Actress Paz de la Huerta accuses Harvey Weinstein of rape
The disgraced movie mogul could be facing criminal charges.
Paz de la Huerta is adding The Walt Disney Company, its CEO Bob Iger and ex-chairman Michael Eisner to the actress’ sexual assault lawsuit against disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
In a complaint submitted on Tuesday, the 34-year-old alleged Eisner and Iger “made a series of decisions that allowed a range of actions by Harvey Weinstein that unacceptably harmed certain employees of Miramax,” which Disney owned at the time, The Hollywood Reporter shared on Wednesday.
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“It is clear that the risk of sexual assault by Harvey Weinstein is inherent in the working environment fostered at Miramax,” wrote attorney Aaron Filler. “De la Huerta and her family were aware of an anxious about these risks at the time of the undertaking to allow Paz de la Huerta to participate in the making of the ‘Cider House Rules’ film… The motivating emotions of Harvey Weinstein were fairly attributable to the work conditions of his controlling the work and hiring of young female actresses while imbuing all aspects of the work with a sense of likelihood or expectability of intimate sexual contact.”
Paz de la Huerta attends the premiere of "Bare" during the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival on April 19, 2015, in New York City. (2015 Getty Images)
According to the outlet, De la Huerta alleged that Disney is responsible because the assault arose from “the bringing together of these two individuals [de la Huerta and Weinstein] in the course of business of Miramax.”
De la Huerta’s claims against Iger, 68, and Eisner, 77, along with former Miramax chairman Bob Weinstein, are negligent supervision and intentional infliction of emotional distress. When it comes to Disney, de la Huerta’s claims are negligent supervision and violation of federal sex trafficking statutes.
“The Weinsteins operated and managed their business with virtual autonomy,” a rep for Disney told The Hollywood Reporter in response to the complaint. “There is absolutely no legal basis for claims against the company and we will defend against them vigorously.”
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Harvey Weinstein exits the courtroom after a hearing in State Supreme Court on April 26, 2019 in New York City. Weinstein is facing rape and sexual assault charges from two separate incidents. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
De la Huerta sued Weinstein, 67, for sexual battery in November 2018. She also went after The Weinstein Co. and the Four Seasons hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. for their alleged roles.
According to the “Boardwalk Empire” star, she met Weinstein in 1999 when she was then 14 and working on “The Cider House Rules,” which starred Tobey Maguire and Charlize Theron. More than a decade later, de la Huerta alleged that Weinstein raped her. The suit was moved to federal court and remanded back to Los Angeles County Superior Court.
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