July 02, 2021
Bill Cosby's release from prison on Wednesday has sent shockwaves though the vast community of sexual assault survivors and their outspoken supporters. The disgraced comedian's conviction was tossed out by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on procedural grounds – an old deal offering criminal immunity from a former Montgomery County prosecutor – despite mountains of damning evidence and allegations against Cosby.
Outlets like the Daily Mail already have reported that Cosby is hoping to make some sort of "comeback" in the entertainment world, possibly starting with a documentary and a tour, though some in Hollywood believe the 83-year-old is simply too toxic to give credence.
Among the many people who have weighed in on Cosby's release, actor and former boxer Mickey Rourke took to Instagram to share a harrowing story he was told by an ex-girlfriend more than 20 years ago. The story contains graphic and disturbing details of a sexual assault allegedly committed by Cosby. In the Instagram post below, Rourke's account continues in four parts that are included in the comments.
Rourke said he was dating an unnamed young woman who was about 19 years old and heard her crying one morning when she was sleeping over his house. The woman, a successful model, told him about an encounter she had with Cosby after she met him at a celebrity event where she had been sent by her modeling agency.
Cosby, who was still a successful figure in the entertainment industry, was supportive of the woman's interest in taking acting classes. Rourke said Cosby invited the woman to exchange phone numbers and plan a dinner with him and his wife later that week. The comedian told the woman he would help her get into the acting business, Rourke said.
But a few days later, when the woman went alone to Cosby's house, she said she was greeted by Cosby and told that his wife was out attending to business.
As Cosby and the woman began to eat dinner, the comedian allegedly asked the woman if she wanted a glass of wine. She declined, but Cosby came back with two glasses and insisted they have a toast to her future career in acting. That's when Rourke said the night took a dark turn:
For few minutes later they continue to talk about acting and about 15 mins after that she said she start to feel very lightheaded and a lil nauseas (sic), she start also to feel frightened at this point and gradually start to feel more panic because she didn’t feel her normal self.
She finally said I need to go home, I don’t feel OK and he was taking her hand and pushing her and said you gonna be OK, you need to relax.
Then she said I really wanna go home and he stood up and pushed her shoulders and said you have to stay here, you gonna be fine.
Then from behind he reached his hands down and started to grab her breast then she got frightened and when she stood up she was lil wobbling, he then grab her around her waist and put her down on the floor and got on the top of her, then tearfully with much fear she said what are you doing why are you doing this to me.
He just smiled and said come on you gonna like this.
Rourke said a struggle ensued between Cosby and the woman, who managed to push him away and attempted to run to her car. Cosby allegedly tackled the woman from behind and got on top of her, trying to pin her arms and cover her mouth as she screamed. The woman eventually broke free and managed to get into her car, where she was able to escape Cosby.
Rourke said he had only dated the woman for about three weeks, but believed that the incident had happened a few months before he met her.
"I said to her – did you call the police, did you tell anybody, she said I never told anyone," Rourke wrote. "I was looking at her out of my mind saying why didn’t you tell somebody, her answer was who’d believe me, he is a big famous star and I’m nobody."
Rourke said the experience shook him and the details of the story stuck with him for years. The account mirrors the behavior alleged in the Andrea Constand trial and by other women who have accused Cosby of sexual assault.
Constand, a former Temple University employee, said she was drugged and raped by Cosby at his Elkins Park home in January 2004. As part of a civil lawsuit settlement with Constand in 2006, Cosby testified that he had sometimes given women sedatives when he wanted to have sex with them, though he claimed the relationships were consensual.
Cosby willingly gave the deposition testimony during the civil case because he had been told by former Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor that he would not face criminal prosecution if he testified. Kevin Steele, a successor to Castor in the D.A.'s office, reopened the case against Cosby and arrested him in 2015, ultimately leading to his trial and conviction.
Cosby had been sentenced to three-to-10 years in prison, but only served a bit more than two years before the state Supreme Court's ruling on Wednesday. The judges determined that the trial should never have happened because of Castor's original assurance to Cosby.
Rourke said he got in touch with the woman who told him this story a few years ago, around the time that sexual assault allegations against Cosby began to pile up from more than 50 women. Rourke said he asked her whether she planned to take action against Cosby, now that momentum was building against him. The woman told him no, and Rourke said he felt furious about her decision until he tried to put himself in her shoes and understand the weight of her trauma.
Rourke's anger toward Cosby has never dissipated, and he said one of the worst parts about Cosby's release from prison is that he likely will never show remorse.
"Well, he used to be rich and famous but now he’s just a rapist living in shame but when you can do such horrible things to so many I don’t believe these kind of people live with empathy guilt or shame," Rourke said.
