For comedian Bill Cosby, a 2014 joke accusing him of sexual assault got serious in 2015, making it a year of media scrutiny, unsealed secrets and legal battles that have just begun.
In late 2014, attention to sexual assault allegations against the comedian were reawakened after comedian Hannibal Buress called Cosby a rapist, during his stand-up routine at a comedy club in Philadelphia. From there, the public accusations snowballed and the lawsuits by accusers followed, with filings in California, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.
