An actress is suing CAA and an agent she says sexually assaulted and harassed her, accusing the company of refusing to meet with her when she attempted to report the agent’s behavior.
In a lawsuit filed in L.A. County Superior Court on Thursday, actress Demi Mann accused agent Cameron Mitchell of a long-term campaign of sexual harassment, of forcing her to perform sex acts and, in one instance, of drugging her. She also accuses Mitchell, a movie talent agent whose clients include Common, Djimon Hounsou, and Terrence Howard, of making repeated false promises to her, and failing to find her roles.
In a statement provided to TheWrap Thursday night, CAA said “although we do not comment on pending litigation nor specific personnel matters, we take allegations of this nature seriously, investigate them promptly and thoroughly, and take appropriate action.”
But on Friday, the agency issued a lengthier statement clarifying its position. CAA denied that Mann was ever a client, and denied that it had failed to properly respond to her report. But it said it fired Mitchell after it “received new information not previously revealed during the agency’s investigation.” (See more here.)
Mitchell “discovered” Mann in 2013 at a Coffee Bean in Century City, according to the lawsuit. Over the next two years he pursued Mann repeatedly until, the suit says, she agreed to become his client on Nov. 23, 2015. It was on that date, the suit says, that Mitchell first became “unprofessionally close” to Mann by “changing the meeting location from CAA’s offices to the Mr. C Hotel in Beverly Hills.”
Once she became his client, Mann says Mitchell repeatedly made false promises of helping her find work and instead made her attend social functions and other events as a means of pressuring her to have sex with him.
The suit alleges that Mitchell isolated Mann, forbidding her from talking to anyone else at CAA. She said that later, after sharing “what he told her were highly confidential CAA documents,” Mitchell told Mann that he was providing preferential treatment to her, and that such treatment only occurred “as an unwritten rule in Hollywood, if actresses would sleep with their agents.”
The suit contends that on Sept. 22, 2017, after meeting Mitchell at the Sky Bar, she “found herself on her own bed hours later without memory of what had occurred during that span of time, and with Defendant MITCHELL lying next to her fully naked.” Mann says she was “subjected to the ingestion of a
drug or other foreign substance sufficient to render her defenseless” by Mitchell.
The suit also says Mitchell repeatedly tried to pressure Mann into taking illegal drugs including cocaine, and that he increased his harassment when she refused his sexual advances.
The suit also claims that Mann attempted to report Mitchell to CAA Human Resources on October 13, 2017, but the company “refused” to meet with her. “Moreover,” the suit states, “CAA coldly divorced itself from the matter, refused to take any action, and advised Plaintiff in no uncertain terms that she would have to be solely responsible for her own safety.”
The lawsuit also says that CAA “requires woefully inadequate and/or no” sexual harassment training for its agents and employees, “fails to provide pre-emptive education and direction on the topics of sexual harassment, assault, battery, and gender discrimination,” and maintains a corporate culture in which “agents are knowingly permitted and encouraged to engage in unlawful conduct in the assertion of their power and clout over persons similarly-situated to Plaintiff.”
Mann is suing CAA and Mitchell for assault, battery, sexual battery, sexual harassment, gender violence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, unfair business practices, and negligence.
Hollywood Hair-Trigger: 11 Films and TV Shows Impacted by Sexual Harassment Accusations (Photos)
The downfall of Harvey Weinstein has created a domino effect across Hollywood, as women are coming forward to expose the sexual harassment in the industry. As producers and celebrities are accused, the films and TV shows they were involved in have also suffered. Here's a running list of the projects that have been delayed, paused, or outright axed as a result of these scandals.
"All The Money In The World": After Kevin Spacey was accused of sexually harassing actor Anthony Rapp as a teenager, among others, Sony pulled the historical drama starring him as J. Paul Getty from AFI Fest and then announced that all of Spacey's scenes would be reshot with Christopher Plummer in the role.
"I Love You Daddy": Louis C.K. wrote, starred in, directed, edited and funded this film about a man whose teenage daughter starts dating a 68-year-old director who is Woody Allen in all but name. But after The New York Times published a story in which five women accused him of harassment, The Orchard canceled the film's premiere and is considering changing the release date after buying it in Toronto for $5 million.
HBO: Louis C.K. was also pulled from HBO's charity special "Night of Too Many Stars" following the scandal, and all of the comedian's work has been pulled from HBO's on-demand service.
"House of Cards": In addition to Rapp's claims against Spacey, members of the crew of his hit Netflix show have come forward with stories of Spacey's misconduct. In response, Netflix first paused production on the show's sixth season, which they later announced would be its last. Then, Netflix severed all ties with Spacey, meaning the show will have to finish filming without him.
"Gore": Netflix's decision to drop Spacey means his biopic about Gore Vidal, which explores the writer's relationship with a younger man, is now without a distributor. The film had completed filming and was in the midst of post-production when Spacey was accused.
Untitled Hugh Hefner Biopic: For years, Brett Ratner has held the rights to make a movie about the life of late Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. But after the LA Times published a story about Ratner's history of harassment, Playboy announced that the biopic was going on hold.
"The Current War": The ongoing Harvey Weinstein scandal has brought his studio, The Weinstein Company, to the verge of bankruptcy. As the remnants of the company fights to stay alive, it has moved all the remaining films on this year's slate to 2018, including a Thomas Edison biopic starring Benedict Cumberbatch.
"Polaroid": The TWC scandal has also affected its genre wing, Dimension Studios, as it pushed this horror film about a camera with deadly powers to 2018 as well.
"Wind River": TWC has even made moves to protect films that have already had their run in theaters. "Wind River," TWC's only box office success this year, has had all trace of the studio's logo scrubbed for the home release.
Amazon David O. Russell Project: The Weinstein Company was supposed to produce a new Amazon series created by "Silver Linings Playbook" director David O. Russell, but after they pulled out of the project in the wake of the Weinstein scandal, Amazon decided not to proceed with the series.
"The Romanoffs": TWC was slated to produce this series from "Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner, but pulled out after the Weinstein scandal hit. Amazon planned to continue the series, but that may not happen after Weiner was accused of sexual harassment by Kater Gordon, a former assistant of his who was promoted to writer and won an Emmy with him before being shockingly fired a year later.
1 of 12
From release date changes to full cancellations, Hollywood’s response has become swift
The downfall of Harvey Weinstein has created a domino effect across Hollywood, as women are coming forward to expose the sexual harassment in the industry. As producers and celebrities are accused, the films and TV shows they were involved in have also suffered. Here's a running list of the projects that have been delayed, paused, or outright axed as a result of these scandals.