Janice Dickinson
Janice Dickinson has said Bill Cosby raped her in 1982 Getty Images

Former supermodel Janice Dickinson has accused Bill Cosby of drugging and raping her.

The 59-year-old star is the latest woman to bring forward allegations of sexual assault against the entertainer, best known for playing of one of America's favourite fathers, Dr Heathcliff Huxtable.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Dickinson claimed that the attack happened back in 1982, after he invited her to visit him in Lake Tahoe, California, where he was performing stand-up.

"The next morning I woke up, and I wasn't wearing my pajamas, and I remember before I passed out that I had been sexually assaulted by this man," she said.

"Before I woke up in the morning, the last thing I remember was Bill Cosby in a patchwork robe, dropping his robe and getting on top of me. And I remember a lot of pain. The next morning I remember waking up with my pajamas off and there was semen in between my legs."

Dickinson said that the she opened up about the alleged assault in her 2002 autobiography, No Lifeguard on Duty: The Accidental Life of the World's First Supermodel, but later buckled to pressure put on her and the publisher by Cosby's lawyers to remove the details.

The TV presenter said she finally decided to speak out to help other victims who are also harbouring a dark secret.

"I'm doing this because it's the right thing to do, and it happened to me, and this is the true story," she said about coming out with her story now. "I believe all the other women."

Multiple women have accused the Cosby Show creator of sexually assaulting them over three decades, although no cases have gone to trial. In 2006 the 77-year-old settled a civil suit with another woman who claimed she was assaulted.

Although Cosby has not commented on the fresh allegations, Netflix has decided to postpone its Bill Cosby special amid the controversy. His appearance on CBS' Late Show With David Letterman was also recently cancelled.

"Mr. Cosby does not intend to dignify these allegations with any comment," the Emmy winner's lawyer said in a statement. "He would like to thank all his fans for the outpouring of support and assure them that, at age 77, he is doing his best work."

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