Beverly Johnson, who is perhaps America’s first supermodel of color, , has come forward accusing Bill Cosby of drugging her.
In an astonishing article in Vanity Fair, Ms. Johnson said that in the mid 1980s, she was invited to audition for a small role on the Bill Cosby Show. Her first encounters with Mr. Cosby are described as pleasant ones, but one day took a negative turn.
While at his home, Cosby told her that he wanted to see her act as if she were drunk. They walked to a bar where Johnson explained that he had a huge espresso contraption. Cosby wanted to make her a cappuccino but Ms. Johnson explained that she normally didn’t drink coffee in the late afternoon. Wanting to oblige Cosby though, she eventually??took a sip. Being a top model, she describes having numerous experiences with drugs, and she immediately knew that she had been drugged by Cosby.
Cosby then put his hands around her waist pretending to act out a scene, but becoming more dazed, Johnson said her body became limp and she switched into survival mode. Realizing what Bill was attempting to do, she tried to stand firm and called the television icon a “motherf**er.” She repeated this language several times. Seemingly stunned, Cosby looked at her before dragging her down the stairs by her arm. Johnson remembers this as a painful experience, literally.
He eventually waves down a taxi and throws Beverly into the car, without saying a word. Johnson says it took a couple of days to completely get the drug out of her system but she could not believe that a man whom she admired so much had tried to take advantage of her, using drugs as a means.
What is particularly interesting about Beverly’s piece, is the role race has played in all of this. We have to understand. Beverly Johnson is one of the, if not THE, most prestigious and ground-breaking models of color in the history of the industry. In 1974, she became the first African-American woman to ever grace the cover of American Vogue, one of the leading fashion magazines in the entire world.
Johnson explains how she didn’t want to seem like she was bringing a black man down, for black males have a lot going against them already. And with the recent horrors involving the killings of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and countless others, she didn’t want to add to that list of issues. However, she poignantly says that “the current attack on African American men has absolutely nothing at all to do with Bill Cosby.” I agree with her. Bill brought this on himself if the alleged attacks are true. What makes Bill different, as Johnson explains, is that he had the power and money to get away with all of these things. But struggling with personal issues and the race factor, Johnson still waited to come forward. The turning point came when she read Barbara Bowman’s account in the?Washington Post.?She was also horrified at the negative things hurled towards her longtime friend and fellow iconic supermodel, Janice Dickinson, when she came out accusing Cosby.
She says that there are other women who are too afraid to come out but she saw all of the women who were courageous enough and wanted to join them in sharing their stories. She wanted to lend her voice as a mother, sister, grandmother, and plain woman. I applaud Johnson for speaking up. So many have tried to make this a race issue. What do these people say about the fact that some of Bill’s accusers are in fact, women of color. And now, an iconic figure in the black community is coming forward. This is not about race, this is about rape culture, male dominance, and victim shaming.
It is impossible to tell where the growing list of Cosby accusers will end up. How high will the tally reach? Regardless, Cosby is looking more and more like one of the most despicable celebrities in our lifetime.
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