Beverly Johnson says she has forgiven the man she accuses of drugging her 30 years ago.
In an interview with Good Morning America on Wednesday, Johnson was asked what she would like to say to Bill Cosby. Although she said that “it was like a family member had betrayed me,” Johnson would ultimately like to say, “I forgive you.”
She credits her courage to come forward to the other two dozen plus women who have struggled through a similar experience. Asked what she thinks should happen to Cosby, she answered, “Well, I’m going to leave that to the justice department. I just feel that he’s a lightening rod for a much bigger conversation. That conversation would be the rape culture in America.”
Jonhson recounts her encounter with the famed comedian in her new memoir, The Face that Changed It All, written with journalist Allison Samuels.
The 62-year-old shares that Cosby had invited her to his home to read for a role. Once there she says he kept offering her espresso.
“He kept insisting I’d never had a cappuccino like this one, and I’d be missing out on something really spectacular,” she writes. “I didn’t want to argue with him after he’d been so gracious, so against my better judgment I took a few sips. In an instant, I felt woozy.”
“It was such a huge sense of betrayal for me,” Johnson told GMA.