Bill Cosby, accused by more than 40 women of sexual assault, has filed a lawsuit claiming that several of them lied about him for financial gain.

Mr Cosby, 78, is seeking unspecified monetary damages and said the women inflicted emotional distress.

He called their accusations “nothing more than an opportunistic attempt to extract financial gain from him”.

He filed the countersuit after seven of his accusers went to court seeking damages from the actor.

Their lawsuit alleges Mr Cosby and his representatives sought to tarnish their reputations after they went public with their claims of sexual misconduct.

Mr Cosby has repeatedly denied the accusations and has never been criminally charged.

However, the accusers say Mr Cosby – over a period of decades – plied them with alcohol, drugged them and sexually assaulted them.

The lawsuit contends that the women “engaged in a campaign to assassinate” his reputation and character.

Mr Cosby has admitted in court proceedings that he obtained and gave women sedatives over the years, but he maintained that the women took the drugs willingly.