Another rape accuser has spoken out about Bill Cosby and this time she's one of the original 12 "Jane Does" who testified against Cosby in 2005. The civil rape case was originally filed by former Temple University athletics director Andrea Constand, and now Donna Motsinger is claiming she was Jane Doe number eight in the privately settled case. Inspired by the voices of the many women who have opened up about Cosby's alleged assaults, Motsinger is now talking about it without the cloud of anonymity.
Her story is in line with the many other accusations. In an interview with the New York Post, she alleges that in 1971 Cosby first drugged and then raped her at a jazz club where she was waitressing. But even though she's talking to the media now, Motsinger still carries a lot of guilt over the incident. Unfortunately, seeing other people come forward while she stayed anonymous for so many years is upsetting for her. "I feel guilty not telling my story. I’m a coward over here," she told the New York Post. "Those women are brave. It’s the least I can do. I want to tell people, so [the victims] can’t be bullied, so they can’t be discredited.”
It makes me really sad to hear that Motsinger is blaming herself for not coming forward. She isn't a coward in the slightest. It was brave of her to testify against Cosby in 2005 and to add her name in with those 11 other Jane Does. It took courage to overcome something as traumatic as rape and be here, today, speaking out.
The victim of a rape shouldn't ever have to feel guilty, especially not Motsinger. She may have been anonymous in 2005, but every one of those 12 women who came forward to claim justice was important. Without them, maybe we wouldn't even be talking about these accusations today and it would have all been brushed under the rug. Whether Motsinger came forward first or last or never isn't the point. She's been brave since the moment she was allegedly raped, because she has found a way to survive.
Were Motsinger to stumble upon this article, I want her to know that at no point has she ever been a coward. The only one to blame here is Cosby for allegedly raping her and so many other women. He's the one who is a coward because he's hiding behind silence and his lawyer's insufficient statements instead of addressing these accusations.
On November 20, Cosby's lawyer released a statement that reads
This continued pattern of attacks on Mr. Cosby has entered the realm of the ridiculous, with a purported “forceful kiss” at a party in 1967, nearly 50 years ago, being treated as a current "news story" and grossly mischaracterized as "sexual assault." This is utter nonsense. People coming out of nowhere with this sort of inane yarn is what happens in a media-driven feeding frenzy. We’ve reached the point of absurdity. The stories are getting more ridiculous. I think people are trying to come up with these wild stories in order to justify why they have waited 40 to 50 years to disclose these ridiculous accusations.
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