Harvey Weinstein’s legal entanglements grew this week, as the disgraced film mogul was sued by a woman who said Weinstein masturbated in front of her while she was using the bathroom and ejaculated onto her skirt, and, in another instance, “forcibly performed oral sex” on her.
The suit, filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, says that the Jane Doe plaintiff first met Weinstein in January 2013 during the Sundance Film Festival, where she gave him her card in case there were opportunities for auditions.
The next day, the suit says, Weinstein invited her to his hotel suite, ostensibly to discuss a potential film. According to the suit, the plaintiff went to the restroom during the meeting and, while she was sitting on the toilet with her tights around her ankles, Weinstein walked in on her, unbuttoned his jeans, dropped his pants and “exposed his penis while telling her, ‘I like looking at you,’ ‘My d— is nice and hard for you’ and asking, ‘Do you like my d—?’ and instructing her ‘Let me look at you.’”
According to the suit, she replied “no,” but Weinstein moved closer to her while masturbating, and says eventually Weinstein “ejaculated directly onto her skirt.”
The suit alleges other incidents. During another instance, the suit says, when they went to Weinstein’s office ostensibly so Weinstein could give her a copy of a script for a film “Vampire Academy,” Weinstein pushed her down and “forcibly performed oral sex” on the plaintiff, who began “audibly sobbing.”
According to the suit, the woman later confronted Weinstein, and he told her, “Don’t be such a prude. I didn’t even f— you.” After which, the suit says, Weinstein grabbed her from behind, began talking dirty to her in front of a mirror “and began masturbating while restraining her movement. When she began sobbing, he became agitated and annoyed and stormed away.”
The suit further alleges that Weinstein and The Weinstein Company, also named in the suit, “made misrepresentations to Plaintiff to guarantee her silence about Weinstein’s unlawful conduct, and to create a paper-trail of communications between the two to prevent Plaintiff from reporting his conduct or instituting legal proceedings.”
It also alleges that Weinstein and TWC “would only have fulfilled their promises of casting Plaintiff in TWC films if Plaintiff had sex with Weinstein. Because she would not consent, Weinstein and TWC strung her along, through a carefully orchestrated series of misrepresentations, to prevent her from reporting him and instituting legal proceedings.”
A Weinstein representative told TheWrap in a statement that there is “absolutely no truth” to the lawsuit’s claims.
“This lawsuit was filed and updated strategically with no notice given or any attempt to reach out to Mr. Weinstein’s attorneys for one reason; It was meant to embarrass Mr. Weinstein and garner unchecked media attention. There is absolutely no truth to the malicious claims made in this lawsuit, and we are reviewing our options with an eye on filing for an immediate dismissal,” the statement reads. “This filing further proves that anyone can say whatever they want in a lawsuit for maximum shock value, to defame and debase, without having to offer any facts or reality.”
TheWrap has also reached out to a representative for The Weinstein Company for comment on the suit, which alleges assault, sexual battery, discrimination and harassment and other counts, and seeks unspecified damages.
Weinstein has been accused of sexual misconduct by numerous women and has denied the accusations. He’s awaiting trial on multiple felony charges in New York stemming from accusations of sexual misconduct.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.