Julia Ormond sues Harvey Weinstein, Hollywood studios and agency over alleged sexual assault
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Julia Ormond is suing disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein for sexual battery, alleging that he assaulted her in 1995.
The English actress, known for her roles in such films as Legends of the Fall and My Week With Marilyn, is also suing the Walt Disney Company, Miramax, and Creative Arts Agency, accusing them of negligence.
In a complaint filed complaint Wednesday in New York State Supreme Court and reviewed by EW, Ormond, 58, alleges that Weinstein, 71, sexually assaulted her in December 1995 after a business dinner in her apartment. According to Ormond, Weinstein would only discuss their latest film project back at the apartment Miramax had provided her as part of their first-look deal. There, he allegedly stripped naked, lured Ormond into giving him a massage, and forced Ormond to perform oral sex on him.
Ormond claims she informed her CAA agents at the time, Bryan Lourd and Kevin Huvane (both of whom are mentioned throughout the complaint but not listed as defendants), and says they cautioned her from speaking out, suggesting that Weinstein would "seriously damage her career," and failed to protect her. She further alleges that the agency soon "lost interest in representing her, and her career suffered dramatically."
Shutterstock Julia Ormond
"The men at CAA who represented Ormond knew about Weinstein. So too did Weinstein's employers at Miramax and [its parent company] Disney," the complaint says. "Brazenly, none of these prominent companies warned Ormond that Weinstein had a history of assaulting women because he was too important, too powerful, and made them too much money."
Ormond filed the complaint under New York's Adult Survivors Act, which allows "a one-year lookback window for survivors of sexual assault that occurred when they were over the age of 18 to sue their abusers regardless of when the abuse occurred."
In a statement provided to EW, Ormond said, "After living for decades with the painful memories of my experiences at the hands of Harvey Weinstein, I am humbled and grateful to all those who have risked speaking out. Their courage and the Adult Survivors Act has provided me a window of opportunity and way to shed light on how powerful people and institutions like my talent agents at CAA, Miramax, and Disney enabled and provided cover for Weinstein to assault me and countless others. I seek a level of personal closure by holding them accountable to acknowledge their part and the depth of its harms and hope that all of our increased understanding will lead to further protections for all of us at work."
An attorney for Weinstein, Imran H. Ansari, "categorically denied" the allegations to EW. "This is yet another example of a complaint filed against Mr. Weinstein after the passing of decades, and he is confident that the evidence will not support Ms. Ormond's claims," he said.
Etienne Laurent-Pool/Getty Images Harvey Weinstein
A CAA spokesperson said in a statement to EW that the agency "takes all allegations of sexual assault and abuse seriously, and has compassion for Ms. Ormond and the experience she described in her complaint. However, the claims that Ms. Ormond has levied against the agency are completely without merit."
The spokesperson added that the agency will "vigorously refute" Ormond's claims in court.
Representatives for Disney and Miramax didn't immediately respond to EW's requests for comment.
Weinstein is currently serving 23 years behind bars after being convicted of rape and sexual assault in New York in 2020. In February, he was sentenced to an additional 16 years for sex crimes in Los Angeles.More than 80 women have accused him of sexual abuse and misconduct dating back to the 1990s. Weinstein has maintained his innocence, telling a judge prior to his sentencing earlier this year that the allegations are "about money and coming after me."
[This article has been updated with statements from CAA and Ormond.]
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