Bill Cosby and his team were reportedly blindsided by the reports that the disgraced comedian had settled a defamation lawsuit filed against him by seven women accusing him of sexual assault. Cosby’s loyal spokesman claimed on Friday that an insurance company actually settled the suit behind their backs and that Cosby would not be paying up.
In 2014, seven women, who accused him of sexually assaulting them, filed a defamation lawsuit accusing the former comedian of defaming them by falsely calling them “liars.” Cosby then followed up their suit with one of his own where he claimed the women’s allegations defamed his character and jeopardized a television deal. According to papers that were filed with the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, the women’s attorney Joseph Cammarata said that “each plaintiff is satisfied with the settlement.”
The terms of the settlement have not been released and Cosby’s team was quick to deny that they nor Cosby himself had anything to do with the settlement. On Friday, Andrew Wyatt released a statement on several of Cosby’s social media accounts to address the news and claimed that the insurance company AIG had taken it upon themselves to settle the suit without Cosby’s consent.
“Mr. Cosby did not settle any cases with anyone. He is not paying anything to anyone,” the statement said. “AIG decided to settle these cases, without the knowledge, permission and/or consent of Mr. Cosby. Mr. Cosby vehemently denies the allegations brought against him in these defamation suits and he maintains his innocence.”
