The woman who was at the center of Bill Cosby’s recent trial, Andrea Constand, says that although it’s taken years, she’s forgiven Cosby for the 2004 drugging and indecent assault of which he was convicted in April.
“I forgave Bill Cosby for what he did to me, “ she said on NBC’s Dateline on Friday night, noting that she was angry about what happened for a long time. “It’s been many, many years. And if I did not forgive him, I wouldn’t have peace.”
Constand, who has rarely spoken publicly about the incident, said that she initially didn’t think anyone would believe her, not only because of Cosby’s notoriety but also because of the wholesome characters he’s played over the years.
“It was Bill Cosby. It was Dr. Huxtable,” Constand said, later adding, “Who’s going to believe me?”
Constand said that she finally told her mother a year after the assault because she said she feared that if she didn’t, there would be other victims.
“I woke up crying and I said, ‘Mom, Mr. Cosby drugged me and he sexually violated me,’” Constand recalled. “And she was so caught off guard.”
Of the specific drugging that happened at Cosby’s suburban-Philadelphia home, she said she went “limp” after taking what Cosby offered her.
“My mind is saying, ‘Move your hands. Kick. Can you do anything? I don’t want this. Why is this person doing this?’”
Cosby, 80, was found guilty on all counts at his retrial on April 26. (The first trial ended in a hung jury last summer.) He faces up to 30 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for September.