There was a time that comedian Hannibal Buress cracked a tongue- lashing joke that Bill Cosby was a serial rapist, many thought that his joke was too expensive and they lashed back at him. Now an actress; Barbara Bowman told daily mail that when she was a teenager, she was emotionally and sexually abused by TV legend Bill Cosby. Barbara Bowman was 17-year-old aspiring actress when Bill Cosby took her under his wing and feigned a fatherly figure before taking advantage of her youth, vulnerability and ambition. Catch some excerpts below;
I was studying acting when my agent told me Mr Cosby was scouting for young talent and that I'd have a shot to be groomed by him personally. I was eager to please. This could be my big break.
'The first thing Mr. Cosby said when he met me in the conference room was, "I want you to go in the bathroom and wet your hair…then sit in this chair, shut your eyes and do an improvisation exercise with me."
'He wanted me to act completely drunk, wasted, while he stood behind me and stroked my neck and upper chest. He didn't touch me beyond that, on that day, but that's where it certainly started….
'Even though it felt off to do the exercise, I gave it my all. I'd learned from years of acting classes that I had to take direction. After all, I was in the presence of the most powerful man in America at that time. Dr Huxtable chose me…….
He flew me to Lake Tahoe to attend the John Denver Celebrity Ski Classic. He arranged for me to see Broadway shows in New York. He brought me to Hilton Head, South Carolina, to watch him perform and attend a star-studded golf tournament. He said it was all part of his assessment to see if I was worth mentoring and grooming. He wanted to see how I handled myself around celebrities……….
I was drugged and raped by that man,He is a monster. He came at me like a monster. My hope is that others who have experienced sexual abuse will not be intimidated into silence by the famous, rich and powerful. If I can help one victim, then I've done my job…..
I'm finally revealing all of my full story in hopes that others will learn to read the tell-tale signs of abuse and not wait as long as I did. No one believed me for years. They said Bill would never do that. That it was preposterous. But I'm putting my name out there and standing behind these words, just like Burress. No more code of silence…..
I thank Hannibal Burress for speaking out over and over again, despite the threats from the Industry that it could ruin his career. He is standing up for me and the other women who are too afraid to speak out……...
Maybe he should also teach his fictitious TV family how to escape the talons of sexual predators. Bill used to tell me that he was my father figure and that I needed to trust him as a father, 100 percent. Then he'd drug me and attack me. I was to afraid to talk back…….
He told me over and over again, "Trust me like I was your father." He zeroed in on that like a laser beam…..
I never took shut up money. My motivation to speak now is to expose Bill Cosby as the animal that he is. He went after me in that hotel room like an animal with such sexual prowess and force that he couldn't control himself. And at 19-years-old, I knew it would be the last time he would ever get the chance to hurt me this way again.'
This is not the whole interview but those were the most important parts. Her story is indeed painful. She decided to break the code of silence after 25 years of assult. The actress is now 45years and wants others who were also assaulted to speak up.
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