Third Bill Cosby Rape Accuser Goes Public: Joan Tarshis Says ‘Of Course I Told No One’

The hits just keep on coming for Bill Cosby — another woman came forward on Sunday, accusing Cosby of raping her when she was 19 years old.

Former actress and music industry publicist Joan Tarshis wrote an essay published on Hollywood Elsewhere in which she describes her encounter with Cosby in 1969. Tarshis says she had the opportunity to tell her story to the tabloids a few years ago, but chose not to. However, in light of the recent accusations against Cosby, she decided to come forward and tell her story.

Tarshis says that she met Cosby, who took a liking to her and asked her to do some work with him. After gaining her trust over a period of time, she alleges that he drugged her drink and raped her in his bungalow after a shooting of his show.

“One day he asked me to stay after the shooting (of The Bill Cosby Show) and work on some material with him. I was even more flattered and thought this would help move my writing career along. In his bungalow he made me a redeye, and I began to tell him about the earthquake Los Angeles had just had and the sound it made. He liked my ideas for an earthquake bit.

“The next thing I remember was coming to on his couch while being undressed. Through the haze I thought I was being clever when I told him I had an infection and he would catch it and his wife would know he had sex with someone. But he just found another orifice to use. I was sickened by what was happening to me and shocked that this man I had idolized was now raping me. Of course I told no one.”

Tarshis goes on to say that her mother was a big fan of Bill Cosby’s, and she could never bring herself to tell her what had happened. She met Cosby once more because she “saw no way out” without telling her mother about the rape, and claims that he again drugged and raped her.

The former actress admits she feels she should have come forward about the alleged rape earlier, saying she was “feeling the guilt that rape victims often feel.”

“It took me about 20 years to admit this to anyone,” Tarshis wrote. “My girlfriend, who was a cartoonist, told me she had heard rumors about Cosby, and believed them. She always thought where there’s smoke there’s fire.”

“I had heard and/or strongly suspected I was not the only white girl he had drugged and raped but I never had any proof,” she wrote. “No one began talking until 2004. And though I knew I should say something, I still felt ashamed. Ashamed that I didn’t earlier.”

“In any event now, as more and more of his rape victims have come forward, all telling similar stories, the time is right to join them,” Tarshis concludes.

The Inquisitr recently reported on Barbara Bowman, the second woman to go public with accusations against Cosby, after she wrote a commentary in the Washington Post earlier this week questioning why it took so long for anyone to believe her.

The comedian remains silent on the accusations, and according to Variety, his attorney released a statement saying Cosby will not comment on the “decades old” accusations against him.

“Over the last several weeks, decade-old, discredited allegations against Mr. Cosby have resurfaced,” the statement reads. “The fact that they are being repeated does not make them true. Mr. Cosby does not intend to dignify these allegations with any comment.”

[Image via MrConservative]