Janice Dickinson is encouraging women to come forward and speak up about rape after her own alleged rapist, Bill Cosby, was found guilty of sexual assault.
The former model, 63, attended a fundraising event in honor of congressional candidate Katie Hill at lawyer Lisa Bloom’s home in Woodland Hills, California, where she spoke with Us Weekly about Cosby’s April 25 verdict, which found him guilty of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his home.
When asked what message she would send to women in the modeling industry who find themselves in an uncomfortable situations, the Surreal Life alum told Us, “Find legal representation like Lisa or find a woman out there that believes you, that doesn’t put you down.”
“Just look what’s happened throughout the years, when women have come forward and they weren’t believed. Look at all the rape kits that are still left on the shelf that haven’t been investigated. I just really want the rules the changed,” the reality TV personality continued. “I’ll say this and I’ll leave you with this, but the statute of limitations, hopefully through Katie Hills’ help, that we can get no statute of limitations for rape.”
As previously reported, Dickinson accused Cosby of sexually assaulting her in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, in 1982. She was the third woman to come forward and accuse the actor of rape, although several other women subsequently went public with similar allegations.
At the time, the No Lifeguard on Duty author alleged that the Cosby Show alum gave her a pill and a glass of wine to help her menstrual cramps, telling the outlet, “The next morning I woke up, and I wasn’t wearing my pajamas, and I remember before I passed out thinking that I had been sexually assaulted by this man … The last thing I remember was Bill Cosby in a patchwork robe, dropping his robe and getting on top of me. And I remember a lot of pain.”
On Thursday, April 25, the disgraced TV star, 80, was found guilty of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004 and he now faces up to 30 years in prison. Dickinson was among the witnesses who testified against Cosby. The day after the verdict, Dickinson told The Daily Mail, “He deserves every bit of 20 years and more. I hope he rots in hell.”
With reporting by Emily Marcus
