Janice Dickinson received a "very large" settlement after settling a defamation lawsuit with Bill Cosby's insurance company.
The former model claimed Cosby directed his lawyer to slander her after she claimed the disgraced comedian sexually assaulted her. Cosby fought the lawsuit, but AIG, his insurance company, settled the case despite its notorious client's objections.
"This has been a rough road," Janice said in a press conference after the settlement. "It's been over four years since being shamed and being labeled a liar by Cosby."
She claimed that work offers stopped coming in after Cosby, 82, branded her a "liar."
"Truthfully, a settlement is a victory and certainly a measure of justice and helps me sleep better, but in reality nothing can ever erase the experience and memories of an assault," Janice, 64, said. "Jail is where he belongs, but there aren't enough years left to pay for what he has done to so very many, many women."
Cosby, while sitting in prison, has continued to maintain he didn't authorize his lawyer to speak about Janice and argued the lawsuit is without merit, his spokesman told TMZ. "The Cosby Show" star also says the comments, although he didn't make them, are not defamatory. In fact, his team is confident that they would have won in court had the lawsuit gone to trial.
TMZ notes that this is the third time in recent months in which AIG has settled a case over Cosby's objections.
Lisa Bloom, Janice's attorney, didn't specify the amount Janice is receiving, but called it "an epic amount."
"This amount means Janice will be fully and fairly compensated for being branded a liar by Cosby and his representatives," Lisa said, later adding that it is a "major, final, legal victory."
Last September Cosby was sentenced to three to 10 years in state prison for drugging and sexually assaulting a woman in his home in 2004.