‘Dateline NBC’ gathers Bill Cosby accusers for special

NEW YORK — NBC News correspondent Kate Snow says that bringing 29 women who have accused Bill Cosby of assault together for a “Dateline NBC” special Friday took on an importance beyond the individual cases.

Snow said that many of the women who participated sensed an opportunity to educate others about the need to talk forthrightly about sexual assault.

“That was important, not just in the context of Bill Cosby but for every woman, every American,” she said.

The NBC broadcast was timed to coincide with Cosby’s scheduled deposition Friday in the case of a woman who accused Cosby of molesting her at the Playboy Mansion in 1974, when she was 15. NBC also was inspired by a New York magazine cover story this summer that gathered many of Cosby’s accusers together for a photograph, although Snow said the network had begun working to gather the interviews before that.

Snow said all of the women who have publicly accused Cosby were asked to participate in the interview, which was recorded in Los Angeles in late August. Twenty-seven women agreed. Snow said she interviewed four other women involved anonymously in a 2005 case against Cosby, and two of them subsequently said they would join the other women on camera.

The interview took five hours, and NBC’s team had to edit it down to a one-hour special that airs at 9 p.m. EDT and PDT.

Some of the women hadn’t discussed their cases before in such a public forum, Snow said. The special includes no women who had not previously made allegations against Cosby.

“They didn’t know each other before, and now they are sitting in a room talking about intimate personal details about the allegations,” she said. “They say there is a power in that.”

While it’s a challenge to interview so many people at the same time, Snow tried to use the sheer numbers to connect dots between their allegations. She asked the women for a show of hands on how many believed Cosby had raped them, had sexually assaulted them and had drugged them.

She also asked how many had reported their allegations to police at the time, or had asked for an examination with a rape kit following the encounters. No women raised their hands to that question, she said.

“I believe it’s healing and it’s cathartic to be able to talk to each other, to look around and be together,” said one woman, Sunni Welles.

Snow said there were several attempts to get Cosby or his representatives to appear on “The Cosby Accusers Speak,” to be broadcast on the network where the comic had his greatest success during the 1980s. They were all declined. A Cosby representative, Monique Pressley, declined to comment to The Associated Press about the NBC show.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum will welcome new CEO in June

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Everett police searching for missing child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive. The child was missing under “suspicious circumstances.”

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.