A woman who accused comedian Bill Cosby of a sexual assault incident that occurred in 1965 has withdrawn her lawsuit for defamation.
Kristina Ruehli is one of more than 50 people who have accused Bill Cosby of sexual assault. She had also filed a lawsuit of defamation against him in 2015 for affecting her image by accusing her of lying about the incident. She withdrew the lawsuit on Friday.
While initially she did not give a reason why, she has since told The Washington Post that she has achieved her goal of exposing Cosbyโs actions and thus does not need to continue with the lawsuit.
โI do not want Cosbyโs money, as I have wealth of my own,โ Ruehli said. โAnd, at age 73, itโs a little too late for celebrity.โ
A spokesman of Bill Cosby has said this is the second defamation lawsuit to be dismissed, and that he โhopes and expects that there will be moreโ dismissed.
Kristina Ruehli complained of an incident in 1965, when she was twenty-two years old, and working as a secretary for a Los Angeles talent agency. After being invited to a party at Bill Cosbyโs home in LA, she was allegedly given two drinks and woke up naked in his bed, and he tried to force her to give him oral sex.
She did not report the allegation to the police at the time because she believed sheโd be โlaughed atโ, being a secretary compared to facing the word of a celebrity.