Acclaimed British actress Julia Ormond is suing convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein for sexual battery in New York.
In addition to the disgraced movie mogul, the Legends of the Fall star is also pursuing American talent agency CAA, The Walt Disney Company and Miramax. Weinstein has been named as the defendant in numerous sexual assault lawsuits since he was first accused in 2017.
However, it is rare for the producer’s business partners who profited from his work to be named defendants for supposedly enabling his behaviour. Weinstein is serving a 23-year prison sentence in New York for rape, which will be followed by a further 16 years term in California when released.
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In a lawsuit filed yesterday (Weds) in New York Supreme Court, Ormond claims Weinstein sexually assaulted her in 1995 after a business dinner. The Surrey-born star claims he lured her into giving him a massage, climbed on top of her, masturbated and forced her to give him oral sex.
(Image: AP)
The lawsuit claims Ormond, 58, told her agents – Bryan Lourd and Kevin Huvane – about the alleged assault, but they warned her against speaking out. Both are current co-chairmen of CAA and are mentioned in the suit, although they are not targeted as defendants.
Ormond is instead suing the LA-based talent and sports agency for negligence and breach of duty. She also accuses Miramax, the company Weinstein co-founded with his brother and The Walt Disney Company as its owner in the 90s of negligent supervision and retention.
(Image: Getty Images)
Ormond names several former executives at the company in the lawsuit, although again, they are not targeted as defendants.
“The men at CAA who represented Ormond knew about Weinstein. So too did Weinstein’s employers at Miramax and Disney,” the lawsuit states.
“Brazenly, none of these prominent companies warned Ormond that Weinstein had a history of assaulting women because he was too important, too powerful, and made them too much money.” Speaking to Hollywood bible Variety, Ormond said she had come forward to bring about change in the acting industry.
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
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“I am coming forward with my story now publicly because I feel as if we still need systemic change, and I feel that we need accountability from enablers in order to get there.” Ormond said. “I feel that this is what happened with me.
“Obviously, Harvey Weinstein is in jail and is going to be in jail for a very long time. I personally don’t believe that Harvey could have done this without enablers. And for me, that is the layer that you have to get down to, in terms of the root cause”.
Ormond has filed her suit under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which creates the opportunity to sue outside the statute of limitations. Weinstein. CAA, Disney and Miramax have been approached for comment.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
