Beverly Johnson speaks out about Bill Cosby: 'He took my power'

theGRIO REPORT - Supermodel Beverly Johnson is speaking out about allegations that Bill Cosby drugged her in 1986, in a new interview with NBC's 'Today' ...

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

Supermodel Beverly Johnson broke her silence yesterday in an essay for Vanity Fair, where she spoke out about an incident in 1986 where she claims Bill Cosby drugged her at his home.

In an interview this morning on NBC’s Today, Johnson spoke about her essay that says she believes Cosby drugged her in an effort to sexually assault her.

“I most certainly did not think of my legacy as the first African-American supermodel to grace the cover of Vogue – and drugged by Bill Cosby,” said Johnson.

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“This is bigger than Bill Cosby. This is about women and violence against women,” Johnson said on Today. “This is about women finding their voice. I feel that Cosby took my power that evening and that I took my power back.”

Johnson said she kept quiet about the incident at the time because she was intimidated by Cosby’s powerful status in Hollywood.

“At the time I felt that it would hurt my career. Most certainly he was a very powerful man.”

Follow theGrio.com’s Entertainment Editor Chris Witherspoon on Twitter @WitherspoonC.

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