Tag: metoo movement
Kevin Spacey Sexual Assault Accuser Dies in the Midst of Lawsuit
An anonymous individual suing Kevin Spacey for sexual assault has died, ET confirms.
In a new court filing, the plaintiff’s attorney has informed the actor’s attorney that he has “recently passed.” No details have been released concerning the circumstances of his death.
In September 2018, the deceased plaintiff, a male masseuse, filed claims alleging the House of Cards actor grabbed his genitals and was allegedly forced to grab Spacey’s genitals during a massage at the actor’s private residence in Malibu, California, two years earlier.
Through his lawyer, Spacey has vehemently denied these allegations.
According to the lawsuit, upon arriving at Spacey’s home, the individual suing as “John Doe” alleged the actor complained of “having some pain or discomfort” in his groin area. The masseuse claimed he told Spacey to lie face down, but the actor allegedly laid down on his back instead. While massaging the actor’s leg, he alleged that Spacey put his hand on his genitals.
The masseuse alleged that he pulled away but gave Spacey the benefit of the doubt, assuming the actor was directing him to where he was in pain. The masseuse alleged that he began to massage Spacey’s groin area in a “nonsexual, professional manner,” but claimed that Spacey forced him to once again touch his genitals.
The massage therapist claimed he pulled away, allegedly telling Spacey, “What are you doing? This is ridiculous. I am a professional. This is what I do for a living. I have a son.” The man also alleged that Spacey exposed himself and grabbed his shoulders in what could have been an attempt at a kiss. He also claimed that Spacey grabbed his genitals and allegedly offered to perform oral sex on him.
The late plaintiff allegedly made multiple attempts to leave, but Spacey allegedly blocked the exit with his naked body. However, the masseuse claimed that Spacey finally let him leave the residence, leaving behind his sheets and oil.
The masseuse reported the incident to the Los Angeles Police Department. In the lawsuit, he was asking for unspecified damages and attorney’s fees to be paid by Spacey.
The death of the plaintiff arrives two months after both a civil case and criminal against Spacey, from one alleged victim, came to an end. On July 5, a man alleging the actor groped him at a Nantucket bar in 2016 dropped his civil lawsuit. Then on July 17, ET confirmed that the sexual assault case against Spacey in Cape & Islands District Court was dropped due to “unavailability of the complaining witness.”
ET previously reported in November 2017 that Spacey was seeking “evaluation and treatment” after he was accused of sexual assault and misconduct by several men. Spacey has maintained his innocence.
Article via ETOnline
Kevin Spacey RUNS ?♂️ out the closet to Deflect From Allegations+ Netflix cancels ‘House of Cards’
Cuba Gooding Jr.’s lawyer claims surveillance video shows ‘no criminality’
Article via PageSix
A lawyer for Cuba Gooding Jr. says surveillance video shows the “Jerry Maguire” star is innocent of groping allegations at a Manhattan rooftop bar — and now he’s reconsidering turning himself in to authorities in New York, according to reports.
After saying Gooding plans to surrender to sex-crimes detectives on Thursday, attorney Mark Heller told TMZ that video from Magic Hour Rooftop Bar and Lounge shows “absolutely no criminality taking place on the part of my client.”
Heller said that whether or not his client will turn himself in Thursday — as they previously planned — is now up in the air.
Heller did not return calls for comment early Thursday and the video in question has not been released publicly.
The hard-partying actor and his attorneys planned to meet with cops at Manhattan’s Special Victims Division in Harlem around noon on Thursday, Heller said earlier on Wednesday.
The Oscar winner planned to be formally arrested, fingerprinted and have his mugshot taken, sources said.
“He will be arrested for forcible touching, but the charges will be determined by the ADA,” added one law-enforcement source.
Gooding was accused of groping the 30-year-old woman around 9 p.m. Sunday while drunk at the lounge on Seventh Avenue, the woman claimed. She called 911 around 1 a.m. Monday.
Neil deGrasse Tyson Denies Sexual Misconduct Allegations
“Accusations can damage a reputation and a marriage. Sometimes irreversibly,” astrophysicist wrote. “I see myself as loving husband and as a public servant”
Neil deGrasse Tyson has denied accusations of sexual misconduct that three women brought forward in late November. “Accusations can damage a reputation and a marriage. Sometimes irreversibly,” the famous astrophysicist wrote in a lengthy Facebook post titled “On Being Accused,” disputing the claims of inappropriate behavior – dating from 1984 to summer 2018 – first reported by spirituality website Patheos. “I see myself as loving husband and as a public servant – a scientist and educator who serves at the will of the public.”
Katelyn N. Allers, an associate professor of physics and astronomy at Pennsylvania’s Bucknell University in Pennsylvania, told Patheos that Tyson engaged in “uncomfortable and creepy” behavior during a 2009 party after a gathering of the American Astronomical Society. Dr. Allers has a tattoo of the solar system on her arm, and she claims Tyson was “obsessed” with whether or not it included Pluto: “He looked for Pluto, and followed the tattoo into my dress,” she told the site.
Tyson, in his note, wrote that it was “never his intent” to make her uncomfortable, emphasizing, “I can surely be more sensitive to people’s personal space, even in the midst of my planetary enthusiasm.” “While I don’t explicitly remember searching for Pluto at the top of her shoulder, it is surely something I would have done in that situation,” he wrote. “As we all know, I have professional history with the demotion of Pluto, which had occurred officially just three years earlier. So whether people include it or not in their tattoos is of great interest to me.”
Tyson, who hosted the Fox/National Geographic science documentary series Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, also rejected the description of their encounter. “I was reported to have ‘groped’ her by searching ‘up her dress,’ when this was simply a search under the covered part of her shoulder of the sleeveless dress,” he said.
Another accuser, Ashley Watson, told Patheos that she quit her position as Tyson’s production assistant this past summer after he tried to pressure her into sex. She allegedly visited his house, where he offered an “awkward and incredibly intimate handshake” and told her, “I want you to know that I want to hug you so bad right now, but I know that if I do I’ll just want more.”
On Facebook, Tyson described inviting Watson over to his home for wine and cheese, noting that she later told him she was “creeped out” and interpreted the invite as a seduction attempt. He described the handshake as “special,” writing, “I learned [it] from a Native elder on reservation land at the edge of the Grand Canyon. You extend your thumb forward during the handshake to feel the other person’s vital spirit energy – the pulse.” He wrote that his hug comment was “clumsily declared,” noting, “My intent was to express restrained but genuine affection.”
The third woman, Tchiya Amet, alleged Tyson of raping her in 1984 while they were attending the University of Texas as graduate students. She claimed she blacked out after Tyson gave her water, and then woke up naked on his bed; when she awoke, she claimed he began to have sex with her. She filed a police report in 2014 – which was not investigated because of the state’s 10-year statute of limitations on sexual assault charges – and has written multiple blog posts about the encounter in the years since.
Tyson disputed the claim, adding that the pair briefly dated but didn’t have “chemistry.” “According to her blog posts, the drug and rape allegation comes from an assumption of what happened to her during a night that she cannot remember,” he wrote. “It is as though a false memory had been implanted, which, because it never actually happened, had to be remembered as an evening she doesn’t remember.”
On Friday, Fox Broadcasting and National Geographic announced they will investigate the allegations; the next day, New York’s American Museum of Natural History, where the astrophysicist directs the Hayden Planetarium, said it is also investigating, The New York Times reports.
“In any claim, evidence matters,” Tyson wrote on Facebook. “Evidence always matters. But what happens when it’s just one person’s word against another’s, and the stories don’t agree? That’s when people tend to pass judgment on who is more credible than whom. And that’s when an impartial investigation can best serve the truth – and would have my full cooperation to do so.”
Article via RollingStone
Harvey Weinstein lawyers ask for case dismissal citing text from accuser
Lawyers for disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein asked a judge Monday to toss the remains of the criminal case against him — revealing for the first time that one of the accusers tried to meet with him soon after she claims he abused her.
Production assistant Mimi Haleyi alleged in a press conference last year that Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her in his SoHo home in 2006.
According to the motion, on Feb. 12, 2007, she allegedly texted Weinstein’s phone: “Hi! Just wondering if u have any news on whether harvey will have time to see me before he leaves? x Miriam.”
“This message makes clear that Mimi Haleyi wished to continue seeing Mr. Weinstein even after the alleged sexual assault,” defense attorney Ben Brafman wrote in the filing.
He blasts prosecutors for not presenting this communication to the grand jury.
The Haleyi text is the latest dent in the Manhattan District Attorney’s rapidly crumbling sex abuse case against the former film industry giant.
She is one of two victims whose allegations are still propping up the indictment. The second victim, who hasn’t been publicly identified, alleges that Weinstein raped her in March 2013.
A judge last month dismissed the felony count related to a third victim, Lucia Evans, over spiraling credibility worries.
Evans, who was once considered the strongest part of the case, accused Weinstein of forcing her to perform oral sex on him in 2004 in his Tribeca office when she was a fledgling actress.
But prosecutors eventually uncovered an exculpatory email she wrote to her husband that suggested that the encounter was consensual.
She also told a friend that the act was not coerced. Evans allegedly told a pal that she gave Weinstein oral sex in exchange for an acting job, according to Joan Illuzzi-Orbon.
The friend said she described her recollections to lead detective Nicholas DiGaudio – but that he pressured her not to disclose the information.
DiGaudio was kicked off the case for alleged misconduct.
A few weeks later, Illuzzi-Orbon disclosed that the same detective coached the second victim to “delete anything she did not want anyone to see” from her phone before turning it over to authorities.
DiGaudio has denied the allegations.
Brafman argues in the latest motion that the entire case has been irreversibly contaminated by DiGaudio’s conduct and Evans’ alleged “perjury.”
The attorney also questioned the credibility of the second victim, who had a “long-term, consensual” relationship with Weinstein, which continued after she alleges he raped her March 18, 2013, in a Manhattan hotel.
In an email sent nearly four years later, she allegedly wrote: “I love you, always do. But I hate feeling like a booty call :)”
These communications, the lawyer says, were also not presented to the grand jury.
Article via PageSix
Pamela Anderson blasts the #MeToo movement, says feminism can ‘go too far’
Pamela Anderson sat down for a lengthy interview with Australia’s “60 Minutes” Sunday, offering some controversial comments about the #MeToo movement and the negative impact she perceives it having on men.
The former “Baywatch” star derided the current wave of feminism and called it a “bore.”
“I think this feminism can go too far,” Anderson told journalist Liam Bartlett. “I’m a feminist, but I think that this third wave of feminism is a bore.”
She continued: “I think it paralyzes men, I think this #MeToo movement is a bit too much for me. I’m sorry, I’ll probably get killed for saying that.”
Stars who have criticized the #MeToo movement in the past haven’t fared well. “The Big Bang Theory” star Mayim Bialik apologized after being accused of victim-blaming when she spoke about the movement, and French actress Catherine Deneuve caught serious backlash for similar comments made about its effect on men.
Anderson, however, was undeterred by the possibility of being labeled anti-#MeToo and doubled down on her controversial comments, going as far as to suggest that those who encountered the likes of Harvey Weinstein boiled down to a lack of common sense.
“My mother taught me don’t go to a hotel with a stranger. If someone opens the door in a bathrobe and it’s supposed to be a business meeting, maybe I should go with somebody else,” the 51-year-old says in the clip below. “I think some things are just common sense. Or, if you go in… get the job. I’m Canadian, I’m going to speak my mind. I’m sorry, I’m not politically correct.”
The animal rights advocate also discussed her image as a sex symbol and noted that it opened doors to her activism.
“I’d rather be a sex symbol than a… not a sex symbol. That’s a compliment, isn’t it?” she said. “Every girl wants to be sexy. Every girl wants to be, you know, as beautiful or pretty as they can be. I never thought of myself as beautiful. I always thought of myself as kinda cute, a little funny and maybe I’ve improved with age.”
Article via FoxNews
Harvey Weinstein accused of sexually assaulting 16-year-old virgin
An aspiring actress says she was a 16-year-old virgin when disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein sexually assaulted her in New York, according to an amended Manhattan federal racketeering lawsuit filed Wednesday.
The woman, a former model from Poland identified only as Jane Doe in the court papers, said that after agreeing to meet for a business lunch in 2002, Weinstein instead took her to his Soho apartment.
“…Weinstein wasted no time in aggressively and threateningly demanding sex,” the suit alleges. He told the distraught starlet that if she wanted to be an actress she had to give in to his perverted desires.
“Weinstein threatened and pressured Jane Doe, saying that he had ‘made’ the careers of Penelope Cruz and Gwyneth Paltrow, and that neither would be working without him,” the suit alleges.
“He then took off his pants and forcibly held Jane Doe while taking her hand and making her touch and massage his penis,” the filing states.
Weinstein allegedly became enraged when the terrified teen objected and refused to let her leave — but eventually relented, the suit says.
The underage catwalker had just met Weinstein three days earlier at a soiree for her modeling agency Next.
After picking her up in his car for what she thought was a business lunch, she told him she was only 16, the papers say.
The pervy producer pursued the model for the next decade, getting her an extra role in the “Nanny Diaries” in 2004 — but she continued to resist his demands for sex.
In a 2008 after-hours meeting in his Greenwich Street office to arrange for her to sign with the modeling agency Marilyn, Weinstein spotted Christina Aguilera on a nearby TV and allegedly said, “‘Wow, I’d really like to f—k that p—-y’ then unzipped his pants and began touching his penis,” the filing states. Jane Doe fled the room.
But later she continued to discuss her career with Weinstein, including trying out for “Project Runway.”
Weinstein “ensured she never received work” because she refused to hop into bed with him, she alleges. The abuse and harassment left her depressed and exacerbated her anorexia, the suit says.
She is the 10th victim to join the class action lawsuit against Weinstein, the Weinstein Company and Miramax, accusing them of assault, battery and racketeering.
The women all claim that Weinstein lured them to hotels and auditions under the guise of furthering their careers and sexually assaulted or raped them.
The suit, filed by firm Hagens Berman, says that the companies, which it calls the “Weinstein Sexual Enterprise,” were aware of the producer’s alleged illegal conduct and enabled it by threatening victims and paying them off.
In September, a federal judge instructed three women — Melissa Thompson, Caitlin Dulany and Larissa Gomez — to consolidate their suit with six other class-action plaintiffs —Louisette Geiss, Katherine Kendall, Zoe Brock, Sarah Ann Thomas, Melissa Sagemiller and Nannette Klatt.
The new complaint, filed Wednesday, added plaintiff Jane Doe, describing her disturbing allegations for the first time.
Weinstein’s civil lawyer, Elior Shiloh, declined to comment.
“This claim is preposterous,” said Weinstein’s criminal lawyer Ben Brafman. “Like so many other women in this case who have already been exposed as liars, this latest completely uncorroborated allegation that is almost 20 years old will also be shown to be patently false.”
Article via PageSix
Rapper Nelly settles with Seattle woman who accused him of rape
The woman, Monique Greene, claimed last October she was at a show in Auburn where Nelly had performed and then was invited to hang out with him aboard his tour bus.
Once on the bus, she claims Nelly sexually assaulted her then kicked her out and tossed a $100 bill at her.
The rapper, whose real name is Cornell I. Haynes Jr., was arrested a few hours later on his tour bus in an Auburn Walmart parking lot.
He was released a few hours later and prosecutors later said they weren’t charging him because Greene wasn’t cooperating with the case.
Greene filed a lawsuit and Nelly countersued, claiming that the sex was consensual and her lawsuit was motivated by “greed and vindictiveness.” KOMO News generally doesn’t name people who say they are victims of sex crimes, but Greene’s lawyer said she agreed to be publicly identified.
Lawyers for both parties agreed this week to dismiss their cases, but there were conflicting reports on the terms of the settlement.
The 43-year-old rapper is best known for his early 2000s songs such as “Hot in Herre” and “Over and Over.”
Article via: Rapper Nelly settles with Seattle woman who accused him of rape
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After celebrating Nelly finds out TODAY that his Rape Case STILL An Open Investigation
Weinstein Co. Saga Comes to an End as $289 Million Sale to Lantern Closes
Weinstein was a name the general public barely knew, but drove Hollywood – that is until last fall. The NY Times wrote an expose on Weinstein last fall detailing his sexual crimes against actresses, models and other women in the entertainment industry.
With its $289 million sale to Lantern Capital Partners having closed today, the Weinstein Co. saga comes to an end. Co-founded by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein in 2005 with plans to become a major multimedia company, TWC — despite back-to-back best picture Oscar wins for The King’s Speech and The Artist as well as several Emmy trophies for shows like Project Runway— never lived up to all its grand ambitions. And, having struggled financially in recent years, it was forced into bankruptcy in the wake of the dozens of allegations surrounding Harvey Weinstein, who has since been charged with six counts of sexual assault and rape in Manhattan.
Even before he was enveloped by scandal, Harvey Weinstein’s golden touch when it came to courting Oscar had begun to lose its luster. Between their days at Miramax and TWC, the Weinsteins have claimed 341 Oscar nominations and 81 Academy Award wins. When the nominations for the 88th Oscars were announced in 2016, TWC collect 10 nominations for Carol and The Hateful Eight, but no best picture or director noms. And while the list of 2017 nominations saw Lion score six nominations, including best picture, the company’s other awards hopeful The Founder was shut out.
Now, it will be up to Lantern and the leadership it appoints to pick up the pieces. During the course of the bankruptcy proceedings, a deal was struck to move Project Runway from Lifetime back to Bravo, where it originally aired. And there are a number of unreleased films that have been stuck in limbo — period drama The Current War, starring Benedict Cumberbatch; biblical tale Mary Magdalene, starring Rooney Mara; and the odd-couple comedy The Upside, starring Kevin Hart and Bryan Cranston — that could be sold off to other distributors.
Article via: Weinstein Co. Saga Comes to an End as $289 Million Sale to Lantern Closes
Uber will no longer force victims of sexual assault into arbitration
Uber says it is taking steps to help reduce the culture of silence around sexual violence on its platform in the wake of a CNN investigation into sexual assaults and abuse by Uber drivers.
The rideshare company said Tuesday it will no longer force into arbitration passengers who allege that they have been sexually assaulted or harassed by drivers — something Uber says was previously required under its terms of service.
Instead, Uber will allow victims of sexual violence, including riders, drivers and employees, to choose the venue in which they want to pursue redress of their sexual harassment or assault claims, whether that’s arbitration, mediation or open court.
The change comes two weeks after CNN reported the results of its investigation, which found at least 103 Uber drivers in the United States who have been accused of sexually assaulting or abusing their passengers in the past four years. The drivers were arrested, are wanted by police, or have been named in civil suits related to the incidents. It was the first time that numbers have been put to the issue.
Previously, upon signing up for Uber’s service, Uber says users agreed to resolve any claims on an individual basis through arbitration. The practice, which has been challenged in lawsuits, helped the company keep the issue quiet, according to critics. Lyft, an Uber competitor, has a similar terms of service that says users will agree resolve claims through arbitration.
“We think it is very, very important to allow survivors of sexual assault and sexual harassment the control and agency that was, frankly, stripped from them in that incident,” Uber’s chief legal officer, Tony West, told CNN in a phone interview. West added, “I want to thank (CNN) for the reporting that you’ve done on this issue.”
Despite repeated requests, the company has yet to agree to an on-camera interview with CNN.
West, who joined Uber in October 2017, served as associate attorney general during the Obama administration, and helped with the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in 2013.
Uber also announced two other policy changes pertaining to sexual assault.
The company will no longer require confidentiality as part of settlement agreements in lawsuits pertaining to sexual assault or harassment. As with the arbitration change, this will apply to cases currently pending and cases moving forward.
Additionally, it will publish a “safety transparency report” that will put numbers behind sexual assaults and other incidents that occur on its platform. To do so, it will develop a common taxonomy for how to classify sexual harassment and assault reports, which it plans to also make available to other companies. The lack of transparency about the number of incidents perpetrated by drivers has been a sticking point by victims in lawsuits, which claim Uber tries to hide the true scope of the issue from its customers.
“It’s only by accounting and acknowledging [reports] that we are empowered to take action in reducing the incidents of sexual assault,” said West. “We want to bring these numbers out in the open. We want people to acknowledge the enormity of the issue, and we want us to begin to think of constructive ways to prevent and end sexual assault.”
Related: CNN investigation: 103 Uber drivers accused of sexual assault or abuse
There is no publicly available data for the number of sexual assaults by Uber drivers or drivers of other rideshare companies. CNN’s analysis came from an in-depth review of police reports, federal court records and county court databases for 20 major US cities.
At least 31 drivers have been convicted for crimes ranging from forcible touching and false imprisonment to rape, and dozens of criminal and civil cases are pending, CNN found.
The individual reports from across the country show a range of crimes, from victims being kidnapped and raped to trapped in cars with electronic locks by their drivers. One victim was attacked by a serial rapist who assaulted his passenger and 8 other women; another was an elderly woman who was beaten and raped; one victim says her driver forced her to drink his urine.
CNN also contacted more than 20 police departments to obtain data on complaints that involved Uber and Lyft drivers and sexual assault. Four police departments — Austin, Boston, Denver and Los Angeles — tracked crimes involving rideshare drivers and shared their data on sexual assault complaints.
CNN did not include most of these complaints in its tally of cases because they could not all be verified with incident reports. However, the numbers suggest that there may be many more overall incidents of sexual assault than the 103 cases found in the investigation.
Related: Senator pressures Uber after CNN investigation into driver assaults
West told CNN he expects the number of reports to go up once Uber releases data on sexual assaults and other incidents. There’s no public timetable yet for when Uber will release that report.
“I will tell you that, when this data is actually published as part of the safety transparency report, I think those numbers are going to be disturbing,” said West. “Once people know we’re counting and we’re paying attention then what is a vastly unreported crime today will become more reported — and that’s a good thing.”
The company says it will lean on hired advisors such as Ebony Tucker of the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, Cindy Southworth of the National Network to End Domestic Violence and Tina Tchen, a founder of the New York Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund.
The news came one day ahead of a court-mandated deadline for Uber to respond in a proposed class action lawsuit filed by law firm Wigdor LLP on behalf of nine women accusing drivers of sexual assault.
Uber is due to respond in court by Wednesday about whether it will require the women in the proposed class action suit to carry out their assault claims in arbitration. Uber said the women will now have the choice of bringing their individual assault claims to arbitration, meditation or open court. The women will have to bring other claims in the suit, including unfair business practices, to an arbitrator.
The suit was originally filed in November 2017 but gained increased public attention in recent weeks after the women wrote a letter to Uber’s board detailing their allegations and urging the company to remove its arbitration clause.
Following CNN’s investigation and the letter, Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, challenged Uber’s use of forced arbitration and in a letter to CEO Dara Khosrowshahi “respectfully requested” the company end the practice.
Beyond Uber, there’s been a push to cut back on the use of forced arbitration by employers.
Susan Fowler, the former Uber engineer whose blog post drove Uber to address sexual harassment within the company’s corporate workforce, is fighting on the workplace issue more broadly in California. She joined California lawmakers in April to introduce a state bill that would ban forced arbitration.
“As bold and far reaching as this announcement and decision is, and as unique as it is, it won’t give everything to everybody,” West said. “What’s most important is for individual survivors to be able to tell their individual stories.”
Article via: Uber will no longer force victims of sexual assault into arbitration