Jill Scott turns back on Cosby after confession

08 July 2015 - 02:06 By AFP, Staff reporter

One of Bill Cosby's staunchest defenders, R&B star Jill Scott, has had a change of heart, saying she is now ready to believe the many women who have accused the US comedian of rape. Cosby admitted to having given Quaaludes, a powerful sedative, to at least one woman in order to have sex with her in 1976, in court documents unsealed on Monday.The woman later accused him of sexual assault.Cosby, 77, is accused of raping and sexually abusing about 30 women over four decades.He made the admission in a deposition during a 2005 civil case brought by Andrea Constand, a former women's basketball director at Philadelphia's Temple University.Her case was dropped because of insufficient evidence.Cosby's lawyers had long sought to block publication of the court transcripts but they were released on Monday on the Pacer public court records website.The comedian's attorneys had argued that his right to privacy meant the records should be kept sealed.US District Court Judge Eduardo Robreno rejected that argument on Monday, highlighting "the stark contrast between Bill Cosby, the public moralist, and Bill Cosby, the subject of serious allegations concerning improper (and perhaps criminal) conduct".The Quaaludes revelation was enough to make Grammy Award-winning R&B singer Scott turn her back on him.After the report was released, she tweeted: "About Bill Cosby. Sadly his own testimony offers PROOF of terrible deeds, which is ALL I have ever required to believe the accusations. I stood by a man I respected and loved. I was wrong. It HURTS!!! When you get it ALL right, holla."In the 2005 court transcript the comic admitted having obtained seven prescriptions for Quaaludes."You gave them to other people?" asked the attorney."Yes," replied Cosby.He was then asked: "When you got the Quaaludes, was it in your mind that you were going to use these Quaaludes for young women that you wanted to have sex with?"Cosby initially replied "yes" only to qualify later : "I misunderstood. Woman, and not women," he said.Later in the deposition, Cosby said: "I meet T in Las Vegas. She meets me back stage. I give her Quaaludes. We then have sex." ..

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