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A woman who said she was drugged and sexually assaulted by veteran US entertainer Bill Cosby was awarded more than $19 million on Monday after a civil hearing in California.
Donna Motsinger said she was working as a waitress more than 50 years ago when the performer began to target her.
The hearing in Santa Monica was told how the comedian had initially come into the restaurant where the now-84-year-old Motsinger worked.
One day when he picked her up in his limousine, Cosby gave her a glass of wine and what she thought was an aspirin.
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She began slipping in and out of consciousness and the next thing she knew she was waking up at home, wearing only her underwear.
“She knew she had been drugged and raped by Bill Cosby,” the suit said.
Attorneys said Cosby, 88, did not remember any sexual contact with Motsinger, but that any that had occurred had been consensual.
The jury took three days to deliver its verdict, ordering Cosby to pay $19.3 million, a figure that could increase if they add punitive damages.
The case was heard in the same courthouse where a 2022 jury ordered Cosby to pay $500,000 in damages to Judy Huth after finding that he had molested her in 1975 when she was just 16 years old.
The man formerly known as “America’s Dad” was jailed in Pennsylvania for drugging and molesting a woman in a separate criminal case in 2018, but was freed in 2021 when his conviction was overturned on a technicality.
Cosby was a towering figure in late 20th century American popular culture, including for his starring role in “The Cosby Show,” which ran from 1984 to 1992.
Dozens of women have accused Cosby of being a calculating, serial predator who plied victims with sedatives and alcohol before assaulting them over four decades.
Chuck Norris, a former martial arts champion and 1980s action-film hero, has died at the age of 86, according to his family.
In a statement posted to Instagram on Friday, his family described Norris’s death as sudden.
Fellow action movie stars have paid tribute to Chuck Norris.
“It is with heavy hearts that our family shares the sudden passing of our beloved Chuck Norris yesterday morning,” the Norris family wrote.
“While we would like to keep the circumstances private, please know that he was surrounded by his family and was at peace.”
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According to the publication Variety, Norris had been hospitalised in Hawaii since Thursday, though details were not disclosed.
Norris was the six-time undefeated World Professional Middleweight Karate Champion from 1968 to 1974. But he rose to wider fame in a series of action films, including 1985’s Code of Silence, 1984’s Missing in Action and 1986’s The Delta Force.
He further cemented his status as a household name when he starred from 1993 to 2001 in the popular TV series Walker, Texas Ranger, playing a principled lawman.
Norris’s tough-guy image made him an internet meme in his later years, though he received pushback for his far-right political views and embrace of conspiracy theories.
His family expressed gratitude to fans for their prayers during his hospitalisation.
“He lived his life with faith, purpose, and an unwavering commitment to the people he loved,” the post read. “Through his work, discipline, and kindness, he inspired millions around the world and left a lasting impact on so many lives.”
“We knew each other from my early days, and I always
respected the man he was,” Jean-Claude Van Damme wrote on Instagram.
The Belgian found fame as a martial arts actor similar to Norris in the 1980s and 1990s.
“Chuck Norris is the champ,” Dolph Lundgren wrote on Instagram.
“Ever since I was a young martial artist and later getting into movies, I always looked up to him as a role model.
“Someone who had the respect, humility and strength it takes to be a man.”
Action star Sylvester Stallone, who starred in and co-wrote the 2012 film The Expendables 2, has also paid tribute to Norris.
“I had a great time working with Chuck,” he said on Instagram.
“He was All American in every way.
“Great man and my condolences to his wonderful family.”
The actors all appeared together in the action movie, which is about a former marine turned mercenary.
Chuck Norris worked and formed friendships with high-profile political figures in the United States, and internationally.
Among those he grew to know well were former US President George HW Bush Sr, former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Norris “will be remembered not only for his many talents, but for the warmth and friendship he extended to those who knew him,” the George and Barbara Bush Foundation says in an Instagram post.
