What Did the Cosby Deposition Really Say?

As Bill Cosby sits in a maximum security prison in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, on a sexual assault conviction, many have celebrated the downfall of the man once known as “America’s Dad.”

Prosecutors gloated and the Associated Press pounded their collective chests about successfully arguing for the release of Cosby’s controversial civil deposition, the linchpin in District Attorney Kevin Steele’s reopening of the decades-old case that led to the comedian’s incarceration.

Three years after the AP fought to obtain the deposition by arguing that Cosby’s portrayal of himself as morally upright was basis for the court to unseal the lengthy document, NNPA Newswire reviewed it in its entirety again this week.

The deposition, which Steele and one of the jurors who convicted Cosby cited as a primary reason for the verdict, paints a picture not yet been drawn either by the media or in court — and one that contradicts the interpretations of mainstream media.

Judge Steven T. O’Neill allowed just a portion of the deposition to be used during Cosby’s trial while the defense maintained that it either should be dismissed altogether or presented in its entirety, not just portions that appear to be damaging.

O’Neill disregarded defense motions and arguments.

Some legal experts and supporters argue the deposition actually exonerates Cosby and that it’s been badly misreported by the Associated Press and others in mainstream media.

The full 87-page document is rich with not just denials of wrongdoing by Cosby, but with explanations that most news outlets never reported, including that he and Constand had engaged in a regular adulterous relationship the immoral comedian desperately hid from his wife of more than a half-century.

Reports have wildly alleged that Cosby admitted to drugging women, but a careful examination reveals such interpretations are inaccurate. (To read the full deposition, click here)

When asked in the deposition by Constand lawyer Delores Troiani about quaaludes and why he received a prescription for them in the 1970s, Cosby answered, “What was happening at that time was that that was — quaaludes happen to be the drug that kids, young people were using to party with and there were times when I wanted to have them just in case.”

Troiani next asked, “Did you ever give any of those young women the quaaludes without their knowledge?” Cosby answered, “No.”

In the deposition, Cosby said that women he did offer quaaludes to knew what they were taking and readily accepted the drug.

One woman who testified against Cosby at trial even said she’d taken a quaalude prior to going to Cosby’s house because she “wanted to get in the mood.”

Constand, the only woman whom he was on trial for, was never offered quaaludes.

Other unreported details of the deposition include Cosby’s account of the night in question, on which he says he and Constand engaged in consensual foreplay.

On that night, Cosby said he and Constand spoke of her anxiety and trouble sleeping and he offered her Benadryl to help her relax. The two spoke of concentrating and relaxing and, according to Cosby’s own words in the deposition, proceeded to “have a necking session.”

Cosby said they kissed passionately and that Constand “got on top of me, and we necked” — none of which was found in the heavily redacted version that Troiani and Steele have spoken about and that the mainstream media reported. It was also redacted at trial.

Cosby told Troiani that Constand removed her hand from his penis and used her hand to shove Cosby’s hand further down her pants.

“She was moaning,” Cosby said. “She did not stop me and I want to go.”

Following the encounter, Cosby prepared a blueberry muffin for Constand and her favorite red zinger tea, and that she bit a piece of the muffin and sipped the tea.

“I feel a glow. I feel that Andrea has a glow about our sexual moment. She is now facing me and facing the living room,” Cosby said. “I walk her out. She does not look angry. She does not say to me, don’t ever do that again. She doesn’t walk out with an attitude of a huff. … And, she went out the door and went to the car. I said to Andrea, call me when you get home.”

Contrary to what’s been reported and what Constand testified at trial, she never went to sleep and was never unconscious.

Further, Cosby discussed the various times he and Constand, without the use of a Benadryl tablet, had engaged in kissing and petting.

In describing the relationship, Cosby told Constand’s attorney how her client wanted “to do something about her — I say behind — but she says, butt. She wanted to tighten up her butt and have a great butt… we were able to talk about exercises and things like that.”

When asked whether he thought Constand had “grandfatherly feelings” toward him, Cosby said no. When Troiani asked why not, Cosby responded:

“She didn’t ask for a quarter or to sit on my lap. I have no idea what you’re talking about. You don’t grab your grandfather’s penis and massage it.”