Bill Cosby Drugging Beverly Johnson in The Mid 1980s

Bill Cosby Drugging Beverly Johnson in The Mid 1980s - Beverly Johnson, a supermodel and actress who was the first African American woman to be on the cover of Vogue magazine, has come forward alleging that she was drugged by Bill Cosby in the 1980s.

Johnson wrote a long piece for Vanity Fair about an encounter she had with the comedian in the mid-1980s, while she was going through a divorce.

She said that Cosby invited her to read for a part in The Cosby Show.

After several meetings with the comedian, he invited her to a reading at his house. He allegedly suggested to her that she act drunk – a feature shared in several other stories from other women who have made allegations against Cosby.

After dinner, Cosby insisted Johnson drink a cappuccino, which she said was “drugged – and drugged good”.

“My head became woozy, my speech became slurred, and the room began to spin non-stop,” the article continues. “Cosby mentioned for me to come over to him as though we were ready to act out the scene. He put his hands around my waist, and I managed to put my hand on his shoulder in order to steady myself.”

She said that her body went completely limp, and that her brain switched into “automatic survival mode.” She yelled at Cosby, calling him a “motherfucker” several times.

After that, the article continues, Cosby grabbed Johnson by the left arm and dragged her down “a bunch of stairs”. She said she was afraid her neck was going to break. When they reached the front door, she said, Cosby flagged down a taxi and shoved her inside.

She said that she called Cosby to confront him, but his wife, Camille, picked up the phone.

She said that at the time, she was worried that if she went public with the story, her career would suffer.

Johnson’s story brings the number of women who have put their name to allegations against the comedian to almost two dozen.

Martin Singer, the attorney representing Cosby, was not available for comment. Cosby has consistently denied all the allegations against him. In a statement on 22 November, Singer called the claims against the comedian “ridiculous” and “unsubstantiated, fantastical stories”.