The man who once sold America on the pudding-pop charms of a TV dad told a lawyer under oath that he will not board a plane, a train or a bus, because crowds frighten him.
Three never-before-seen clips of Bill Cosby’s sworn deposition in the civil case brought by Donna Motsinger surfaced Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, after the National Enquirer exclusively obtained them. Jurors watched the clips at the time of trial. Asked whether he gets “on a plane to go anywhere,” the 89-year-old “Cosby Show” star responded firmly: “No.”
Cosby gave his reason under oath when a lawyer asked why he no longer travels to California. “I am a celebrity, and due to negative publicity about me, I am afraid to be in crowds, especially on airlines, trains, buses,” he said. The deposition video runs more than an hour, and it came out of a case that cost him $59.25 million.
He Never Took the Stand
A civil jury in Santa Monica, Calif., found Cosby liable Monday, March 23 for sexually assaulting Motsinger in 1972. The trial ran nearly two weeks. Jurors then spent about two days in deliberation and came back with $17.5 million in past damages, plus $1.75 million for future damages tied to mental suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, inconvenience, grief, anxiety, humiliation and emotional distress.
The same jury returned that afternoon for a second phase and added $40 million in punitive damages. Cosby did not testify. Witnesses included Andrea Constand.
The defense was disappointed and fully intends to appeal, Cosby’s attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, wrote in an email once the initial award came down.
Motsinger, now in her mid-80s, worked as a server at a restaurant in Sausalito, Calif. Her 2023 lawsuit says Cosby invited her to his stand-up show at a theater in nearby San Carlos, when both were in their 30s. By her account, he gave her wine and two pills she believed were aspirin, and she drifted in and out of consciousness as two men put her into a limousine. Her suit took about two and a half years to move from filing to verdict through the California courts, while other lawsuits against Cosby stalled.
Nine Women and an Empty Chair
Nine women, including Lise-Lotte Lublin and Lili Bernard, first filed a federal lawsuit in Nevada in 2023 accusing Cosby of drugging and assaulting them between 1979 and 1992. Their attorney, Jordan Rutsky, has asked a judge to force Cosby to sit for a deposition and is also seeking a default judgment over Cosby’s “repeated and willful discovery misconduct.” As of Oct. 20, the Nevada judge had yet to rule.
June dates collapsed when Cosby’s male assistant, who helps him with basic needs, was not available, according to his legal team. His lawyer’s filings put those called-off dates at June 23 and June 24. In July, his lawyer said he was not in good health.
Bonjean responded in that case that her client is “homebound” and that questioning him at this stage would jeopardize “his safety and health,” adding: “There is nothing nefarious going on behind the scenes.” In filings, she said Cosby is “legally blind and suffers from a variety of health issues, including significant mobility limitations.”
A deposition set for Sept. 22 through Sept. 24 fell apart when his side canceled on Sept. 21, lawyers for the women told the court. That made a third set of dates scrapped, following earlier instances in April and June, and the women asked the judge for sanctions, or at minimum an order blocking him from testifying.
Nothing Paid and He Vanished
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Bradley S. Phillips rejected Cosby’s motion for a new trial on Friday, May 29, leaving the verdict and the full award in place. Cosby had described the sum as excessive. His lawyers argued in April that the $40 million in punitive damages did nothing to deter future conduct, calling him an isolated 88-year-old man with no sight.
Court papers show he was served a writ of execution. Such a writ forces a money judgment to be paid, usually through the seizure and sale of property a debtor cannot exempt, or through garnishment of their funds. Cosby owes Motsinger $59.25 million plus more than $3.3 million in accrued interest and fees, and he appeared to go off the grid after the court ordered the payment.
Motsinger’s lawyers say no part of the judgment has been paid, and they allege Cosby sold art and moved money into his daughter’s trust fund. Jesse Creed, Motsinger’s lawyer, of Panish Shea Ravipudi, warned that anyone who has taken money from Cosby could face liability for fraudulent transfer.
“Rather than accepting the consequences of his decision to go to trial, Mr. Cosby is fighting yet again to avoid accountability for his own actions,” Motsinger said. She told the tabloid: “I finally got justice, and I hope I get some money,” and Creed said his team will go “to the ends of the earth to get the money.”
A Pennsylvania criminal court convicted Cosby in 2018 of sexually assaulting Constand, a Temple University sports administrator. The state Supreme Court later threw out that verdict, and he walked free after serving nearly three years of a three- to 10-year sentence. At least 60 women have accused him of rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment. Cosby has denied all of it.
