NORRISTOWN, Pa.—Bill Cosby, at one point one of the most powerful entertainers in the United States, said that there was an area “somewhere between permission and rejection” with women in a long, lurid deposition given more than a decade ago, according to pieces of that deposition read into the record in court today. Cosby, who stands accused of three counts of aggravated indecent assault, described going forward with fondling Andrea Constand because “she did not stop me and, and I wanted to go.” He offered a bizarre version of what happened the night Constand says he drugged and sexually assaulted her—saying that he gave Constand one and a half Benadryls (the well-known side effects of which include sleepiness) and claiming that after taking them, she suddenly wanted to have sex with him. Cosby, though, didn’t consider what they did sex, even though he believed he might have given her an orgasm. He called what they did “petting” or “necking.”
These were only some of the at times disgusting and at times just illogical statements made by Cosby during the series of depositions taken back in 2005 and 2006 as part of Constand’s civil lawsuit against him. These documents were under seal but came out, briefly, after related court records were made public, before swiftly being put under a seal by Cosby’s legal team. They then became evidence in this week’s criminal case.
Although three different outlets have obtained full copies of the depositions and published stories about what they say, none have published the full documents. This means that huge chunks of their narratives are still mysteries. Today, district attorney Kevin Steele read several pages into the official record and in front of jurors. Steele read while playing the part of the attorney asking questions; a law-enforcement officer answered as Cosby. Sitting right below one of the projection screens was the entertainer himself. And as he has all trial, as his own words from all those years ago were read aloud, he simply sat there.
The first section involved Cosby talking about how he interacted with women. First, he had to gain their trust, which he did with Constand. He said “no” when asked if he ever, in that first week, he had expressed his desire to have a romantic relationship with her. Later in the deposition, he explained what a romantic situation is this way: “Romance in terms of steps that would lead to some kind of permission or no permission or getting to about where you are going to wind up.”
A few passages described how Cosby earned Constand’s trust and would invite her over to his home sometimes. The next sections were all Cosby answering questions about how he recalled some of Constand’s visits there. Constand has said, consistently, that she never had a sexual relationship with Cosby until the night when, she says, he drugged and then sexually assaulted her.
In Cosby’s version of events, he had “sexual contact” several times with Constand. He said he had already touched Constand’s butt several times, but that did not count those as sexual contact because “she wanted to tighten up her butt and get a better butt etc. etc. We were able to talk about exercises and things like that.” One time, when Constand came over, he said, the “action” was when he put his hand on her exposed midriff, “just above” where you can go under the pants.