as barbara tells it, bill cosby was in denver when she auditioned for him backstage. she was 17 alone with a megastar, a married man. she says when he suggested she play a drunk, she followed directions. >> he has me close my eyes, he's stroking my hair, going down my neck, on to my shoulders. every time i would flinch he'd say, no, no, no, you've got to relax. then i started to go even lower on to my breast area. >> you must have thought as a 17-year-old girl sitting there, this is weird. >> i thought, this is very odd but i was very nervous and afraid. >> too nervous they said cosby and her agent moved her to new york, arranged an apartment for her, paid for acting classes. she planned to repay them. cosby asked her to come for a

scripting session. >> i have a couple sips of my wind. end up up stairs not feeling good. i remember leaning over the toilet bowl throwing my guts up and i'm wearing a man's white t-shirt that was not mine, i'm in my panties. they're a wreck. he's holding my hair out of the toilet so that i don't throw up all over my hair. >> do you know how you got there? >> un-uh. i just remember feeling -- having this blackout period. he puts me on the couch and starts explaining to me that i got drunk, that he had to wash my clothes, that's why i was not dressed. >> barbara admits she can't remember everything that happened, but she is certain that she was raped and drugged. >> whatever i was given, it was laced in my drink.

it was like being -- like having a lobotomy. >> if you were that hazy people might wonder, how do you know something happened? >> how do you not know? i didn't show up in a man's t-shirt, i didn't show up with soiled panties and i didn't show up scratched and bruised and dirty. i knew i was raped. >> this time barbara says she told her agent. >> what did she say? do you remember? >> she balled me out. that's not true. no one's going to believe it anyway. >> just to be clear, you never went to police? >> i didn't go to the police. i told my agent. i thought she would protect me. >> date line contacted barbara's agent but the agent declined to comment, and here's the part some may find hard to understand. barbara says she continued to see cosby. during a two-year period she says he raped her more than once

and she felt powerless to stop him. >> a lot of people would be thinking, just walk away, just get out. >> i was completely dominated, controlled in complete and utter brain watch situation. >> in 1987 after what barbara describes as a violent encounter with cosby, she left new york. almost three decades later here in this room -- >> i happened to be the it girl on this episode. >> another woman's story triggered barbara's memories and tears. >> what's the matter? >> just some of that language just -- >> reminiscent. >> the it girl, that got me. >> it's all the same. >> the same. >> barbara says the last thing cosby told her was that he never wanted to see her face or hear her name again. he didn't for decades but then barbara says she found her voice and the other women hearsay they

did, too. >> when we come back -- >> i was like, stop. what are you doing? stop it. >> i knew that something had happened. >> we didn't know there were other people. >> meet the women who first came forward ten years ago. why weren't their stories heard then. >> we were all effectively silenced.

there are 27 women in this room, but together they say they are one. >> i feel like i finally have company and i don't feel lonely anymore. >> amen. amen. [ applause ] >> this is the safest, most accepted group of women that we can talk to. and for me it's powerful and it's beautiful and i'm so glad that i have it. >> some of their stories begin

with the cosby show. super model beverly johnson says she got a call from her agent in the mid 1980s. cosby wanted her to audition for a role on the show. beverly was overjoyed. >> who was he at that time? >> he was the biggest entertainer in the world. >> and not just an entertainer. over the years bill cosby became a philanthropist, a role model. in 2002 he was awarded the presidential medal of freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. cosby also began speaking out to the african-american community criticizing life choices. >> the day is now for you to realize how important parenting is, how important love is, how important staying with your child is. >> talk of the cosby legend elicits raw anger here.

sunni wells. >> really duped america. we were completely drugged, everybody in america, by bill cosby. >> they say it took a woman named andrea constan to break the spell. she's not in this room, but in 2005 she filed a criminal complaint against bill cosby accusing him of sexual assault the year before. >> bill cosby is the focus of a police investigation near philadelphia. it stems from an allegation -- >> cosby's attorney called the allegation preposterous. the authorities decided there wasn't enough evidence to press criminal charges. constand filed a civil suit. barbara bowman heard the news and called constand's attorney. >> i said, i believe your client because it happened to me. >> 12 other women also came forward and spoke to constand's attorney all saying they had been sexually assaulted by bill cosby.

>> i cried when i found out there were 13 women because i didn't think there were 13, i didn't think there were 2. i thought there was one, me. >> all 13 agreed to tell their stories under oath anonymously. they became known as the jane does. date line talked to a small group of them, rebecca kuper neil, patricia sawyer, christina rulely and beth. >> thank you for being here. >> they say bill cosby drugged them or sexually assaulted them or tried to. rebecca said she was working as a massage therapist in las vegas when cosby raped her in the 1980s. >> what are you doing? stop it. he's like, i'm not going to hurt you. just calm down. >> patricia said she was assaulted in 1978 and again in 1980. >> why would you go back knowing that something bad had already happened? >> it wasn't until the last time i was with him that i knew that

something had happened while i was unconscious. >> the jane does didn't know each other in 2005 but they say they felt compelled to act. >> we were doing what was -- we thought was right. we were standing up for a fellow woman. >> but as they prepared to testify in 2006, they got word that bill cosby and andrea constand had settled out of court. constand signed a confidentiality agreement which prevents her from talking about the case publicly. for the jane does, the settlement was a mixed blessing. >> i was simultaneously disappointed and relieved. >> i was relieved and happy for her. >> but we were all effectively silenced. >> so as you look at it now i think you turned this story in a way in 2005? >> i believe the jane does did have an impact on that suit in 2005. >> it scared him to the point of settling out of court. >> some of the jane does decided

to go public. beth did. so did barbara. but the story lost traction until 2014. bill cosby was making a comeback. there was a flattering new biography. nbc was developing a new cosby sitcom. netflix had taped a special. then along came a comedian named hannibul burris. he had been killing it. at some point he worked in a bit about cosby. >> pull your pants off black people, i was on tv in the '80s. >> when burris called cosby a rapist on a philadelphia stage, somebody recorded it and posted it and it went viral. >> raping women, bill cosby. >> weeks later barbara wrote a piece for the washington post that got national attention. >> why did it take 30 years for people to believe me.

>> why did it? >> he had such a strong bubble of protection. >> cosby's attorneys put out a statement saying decade old discredited allegations have resurfaced. the fact that they are being repeated does not make them true, but this time the story wasn't going away. barbara says she knows why. >> people were listening. finally people were listening. >> listening and reaching out to her. women in this room with stories like hers. women like jewel allyson. >> i was one of those people that contacted barbara. i did not know barbara at all. for me, seeing her having the strength to come forward helped me tremendously. >> i love you, jewel. thank you, honey. >> late last year after barbara's essay and the burris video, it seemed like the flood gates opened.

dozens of women began stepping out with similar allegations. hard for some in this room to hear. coming up -- >> i went into shock. i went into bad shock. >> four decades later, the pain is still fresh. >> it was his gloating over my humiliation that stayed with me more than anything. he let me know, you think you're going somewhere in this business? you're a loser. >> when "dateline" continues. cry-proof, stay-proof look? neutrogena® makeup remover does. it erases 99% of your most stubborn makeup with one towelette. need any more proof than that? neutrogena.

i had to tell my story. >> he was a blackman who was a pillar in the black community. i'm going to participate in knocking this man off his pedestal. >> so why did you do it? >> my conscience and my principles. >> good for you. >> big girl. good for you. [ applause ] >> this is a difficult subject. ladies do not discuss these things openly. they don't even discuss it with each other. >> that's right. that's right. >> maybe that's why it keeps

happening. >> that's why. we need to start talking about it. >> the conversation needs to be had. >> their stories span decades. in some cases, memories are murky and details, like dates, are elusive. the allegations vary widely from harassment, to groping, to rape. there are many similarities. >> i got to know him a little bit. >> marsella tate was a 27-year-old model when she says she met cosby in chicago. it was 1975. one day he invited her to the "playboy" mansion, she says, and handed her a drink. >> i took really no more than two or three sips of it and i really lost consciousness. >> you lost consciousness? >> i lost consciousness. i was struggling to get to consciousness. i was in a bed. he was next to me. he didn't have anything on that i could tell and i was groggy and i had no experience with drugs so i didn't even recognize

what was wrong with me. i was just holding my head because i didn't know what was happening. and that was what was so terrifyi terrifying. >> in this room of all of you who say you were drugged, doubront what you took? >> no. not any idea. >> these women say if cosby wasn't offering drinks or dinner, he'd offer something else, career advice. >> how many of you thought bill cosby was going to be your mentor? that's a lot of hands. can i go to you, lilly? you thought bill cosby was mentoring you initially? >> oh, yeah. i didn't think that, i knew that. >> actress lilly bernard appeared on the cosby show. she says cosby earned her trust. one night in 1990, she says, he offered her a drink. >> he said, drink it, bernard, drink t. very quickly the room started spilling. >> lilly said she became incapacitated and cosby raped

her. >> the next memory i'm on the floor, i'm on the carpet. i remember the sensation of the carpet against the flesh of my back like velcro, like this, and it hurt. and i couldn't move because of the drugs. and i remember him on top of me. i passed out again. my next memory is there's cold water splashing on my chest. est bathing me. i woke to the cold water splashing on my chest. i still was really growingy and like a noodle, like a wet noodle. he pulled me to the edge of the bed and he -- because i couldn't, he was pulling on my stockings very quickly and tok g me to a car. >> their accounts are so intimate, so disturbing, many hearsay they still aren't sure what happened to them, but this summer excerpts of a long sealed deposition from the constand case was released. he was asked, when you got the quaaludes was it in your mind that you were going to use the qua lauds for young women that you wanted to have sex with?

the answer was yes. he was asked did you ever give any of the young women those quaaludes without their knowledge? and the attorney told him not to answer. >> i knew he gave me something. >> linda brown was a 21-year-old model when she says she had dinner with bill cosby. she says he raped her after drugging her. >> i don't know if it was quaaludes but i know i was drugged. >> the significance of hearing -- >> it was refreshing. okay, he's basically admitting that he did that to us. >> linda ridgeway whitedeer tells a different story. there were no drugs involved when she said cosby assaulted her. linda, an actress, said she met cosby for a job interview in the early 1970s but minutes into the meeting she said he did something so shocking that four decades later this grandmother struggles to describe it. >> so i plopped down real fast in the chair.

his hand came around and gently got ahold of my hear and when i looked up i was staring at his genitals and he shoved his penis into my mouth. it was over in seconds. and i went into shock. i went into bad shock. and maybe it was because of who he was. it was his gloating over my humiliation that stayed with me more than anything. he let me know, you think you're going somewhere in this business. you're a loser. >> many of these women say they also felt humiliated, stayed quiet, and they say there were others who helped build a wall of silence around cosby, others who knew. >> let me be really precise. do you think that people knew he was, in your words, attacking women? >> yes. >> oh, yeah. >> oh, yeah. >> yes. >> absolutely. coming up, who else might

have known? >> i said, why are we up here? she said, this is where he wants you. >> stories from the sell the. >> he was yelling. he was rageful. >> i can assure you people knew.

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our top stories. lamar odom's condition is improving according to his former college coach. he was coached at rhode island. odom is off dialysis and expects

to visit him next week. the former nba star was found unconscious in l.a. >> like it or not, winter is on the way. snow is falling across the u.s. flakes received in michigan and upstate new york. now it's back for more msnbc special. i was very naive and trusting. i've never had any reason not to be. >> it's a snapshot in time. a wall of photos capturing the youthful ambition, hopes, and dreams of the 27 women we brought to los angeles. >> it's sad but at the same time it's beautiful. >> photos from 20, 30 or more years ago. >> many are the faces of aspiring models and actresses

who say their lives changed forever when they met bill cosby. >> that man took that girl and he killed her because a part of me inside is dead. >> former play boy bunny p.j. ma maston had another photo to show us. she's with bill cosby. she first got to know him while working at a "playboy" club in new jersey. several years later he drugged and raped her. >> i woke up in bed naked. i looked next to me and he was there naked. i got out of the bed. i slithered not to wake him. blood was coming down my legs. and i collected my clothing and i was completely freaked out. >> did you tell anyone? >> i told my boss. i told her and she said, well, nobody's going to believe you. i suggest you shut your mouth. >> many of the women we interviewed suspected bill

cosby's behavior was an open secret in hollywood. >> let me be really precise. do you think that people knew he was, in your words, attacking women? >> yes. >> yes. >> oh, yeah. >> yes. >> former "playboy" bun any serita butterfield said bill cosby invited her to christmas eve dinner in 1977. >> after dinner that evening he assaults me. corners me and gets me alone in the guest house and sexually assaults me. >> cosby groped her even though family and friends were nearby. >> i was so embarrassed. i just wanted to be invisible. and then i was ashamed. and then i'm thinking, did they know? >> can anybody think of a very specific example of an eye witness or a person who was where you were with bill cosby? >> i had a handler. >> after beating cosby at a

tennis tournament, linda kirkpatrick said she claimed her prize, tickets to her show. linda said she was taken backstage before the performance. >> there was a big group of people milling about and i was assigned to a handler, a tall, beautiful blond woman from beverly hills. >> who worked for bill cosby. >> i don't know their relationship. i had a few sips of a clear liquid. next thing i know i was not in a dressing room anywhere. i was with my handler with a spotlight. i turned to her in a flash of lucidity. i said, why are we up here? she said, this is where he wants you. >> linda said the woman who she called a handler took her back to the dressing room. that's where he sexually assaulted her. >> i'm not going to say she knew i was drug but she well knew i was incapacitated. >> linda says she has no idea

how she got home. charlotte fox told us the same thing. >> i don't know how i got home. i'm at the "playboy" mansion after a jazz set. i come back from the bathroom. the next thing i know, i wake up in a bed. i don't know how i got home. >> charlotte, if so many people saw things or were handling you, taking you around, working for bill cosby, why would none of them have said anything for the past 40 years? >> money trumps everything. people have jobs. they have families. they see it, they know it, and they don't say anything. >> former model eden turrel said she saw that firsthand. eden said cosby's assistant plucked her out of rehearsal to take her to cosby's dressing room. she didn't like being singled out. >> they all told me not to worry

about it, that this happens all the time. i said, well, this does not happen all the time with me and i'm not comfortable with it. >> but eden says it happened two more times and the last time cosby did show up. she says, he locked the dressing room door behind him and asked her to do an acting exercise with him. >> then he pulled me into his body and wrapped his arms around me tightly and nuz ld myself into his neck and he said, see, this is making love. that's all we were going to do, make love. >> who did you tell about that experience? >> i went back to the person that i had talked to earlier on in the week when i said, this doesn't feel okay to me. >> on the set? >> on the set. i'm incensed that there is nobody coming forward. i can assure you people knew. >> lilly bernard agrees. she says in full view of the crew on the cosby show sound stage she confronted bill cosby of drugging her and they began

coiling up their wires and recoiling out of fear. >> both nbc and carsey warner, the company that made the cosby show, declined to comment. last year they told "the boston globe" in part that, quote, these recent news reports are beyond our knowledge or comprehension. "playboy" enterprises sent us this statement from hugh hefner. bill cosby has been a good friend for many years and the mere thought of these allegations is truly saddening. i would never tolerate this ber kind of of behavior regardless of who was involved. we spent five hours interviewing these 27 women with their 27 stories of betrayal, secrets, and violation, but cosby's supporters point out there are always two sides to a story. sometimes they say stories simply aren't true. >> how many of you reported

things to police at the time of the incident? nobody. >> coming up. he has vehemently denied the allegations. >> a closer look at the story. >> none of you in this room have dna evidence, witnesses who have come forward, no police reports, sketchy memories. why should we believe you? >> when "dateline" continues. you rally the team. we give you relief from your cough. you give them a case of the giggles. tylenol® cold helps relieve even your worst cold & flu symptoms. so you can give them everything you've got. tylenol®

their stories are so wrenching, so personal.

>> then i wake up in a room with no clothes and cosby is crawling up the bed. >> but for now, that's all they are, stories. and one side of the story at that, because for every woman finding her voice -- >> i believe it's healing and it's cathartic to be able to talk to each other, to look around and be together. >> bill cosby has said very little. he did not respond when asked about the allegations last year during an interview with the associated press. >> there's no response. >> cosby later told a florida newspaper, a guy doesn't have to answer to innuendos. people should fact check. >> the person who perhaps knows bill cosby best, his wife of 50 years, camille, his issued a public statement of support and earlier this year so did members of cosby's other family, his tv one. >> all i can speak to is the man that i know and that i love.

the fact that he has been such an example. you can't take away from the grade that he has done. >> monique presley is one of bill cosby's attorneys. she told msnbc's thomas roberts in july that the star adamantly denies doing anything wrong. >> he has vehemently denied the allegation that he, one, without consent gave anyone a drug and that he, two, without consent had a relationship or had sexual interaction with another adult. >> as bill cosby's legal team has repeatedly pointed out, he has never been charged with a crime. the sheer number of his accusers, they say, does not make the women's stories true. >> let's talk about what his side has said. how many of you reported anything to police at the time of the incident? nobody. did any of you go to a hospital for a rape kit exam? cosby's attorney has said, quote, it is completely illogical that so many people

would have said nothing, done nothing, and made no reports. >> when it happened to me it was no such thing as like date rape. i've never even heard of somebody being drugged and raped. >> cindra ladd said bill cosby assaulted her in 1969. >> i never even thought of going to the police. it wasn't even a thought in my mind. rape was done but somebody on the street. >> that is exactly right. >> i didn't report my sexual assault because i blamed myself. >> many of the women, like janice baker kinney said they felt too ashamed. i'm one of the few that did accept pills from him. when i woke up the next morning i apologized to him for passing out. >> oh, my god. >> when i think about that i apologized to him knowing what i know now, it makes my skin crawl. >> the drugs were a big part of

this. we did not know what had happened to us. >> but the mention of drugs does raise questions. >> how can you be sure if you were out of it? how can you be sure what happened? >> if you know anything about your mind, you know. you know something is not quite right and you wake up with no clothes on, you know that you not at the beach. okay? and you don't say anything to anybody because who's going to believe you? >> that's right. >> there is another reason lilly bernard said she didn't report bill cosby. she said she was afraid of what he would do to her if she did. >> when i confronted him about it and told him that i would call the police, he told me that as soon as i left the police station he would go to the police station and file a police report against me for false accusation and defamation and who are they going to believe? i'm going to make sure you end up in prison a very long time.

cosby's attorneys have not commented publicly on lily's story nor on any of the other women we've interviewed. they have suggested some of the aspiring actors cosby mentored might not be as innocent as they claim. >> an attorney for cosby said, quote, how many men and women have offered themselves up on a casting couch and then had remorse. >> oh, sweet jesus. >> you said a lawyer said that? >> first of all, those are his attorneys and that's what they are paid to do, is to throw it back on us. >> many of these women never set eyes on bill cosby again after the alleged assaults, but like barbara bowman, a handful did accept other invitations from him, including linda bernard and sunny wells. she was 17 when cosby took her to a jazz club.

after drinking a glass of soda she blacked out and woke up alone. >> naked and alone. no note, no nothing. and i just -- i had no idea what was going on. i went back to my mom's apartment. i called her up at the office and i told her, i think that bill cosby raped me, mom. she said, oh, my god, no. no. are you kidding? no. >> your mom. >> yeah, my mom. >> she said she knew she had been raped, could feel it, but when even her own mother didn't believe her, sunny said she went into denial, that's why she agreed to see the star again. >> literally, even though i had physical manifestations of being raped, i disputed what i felt. i stuffed my feelings because he was bill cosby. >> we reached out to bill cosby and his legal team repeatedly over the past six weeks for comment. both he and his attorneys declined to talk to us. while reporting this story we

did look into the backgrounds of the women. we found out that some of them had been in trouble with the law but all of the women stand by their stories and asked how all 27 women in this room could be lying. victoria valentino. >> we never met until this all broke. >> yes. >> that's right. >> what did we do, create this whole fantasy individually and then, i don't know how, by telepathy communicate with each other and say, hey, meet us in 45 years. big reunion, you know? >> bill cosby has never been charged with any crime as you well know. none of you in this room have dna evidence, witnesses who have come forward, no police reports, sketchy memories. why should we believe you? >> it's insane that people actually think that any of us would have come together to bring down some celebrity, whose celebrity has already started to

fade long before we came forward. we're using our voices to say, this isn't okay. >> amen. coming up -- >> i'd like to look into the camera and say, you didn't know we'd all find each other, did you? >> the new legal battle against bill cosby. >> our client wants justice. that's all she wants, justice. >> could this woman have a case?

we saw women get apg gri, stair down at the floor and shake their heads in disbelief. we also saw them find comfort in being together. >> i'm not afraid anymore. i refuse to be afraid anymore. i refuse to give him that pleasure. it's been a pleasure meeting everyone. it's been a pleasure to know that i'm not the only one anymore. >> since our interview, the number of bill cosby's accusers have continued to grow. >> so i pushed him away and i said, what are you doing? >> three more women appeared at a press conference accusing cosby of inappropriate behavior. >> we believe the women! we believe the women! >> it seems like the public is paying attention. earlier this year hecklers and

protesters disrupted bill cosby's standup tour called "far from finished." >> tell the one about how to get away with rape. >> business deals have sourd soured, too. nbc canceled its, netflix shefd its and cable companies have pulled reruns of "cosby show." >> what would you say to bill cosby if you have an opportunity to talk to him right now. >> i'd like to look into the camera and say, you didn't know we'd all find everybody, did you? >> i'd like to say, karma's a pitch. >> more changes to come. none of the women we saw have sued the women. four other women have signed on to two defamation suits against him. after coming forward with allegations that bill cosby assaulted them, they say cosby satisfies side ruined their reputations by branding them liars.

cosby's attorneys say the suits are meritless. >> i'm inspired by her courage. >> and then there's this woman, judy huf. her attorney is gloria allred. >> she alleges that she was 15 years old when she became the victim of sexual misconduct by bill cosby at the "playboy" mansion. >> the statutes of limitations have run out for most of the women accusing bill cosby of assault, but judy huff may be an exception because of her age at the time. last december she sued cosby for sexual battery and inflicting emotional distress. >> she's one of the few women who has been able to pursue a civil case. why is that? >> in california we have a longer time period for individuals who allege that they are adult survivors of child sexual abuse to file a civil lawsuit. >> cosby's attorneys say that interpretation of the law is wrong. it's too late, they say, for

huff to file a claim. what's more, in a court filing they state that huff's allegations are, quote, absolutely false, and that she has changed her story over time. they have also challenged specific details of her story and accused huff of engaging in extorsion. >> the charge from cosby's attorneys has been that your client, jewetty huff, is in this for money. >> our client, judy huff, wants justice. she wants her day in court and that's all she wants is justice. >> and it turns out huff's lawsuit could force cosby to answer questions about other accusers, too. bill cosby was scheduled to give a deposition in huff's case. >> i mean, you can ask about other women? >> i know that it is no surprise to his attorneys that we would like to ask about the accusations of other accusers where it might be relevant to demonstrating a pattern of mr.

cosby's. >> whatever happens next, all the women say they have no regrets about coming forward. they hope their stories will inspire change. >> and this to me says enough. stop. that's it. we're coming forward to say that we're not going to be oppressed and we're not going to be abused and we're not going to be treated in an unfair way. >> this body of women are moving the needle. not much, but we're still moving it and that's the power we all feel. >> some of the women are working to extend the statutes of limitation in sexual assault cases. lisa laluvlin has already helped change the law in nevada. beth ferrier, helen hayes and heidi thomas recently met with their state representative in colorado. barbara bowman who kept her story secret for so long now tells it publicly as part of her work with pave, a nonprofit

group devoted to raising awareness of sexual assault. >> i feel very honored and blessed to be in this position now. it's very gratifying and vindicating to watch lives be restored. that's powerful. >> these women, mothers and grandmothers themselves now, say they can't change the past but they can change the future. >> i have a 9-year-old daughter, and i wonder what you all think we should be saying to our daughters. >> never be afraid to speak. >> cindra? >> i think for me, i feel like if i can be of service to another generation by standing up and showing how important it is for everyone to stand up and tell the truth and that it's okay, and look what we've created here.

that's all for now. i'm lester holt. thanks for joining us. this is just a bad dream. >> what do you do? >> i'm absolutely innocent. >> i'm american. >> i did not do this. >> i live in california. >> i've never tortured an american before.