “not investigate, reprimand, supervise nor in any way try to stop Cosby from sexually abusing, assaulting and/or battering women.”

Picard is specifically suing Cosby for battery, assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress. She’s suing the other defendants for negligent hiring and negligence.

Cosby has denied the accusations through rep Andrew Wyatt. “It is disappointing to see that these alleged distractors are able to monetise false allegations against Mr Cosby,” Andrew Wyatt said in a statement.