Ashley Judd sues Harvey Weinstein for defamation, says he ruined her career for his sexual advances
Actress Ashley Judd has filed a lawsuit today against the movie producer Harvey Weinstein for sexual harassment and defamation. She claims that because of Harvey she didn't get a role in the movie 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy after she rejected his sexual advances.
Apart from defamation and sexual harassment, she also claims that Harvey conveyed wrong thing about her to filmmaker Peter Jackson. She filed a lawsuit on Monday Los Angeles County Superior Court, Judd felt something "unseen" had been holding her career back, but she didn't realize until December that it was Weinstein.
Judd told ABC News, "I lost career opportunity. I lost money. I lost status and prestige and power in my career as a direct result of having been sexually harassed and rebuffing the sexual harassment. My career opportunities, after having been defamed by Harvey Weinstein, were significantly diminished. ... My career was damaged because I rebuffed Mr. Weinstein's sexual advances. I know it for a fact."
Ashley says, she was in contact with Jackson and his team in 1998 to play one of two major roles in the fantasy trilogy but Harvey ruined everything. She explained, "Harvey conveyed that I "was a 'nightmare' to work with and should be avoided 'at all costs.'"
Attorney Theodore Boutrous Jr. said, "The pathetic reality, however, was that Weinstein was retaliating against Ms. Judd for rejecting his sexual demands approximately one year earlier, when he cornered her in a hotel room under the guise of discussing business. A self-described 'benevolent dictator' who has bragged that 'I can be scary,' Weinstein used his power in the entertainment industry to damage Ms. Judd’s reputation and limit her ability to find work."
Until last year December, Judd didn't know that she wasn't cast in the film. The lawsuit which she has filed includes sexual harrassment by other actresses, including Salma Hayek and Uma Thurman. The actresses claims that Harvey threatened their careers after they rejected him sexually
Judd is suing Weinstein for defamation, sexual harassment, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage and unfair competition.
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First published: 1 May 2018, 12:10 IST