BOSTON: A federal appeals court on Wednesday rejected a bid to revive a defamation lawsuit against Bill Cosby by an actress who said the entertainer raped her in 1974 and then called her a liar after she made her accusations public in a newspaper interview.
The lawsuit, filed by Kathrine McKee, revolved around a letter that an attorney for Cosby sent New York’s Daily News in 2014 as a wave of women was coming forward to accuse the comedian of a string of sexual assaults dating back to the 1960s.
The statute of limitations on the alleged crimes had long expired, leading some accusers to pursue civil lawsuits, such as McKee’s. The lawsuits and accusations by dozens of women shattered the family-friendly reputation Cosby built in a career highlighted by his role in the 1980s television hit “The Cosby Show.”
Cosby, 80, has denied wrongdoing, saying any encounters with his accusers were consensual. He is awaiting an April retrial in Pennsylvania on charges he sexually assaulted a former basketball coach at his alma mater, Temple University.
McKee argued in her suit that the attorney’s letter to the newspaper called her a liar by saying the article was “defamatory, characterizing her claims as “wild” and suggesting she had a criminal record.
But the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston stood by a lower-court ruling that the entertainer could not be sued over the letter.
The decision found that McKee had made herself a public figure by wading into the controversy with Cosby, rejecting her claim that her dispute with the entertainer was a private one. As a public figure, McKee would have to prove that Cosby acted with malice in his response.
“The web of sexual assault allegations implicating Cosby, an internationally renowned comedian commonly referred to as ‘America’s Dad,’ constitutes a public controversy,” US Circuit Judge Sandra Lynch wrote for the three-judge panel.
William Salo, McKee’s attorney, said he disagreed with the decision and may appeal.
“They’re saying just because a famous person rapes you, you become a public figure if you complain about it,” he said.
Alan Greenberg, a lawyer for Cosby, welcomed the “well-reasoned decision confirming that there was no defamation.”
McKee sued Cosby in 2015, a year after the Nevada resident told the newspaper he raped her in a Detroit hotel room in 1974.
Court refuses to revive defamation suit against Bill Cosby
Court refuses to revive defamation suit against Bill Cosby
Philippine city in state of calamity as landfill collapse death toll rises
- 16 people remain missing under piles of waste nearly a week after the incident
- On Monday, the city’s mayor said ‘signs of life’ were still detected under debris
MANILA: Cebu City in the central Philippines has been in a state of calamity since last week’s collapse of a landfill that left at least 20 people dead, authorities said on Wednesday.
A huge mound of garbage at the 15-hectare Binaliw open landfill in Cebu City collapsed suddenly on Jan. 8, burying more than 100 workers and nearby structures underneath.
To release additional funds for emergency response and recovery operations, the Cebu City Council approved on Tuesday a resolution declaring a state of calamity.
After managing to save 18 injured people in the first days of the search, rescuers pulled out the bodies of several victims on Wednesday.
“The number of employees reported missing following the Binaliw landfill incident that occurred on the afternoon of January 8, 2026, has decreased to 16,” the Cebu City Public Information Office stated.
“The reduction in the number of missing individuals follows the recovery of several bodies at the site today, January 14, 2026. With these recoveries, the confirmed death toll has now risen to 20.”
The Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office said that with the amount of debris, its responders were facing “difficult site conditions,” but remained on the ground to recover all the missing persons.
The hope of finding survivors was reignited by the announcement of Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival, who said in a press conference on Monday that a team from APEX Mining in Davao brought life-detection equipment that indicated that “there are still signs of life” at the disaster site.
The Cebu City Council announced Friday as a day of mourning for the victims of the Binaliw landslide, which “claimed lives and caused immeasurable grief to the affected families and the community.”
