Topless TV actress rushes Bill Cosby outside courthouse on first day of retrial
Nicolle Rochelle, who had appeared on "The Cosby Show," had "Women's Lives Matter" written on her chest and stomach. She was charged with disorderly conduct.
An actress who once appeared on The Cosby Show and other 1990s TV programs was charged Monday with disorderly conduct after she exposed her breasts and rushed Bill Cosby as he arrived at court for what was supposed to be first day of his retrial on sexual assault charges.
"Hey, hey, hey, women's lives matter," the woman, identifed by police as Nicolle Rochelle, 39, of Little Falls, N.J., shouted after breaking from a small group of anti-Cosby protester and jumping a barricade.
She also had "Women's Lives Matters" written in red ink on her chest and stomach, along with other phrases and names of women in black and red all over her body.
She did not touch Cosby before police tackled and handcuffed her while the entertainer stood nearyby before being escorted into the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown.
Rochelle, also known as Nicolle Leach, was charged with disorderly conduct for which she could be fined but not jailed. It was as Nicole Leach that she appeared as Danielle, a friend of the Huxtable children, in four episodes of the The Cosby Show in the early 1990s. She also appeared in other period TV series, including the Baby-Sitters Club, Shining Time Station, and Clarissa Explains It All.
The planned start of the trial has been delayed while the judge weighed a defense motion to dismiss a juror who allegedly told others last week: "I just think he's guilty."
Keep up with every development in Bill Cosby's case with our day-by-day recaps, timeline, and explainer on everything you need to know about the case and its major players.
Staff writer Laura McCrystal contributed to this article.