Bill Cosby countersues accuser for $250,000 'shakedown'
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (Christian Examiner) -- Bill Cosby filed a countersuit Dec. 4 against an accuser who brought a lawsuit against him, and Cosby's lawyer is claiming his client is taking action to avoid being extorted for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Judith Huth recently filed a civil suit against the comedian for allegedly molesting her at the Playboy Mansion in 1974, but Cosby's team calls the incident "absolutely false."
Huth filed her case in Los Angeles Superior Court Dec. 2 saying that Cosby had lured her to the Playboy Mansion at 15 alongside her 16-year-old friend. However, Cosby's attorney Martin Singer said that he spoke to her lawyer Marc Strecker and "rejected" the terms of $100,000 and $250,000 last month for the incident not to go to court.
"Once Mr. Cosby refused to capitulate to his extortionate demands and accused Ms. Huth and her attorney of engaging in a shakedown, (Strecker) rushed to court within a day to file the lawsuit in an attempt to avoid the ramifications of engaging in extortion," the countersuit reads.
Now Cosby is demanding Huth's suit be dismissed in court as well as she and her attorney be monetarily sanctioned for $33,000.
Huth and Strecker have not commented directly on Cosby's countersuit.
"I'm really focused on winning the case in court, not in the court of public opinion," he told The New York Daily News.
Cosby, known internationally as the educated and moral head of television's Huxtable family, previously has been very open about his faith in God and his Christian upbringing. His high-profile talks about education and uplift in the African-American community make the accusations of his immoral behavior even more shocking.
Cosby and his legal team have categorically denied all claims and consistently remind the public that the comedian was never charged in any crime.
"I know people are tired of me not saying anything, but a guy doesn't have to answer to innuendos. People should fact check. People shouldn't have to go through that and shouldn't answer to innuendos," Cosby told Florida Today in a recent interview.