TheCable

Thirty-five women out of the 46 Bill Cosby rape accusers are featured as the cover story of New York Magazine’s latest issue.

The magazine depicts the women, united by their alleged horrific experiences and the bondage of silence throughout the years, as “the unwelcome sisterhood”.

All the claims involved date back from the sixties till 1996.

The alleged victims were interviewed and photographed over a six-month period, as the number of accusers increased while the project was ongoing.

One of the women, Heidi Thomas, who is now 55 years old, shared the story of how she was raped by Cosby under the guise of role-play as they were about to rehearse for a performance.

“He said, ‘Let’s try a cold read,’ so he pulls out a script. The scene was set in a bar; the character was someone who was inebriated. He poured a glass of white wine. And he said, use this as a prop—now, that means you’re going to have to sip on it, of course. I really don’t remember much, except waking up in his bedroom. He was naked, and he was forcing himself into my mouth.”

Releasing a statement on the significance of its feature story, the magazine said: The group of women Cosby allegedly assaulted functions almost as a longitudinal study – both for how an individual woman, on her own, deals with such trauma over the decades and for how the culture at large has grappled with rape over the same time period.

In the ’60s, when the first alleged assault by Cosby occurred, rape was considered to be something violent committed by a stranger … But among younger women, and particularly online, there is a strong sense now that speaking up is the only thing to do, that a woman claiming her own victimhood is more powerful than any other weapon in the fight against rape.

Although Bill Cosby has not been criminally charged based on multiple allegations, political and legal authorities in the US, including the president, are under increasing pressure to find ways to legally punish the legendary comedian.

Cosby’s sterling career has been shattered by rape allegations. Notably, his statue was removed from Walt Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park on July 8.

Photo Credit: New York Magazine