Bill Cosby's comedy tour continues, as do the
standing ovations, but that hasn't silenced his growing number of accusers. Another woman has come forward to share her story about being a victim of "America's dad."
Cindra Ladd, a former entertainment executive in the movie business and the wife of Blade Runner, Braveheart, and Chariots of Fire producer Alan Ladd Jr., penned an essay detailing her alleged rape by Cosby, who she also claims drugged her, when she was a 21-year-old living in New York City in 1969.
Like many of the accusers, Ladd said Cosby, who was married to his wife Camille at the time, befriended her and was a "perfect gentleman," she wrote on
Huffington Post. One night when they were headed to a movie, she came down with a headache and when she considered canceling, he told her he had a "miracle cure his doctor gave him," in the form of a capsule. When she questioned him about what it was, "He asked, 'Don't you trust me?' Of course I did. This was Bill Cosby."
"For more than 45 years I have tried to recall exactly what happened that night," Ladd wrote. "To this day it remains a blur. I have a vague recollection of feeling like I was floating while walking through Times Square and watching some kind of Japanese samurai movie with him. I don't remember where the theater was nor very much of the evening."
She continued, "What I do recall, vividly and clearly, is waking up the next morning nude in the bed of his friend's apartment and seeing Cosby wearing a white terrycloth bathrobe and acting as if there was nothing unusual. It was obvious to me that he had had sex with me. I was horrified, embarrassed and ashamed. There was a mirror above the bed [of his friend's apartment], which shocked me further."
Ladd said that after making some awkward small talk, she hightailed it out of there. "Once in the elevator, I broke down crying, which I continued to do as I walked home to my apartment," she said. "It never occurred to me to go to the police. It was a different time and 'date rape' was a concept that didn't exist. I just kept asking myself over and over in disbelief why this had happened to me. Other than my roommate, I did not discuss that night with anyone for 36 years."
"I always thought I was the only one," she wrote. "I couldn't believe he had done this to others. I told my story to our attorney, who is also a good friend, because I was considering going public then, but eventually chose not to because the case was settled."
Ladd, who went on to become an entertainment executive and now is focused on philanthropic endeavors, said, "This is the first time I have chosen to speak out about that night. It is also the last time I intend to address it publicly. I have no plans to sue, I don't want or need money. I have no plans for a press conference or for doing any interviews. So why speak out at all and why now? The simple answer is that it's the right thing to do. The truth deserves to be known."
Ladd concluded her essay by sharing that she came into contact with Cosby one time since the alleged rape "when my husband, a highly successful Oscar-winning film executive and producer, introduced me to him," she wrote. "I was shaking, wondering if he would recognize me by my unusual first name. His reaction spoke volumes. To Bill Cosby, I was just another stranger."
Ladd joins a list of more than 20 women, including models
Janice Dickinson and
Beverly Johnson, who have accused
The Cosby Show veteran of similar misconduct. His lawyer has repeatedly denied the claims of all the women, calling them "unsubstantiated, fantastical stories about things they say occurred 30, 40, or even 50 years ago" in a statement.
Cosby, who saw several of his comedy projects axed due to the allegations, continues his comedy tour across the United States. While several performances have been canceled, his next date is Jan. 30 in Ohio followed by nine performances in February. He has received standing ovations at many of his recent shows.
copied from yahoo news..........
