Horatio Sanz accuser alleges Jimmy Fallon, Tracy Morgan, and Lorne Michaels enabled sexual assault
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The woman suing former Saturday Night Live star Horatio Sanz for sexual assault has filed a motion to add costars Jimmy Fallon and Tracy Morgan, as well as show creator Lorne Michaels to the lawsuit.
Identified only as Jane Doe, the woman claims the SNL stars and boss enabled the alleged abuse she says occurred when she was 17 years old. According to the complaint obtained by EW, Doe said she and her teenage friends regularly attended SNL tapings and after-parties from 2000 to 2002, when she was between the ages of 15 to 17.
During one particular after-party hosted by Morgan in 2002, Doe alleges Horatio groped her "in full view of party onlookers, continuing the assault even as she implored him to stop." She "not only felt sexually humiliated and degraded, but her lifelong career aspirations of working at SNL ground to a halt — as the entire SNL cast watched" and "laughed," the complaint alleged. As a result, Doe "suffered lifelong trauma as a result of Sanz's sexual abuse" and grooming.
Gary Gershoff/WireImage; Jerod Harris/WireImage; Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images Horatio Sanz; Jimmy Fallon; Tracy Morgan
The complaint alleges Michaels "fostered a predatory environment at SNL in which visibly underage teenage girls were a regular presence" at after-parties, "where alcohol was provided to them by NBC," while Fallon and Morgan were "willing participants in this disturbing culture" that led to the alleged abuse.
"Sanz and his enablers lured Jane into their celebrity world and made her feel like a cool kid for drinking and partying with a bunch of famous grown-ups," Doe's attorney, Susan Crumiller, said in a statement. "Instead, they destroyed her life. Jane has spent the past two decades struggling with the repercussions of what they did to her; now it's their turn. We look forward to holding NBC, Sanz, and everyone else who enabled this disgusting behavior accountable."
Doe's suit was filed last August under a state law that allowed victims of child sexual abuse to bring forth claims that otherwise would have been barred by statute of limitations. NBC filed a motion to dismiss the complaint in April, claiming the network was not responsible for Sanz's conduct.
EW has reached out to reps for Sanz, Michaels, Fallon, and Morgan. When reached for comment Wednesday, a NBC spokesperson said, "Regardless of Jane Doe's changing narratives, NBC intends to renew its motion to dismiss."
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