March 23, 2026
Outside the Santa Monica courthouse, Motsinger expressed a sense of hard-won relief.
In a stinging judicial rebuke of the man once dubbed “America’s Dad,” a California jury has ordered Bill Cosby to pay more than $19 million in damages to Donna Motsinger. The verdict, delivered Monday, concludes that the 88-year-old comedian drugged and sexually assaulted Motsinger over 50 years ago.
The $19.25 million judgment follows a civil trial in which Motsinger, a former waitress, detailed a harrowing account from 1972. She alleged that following one of Cosby’s comedy performances, he provided her with wine and a pill that rendered her unconscious. According to court documents, Motsinger awoke in her home partially clothed, realizing she had been “drugged and raped by Bill Cosby.”
Outside the Santa Monica courthouse, Motsinger expressed a sense of hard-won relief.
“It has been 54 years to get justice, and I know it’s not complete for the rest of the women, but I hope it helps them a little bit,” she said. She added that while the money was “icing on the cake,” the true victory was being believed and seeing Cosby held accountable for his actions.
The jury’s decision marks the second major civil loss for the “Cosby Show” star in recent years, following a 2022 liability finding in the Judy Huth case. Despite the mounting legal defeats, Cosby’s defense team remained defiant. Attorney Jennifer Bonjean confirmed plans for an appeal, stating, “I was obviously disappointed in the decision, but we believe we have a strong appeal and we’ll pursue that.”
This latest sexual assault verdict hits a comedian who has claimed significant financial distress. In a deposition last fall, Cosby likened his dwindling net worth to a “submarine with no motor,” citing a decade-long drought in earnings due to the widespread allegations against him. The California jury is expected to determine further punitive damages, which could increase the final total.
The $19.25 million judgment follows a “downward financial spiral” for the 88-year-old comedian, marked by legal fees and a 2025 mortgage default on his New York townhouse. Despite these asset management failures, Cosby still draws from The Cosby Show residuals, which generated over $1.5 billion in syndication. Ultimately, the California jury prioritized restitution for the 1972 sexual assault, holding him accountable regardless of his reported net worth decline.
During a deposition in the lawsuit last fall, Cosby painted a bleak picture of his current status, claiming he has not earned a cent as a working entertainer in over a decade. He described his plummeting net worth with a vivid, mechanical metaphor:
“Due to allegations, whether they be newspaper, radio, television, magazines or just plain internet, I have not worked in about 10 years, or more… my net worth has gone down like a submarine with no motor.”
Today, the disgraced entertainer is worth a reported $200 million- half of what his previous net worth was.
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