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Nearly a decade earlier, a former Playboy model, Victoria Valentino, accused Bill Cosby of s*xually assaulting her in 1969 after drugging her and a friend in Los Angeles. Victoria Valentino was merely one of 60 women who came forward with harrowing stories of r*pe and assault at the hand of the one-time celebrated comedian, who was exalted to the status of America’s dad for decades.
Trigger Warning: This article contains details about s*xual assault. Reader discretion is advised
The r*pe and drugging allegations against Cosby date back to 1965. While Cosby couldn’t be criminally charged in most of the cases as the statute of limitations had ended, he was tried and convicted in the case where he was accused of molesting a Temple University basketball coach named Andrea Constand.
Shortly after, Bill Cosby was convicted in 2018 of aggravated indecent assault and sentenced to 10 years in prison. However, in 2021 the court overturned his conviction after the Supreme Court ruled that Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele, who initiated Cosby’s arrest, had struck a deal with the suspect that he wouldn’t be charged for the crimes.
Two years later, emboldened by the state of California temporarily lifting the statute of limitations on civil s*xual assault cases, the now 80-year-old Victoria Valentino filed a lawsuit against Bill Cosby, accusing him of r*aping her at the most vulnerable time of her life. In the lawsuit, Valentino explained that she was a former playmate and aspiring actress when she met Cosby in Los Angeles in 1969.
In the lawsuit, Valentino recounted that she was a 26-year-old grieving mother when she ran into Bill Cosby with a friend, and aspiring actress Meg Foster, at a Los Angeles restaurant. At the time, Valentino was reportedly grieving the loss of her 6-year-old son, who died in a drowning accident.
The lawsuit alleged that during dinner, Cosby laid out pills in front of Valentino and her friend, saying the drugs would alleviate their suffering. He also pretended to ingest one himself.
Shortly after, Cosby allegedly escorted the two disoriented women to his office. Victoria Valentino, despite her incapacitated state, allegedly sensed that Cosby was going to harm her friend and stepped in to protect the woman from the attack. Cosby, enraged by the interception, allegedly s*xually assaulted Valentino before asking both women to call a cab. Outlining the incident, the lawsuit stated:
“Cosby finally became angry and exasperated by Plaintiff’s efforts to thwart his assault on her friend, and Cosby stood up and walked towards Plaintiff with a terrifying expression on his face. Plaintiff attempted to stand up, but her legs wobbled and buckled beneath her, and she reached out to Cosby to prevent herself from falling to the floor.”
The lawsuit stated that the alleged assault inflicted crushing psychological trauma that derailed her career as an actress in Hollywood.
“[Cosby] exploited me when I was at my lowest point and was consumed by grief. Not only did he assault me, but the trauma caused my career in the performing arts to completely derail. The trauma he inflicted upon me affects not only me but my children and grandchildren.”
Victoria Valentino’s attorney, Jeff Anderson, slammed Cosby for his alleged actions. Anderson also represented a woman who sued Cosby in 2022 in New York and won $500,000 in damages.
“He has left an immeasurable trail of pain, trauma and suffering in his wake, but today we are holding him accountable for his actions. To say Cosby’s behavior is appalling and grotesque would be an understatement.”
Victoria Valentino was anointed Playmate of the Month in 1963
Victoria Valentino, a Connecticut native, moved to California the summer after she graduated high school. Shortly after, she joined a folk group and met and married an aspiring photographer who turned out to be a violent man.
During their violent marriage, they reportedly had a son, Tony. At the time, Valentino reportedly posed for photographs, which were submitted to Playboy by her photographer husband. In a statement to Guardian, she said;
“I was so naive. I wasn’t really sure what Playboy meant.”
In September 1963, the magazine picked a 19-year-old Victoria Valentino as Playmate of the Month. Shortly after, Valentino was introduced into the glamorous LA scene, where she met multiple singers, producers and actors. During this time, she also auditioned for several acting gigs. In 1964, Valentino reportedly left her violent husband and helped open the original Playboy Club on the Sunset Strip on New Year’s Eve.
A few years later, Valentino was reportedly at her boyfriend’s house, when she found her son at the bottom of the swimming pool. In a statement to Guardian, she recalled the moment and said:
“I was dead inside – like someone had taken a dull knife and gutted me.”
Three months later, Victoria Valentino’s friend, Francesca Emerson, a former playmate suggested she meet Cosby, to secure a role in his film.
On Thursday, June 1, 2023, a representative for Cosby told The Washington Post that the allegations against him were categorically false.
