The actress claims she was threatened into silence after Weinstein reportedly attacked her in 1995.
Julia Ormond, best known for her roles in films such as First Knight and Smilla's Sense Of Snow, and more recently as one of the stars of Walking Dead spin-off World Beyond, has filed a new lawsuit against a familiar target: film producer and convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein, whom Ormond claims sexually assaulted her in 1995.
Ormond is suing The Walt Disney Company, Miramax, and Hollywood agency CAA in addition to Weinstein, who is currently serving a 39-year prison sentence for several charges of rape, sexual assault, and other sexual misconduct. At the time of the alleged assault, the latter was representing Ormond and apparently advised her to keep it quiet for fear of retaliation from the powerful Weinstein.
According to Ormond's claim, Weinstein's assault followed a pattern that is familiar to anyone who has read up on the charges against him: A business dinner turned into a massage request, and Weinstein "climbed on top of her, masturbated, and forced her to give him oral sex." Ormond claims that in the aftermath, she told her agents, Bryan Lourd and Kevin Huvane (who are now co-chairmen of CAA), what had happened; she claims the pair "cautioned her from speaking out and did not protect her."Ormond is suing CAA for negligence and breach of fiduciary duty, as well as the formerly Weinstein-run Miramax (and its owners at Disney), for irresponsible supervision, according to her lawyers.
The men at CAA who represented Ormond were aware of Weinstein's involvement." Weinstein's bosses at Miramax and Disney felt the same way. Despite the fact that Weinstein had a history of harassing women, none of these significant firms warned Ormond because he was "too important, too powerful, and made them too much money.
In a statement to Variety, Ormond says she hopes to target "enablers" with the lawsuit (made feasible by current California laws that vastly stretch the statute of limitations for civil actions involving sexual assault). ""Obviously, Harvey Weinstein is in jail and will be there for a long time," Ormond said. "Personally, I don't think Harvey could have done it without the assistance of enablers." In terms of the fundamental rationale, I believe it is the layer to focus on." Ormond claims she notified her family about the attack at the height of the MeToo movement, and she is now speaking out publicly because "I feel violated." as if we still need systemic change."
Weinstein has disputed the allegations made by Ormond.
