Disney, Former Miramax Exec Fabrizio Lombardo Sued Over Alleged 2001 Rape

Fabrizio Lombardo, the former head of Miramax in Italy and a close associate of Harvey Weinstein, was accused of rape in a lawsuit filed Thursday in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan.

Sara Ziff, a former model and the founder of Model Alliance, an advocacy group for models and others in the fashion industry, claims in the suit that Lombardo assaulted her in a New York City hotel in 2001 when she was 19.

The suit names Lombardo, Weinstein, The Walt Disney Company, Disney subsidiaries Buena Vista International, Miramax Films and ABC Corp as defendants.

The suit, first reported in The New York Times, claims abuse and negligence under the Adult Survivors Act, a New York law that allows sex crime victims to bring civil claims that would otherwise have expired under the statute of limitations.

Ziff, now 40, claims in the suit that she was working as a model and aspiring actor when she was sent in 2001 to meet Lombardo, then an executive at Miramax. During the meeting, Lombardo told her that he knew Weinstein, who was then Miramax’s CEO and at the height of his power in Hollywood.

A few days later, Lombardo invited Ziff to a private screening at Miramax’s offices in New York, telling her Weinstein would be present. She went, hoping to establish a professional connection, the suit claims, but Weinstein barely acknowledged her as they watched the film “Black Hawk Down.” Lombardo then asked her to join him at his hotel, on the pretense they would be joined by Weinstein and his brother and business partner Bob.

“Ms. Ziff did not know that what awaited her at the hotel was not the promised chance to discuss her acting career with the Weinstein brothers, but a trap set by Mr. Lombardo to get Ms. Ziff alone and rape her,” the suit claims. It describes in detail how Lombardo brought her to his penthouse suite, began making advances toward her and when she turned him down, pushed her onto a bed and raped her.

“Ms. Ziff was so traumatized that she could not speak about the rape for several years afterward,” the suit states.

It also points to prior accusations against Lombardo — with whom Miramax parted ways in 2004 ostensibly because he had two jobs — claiming that his “predatory behavior was so well-known and consumed so much of his time at Miramax, that it caused consternation amongst the company’s employees.”

These events took place amid the surreal world that surrounded Weinstein before the exposure of his serial attacks on women spawned the “Me Too” movement in 2017. Now convicted of sexual assault and rape on both coasts, he’s serving a 23-year sentence in New York, after which the now 70-year-old is due to serve 16 years in California.

In 2017, TheWrap reported that four women stepped forward to corroborate earlier reporting that Lombardo served Miramax as a procurer of women rather than as a film executive, including actress-director Asia Argento, one of the first to publicly accuse Weinstein, model Sascha Voski, who said Lombardo “relentlessly stalked” her.

Indeed, a raft of accusations gave Lombardo a reputation as Weinstein’s “hustler.”

Ziff filed a report with the New York City Police Department that year, but it did not result in any charges, the Times reported.

“Given their symbiotic and sickening alliance, Mr. Weinstein protected Mr. Lombardo, both in the press and internally in discussions with colleagues,” Ziff charges in the suit, which maintains that Miramax and Disney were “fully aware” Lombardo was “a danger to women whom he encountered at work.”

“Despite this knowledge, they did nothing to properly supervise Mr. Lombardo or prevent him from victimizing more women,” the suit claims. “As a result, Mr. Lombardo was able to use his position with Miramax and Disney, as well as the offices and resources of those companies, to lure Ms. Ziff, then only a teenager, to a fake meeting where he raped her.”

The Times was unable to reach Lombardo for a comment. Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TheWrap.

Imran H. Ansari, a lawyer for Harvey Weinstein, said in a statement to The Times: “Certainly Mr. Weinstein had no control over any alleged conduct by Mr. Lombardo, nor would he have any reason to know what Mr. Lombardo was doing nor where Mr. Lombardo was at the time that Ms. Ziff alleges she was raped. As such, Mr. Weinstein firmly denies that he has any liability for the alleged conduct of another.”