Bill Cosby ‘used daughter as a scapegoat’ by leaking drug addiction details to kill sex scandal

BILL COSBY allegedly once leaked horrifying details about his daughter’s life to take attention away from a damaging sex scandal story.

FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2013 file photo, Comedian Bill Cosby performs at the Stand Up for Heroes event at Madison Square Garden in New York. Biographer Mark Whitaker, whose "Cosby: His Life and Times" was published in September, tweeted Monday that he was wrong not to "aggressively" look into the charges and promised to address them "at the appropriate time." Whitaker's book has been widely criticized for idealizing Cosby, although some critics praised it upon release. (John Minchillo/Invision/AP, File)

EMBATTLED comedian Bill Cosby once leaked intimate details of his daughter’s drug addiction to quash a potentially damaging sex scandal from erupting, it has been claimed.

The latest shocking claim to be levelled against the now 77-year-old iconic performer comes after weeks of historic sex assault and rape allegations bubbling to the surface.

Scapegoat ... a source says Bill Cosby leaked information about his daughter Erinn’s drug abuse to a tabloid magazine. Picture: Getty Images

Cosby has denied all of the accusations from a total of 18 women, many of whom claim the popular actor drugged and attacked them.

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Now a report has emerged that Cosby used his own daughter Erinn’s struggles with drugs and alcohol to stave off an expose about his sexual exploits by The National Enquirer magazine in 1989.

TV icon ... Bill Cosby was the star of hit television series The Cosby Show.

Page Six in New York claims the story about Cosby’s alleged “swinging with Sammy Davis Jr. and some showgirls in Las Vegas” was considered a threat.

Desperate to divert attention, he passed the publication explicit details about then 23-year-old’s Erinn’s battle.

“My editor told me that daddy Cosby was the source. He ratted out his flesh and blood,” a source told Page Six.

Massive fallout ... Bill Cosby might not face criminal charges, but his career has taken a battering over the past month since historic sex assault allegations emerged. Picture: AP

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In a subsequent story, Cosby was quoted as saying: “Deep down inside, she knows we love her.”

The Cosby Show star has faced a storm of controversy in recent weeks with a number of women coming forward to share similar stories of their encounters with him.

While he settled a lawsuit brought forward by several women in 2006, the full extent of accusations only came to a head this month.

Family difficulties ... Cosby and his daughter Erinn, left, were estranged for many years. Picture: Getty Images

Many alleged victims they were aspiring young performers when Cosby offered to act as a mentor but instead attacked them, with famed supermodel Janice Dickinson among the alleged victims.

Some of the alleged incidents date back to the 1960s when Cosby’s career was on the rise.

Originally published as Bill Cosby ‘used daughter as a scapegoat’ by leaking drug addiction details to kill sex scandal