Actress Julia Ormond is suing disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein for sexual battery. In the lawsuit filed Wednesday and obtained by Page Six, the “Legends of the Fall” star alleges that Weinstein sexually assaulted her following a business dinner in 1995.
Ormond, 58, claims in the lawsuit that Weinstein, 71, told her that he would only discuss a project “back at the apartment Miramax had provided for Ormond as part of their first-look deal with her.”
Ormond agreed to have Weinstein come to her apartment where he allegedly “stripped naked and forced her to perform oral sex on him.”
After the alleged incident, the “Sabrina” star claims in the suit that she informed her agents Kevin Huvane and Bryan Lourd about what had occurred.
However, Ormond claims they allegedly advised her against speaking out and did not protect her afterward. She is also suing Creative Artists Agency (CAA) for negligence and breach of fiduciary duty.
Additionally, Ormond is also suing Miramax and the Walt Disney Company for negligent supervision and retention.
Huvane and Lourd — who are co-chairmen of CAA — are not named as defendants in the lawsuit, but they are named throughout the document as her reps during that time.
Ormond claims she faced retaliation for trying to hold Weinstein accountable for his alleged actions and for turning down his advances.
Shortly after she notified her agents at CAA of the alleged assault, Miramax terminated its contract with her.
Additionally, she claims in the lawsuit that she was moved to a less experienced agent at CAA, which prompted her to eventually leave the agency.
The lawsuit claims that the “men at CAA who represented Ormond knew about Weinstein. So too did Weinstein’s employers at Miramax and Disney.
“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 released a statement following the lawsuit, saying that she has been living “with the painful memories” Weinstein caused for “decades.”
“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,” she shared.
Weinstein’s attorney, Imran H. Ansari, told Page Six in a statement Wednesday that his client “categorically denies the allegations made against him by Julia Ormond and he is prepared to vehemently defend himself.”
“This is yet another example of a complaint filed against Mr. Weinstein after the passing of decades,” Ansari continued, “and he is confident that the evidence will not support Ms. Ormond’s claims.”
In a phone interview with Variety, which was the first to report the lawsuit, Ormond said she is “coming forward with my story now publicly because I feel as if we still need systemic change, and I feel that we need accountability from enablers, in order to get there.
“I feel that this is what happened with me.”
In a statement to Page Six Wednesday, CAA said that it “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. Through counsel, Ms. Ormond approached CAA in March with these allegations about the agency. Knowing these allegations to be untrue, the agency then retained attorney Loretta Lynch and her law firm, Paul Weiss, to defend the company. Their review found nothing to support Ms. Ormond’s claims against CAA.”
They added, “Ms. Ormond’s claims against CAA are baseless, and the agency will vigorously refute them in court.”
Disney and Miramax did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
Weinstein — who has been accused by more than 100 women of sexual abuse — is currently behind bars serving a 23-year sentence for raping an aspiring actress and sexually abusing a TV and film production assistant.
In February 2023, the former film producer was also sentenced to another 16 years in prison after he was convicted in December 2022 on counts of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation and sexual penetration by a foreign object of an Italian model in February 2013.
Weinstein maintains his innocence and is in the process of appealing his convictions.
In other news – Carla Bruni reveals she was diagnosed with breast cancer
Carla Bruni has revealed she was diagnosed with breast cancer four years ago. The model and singer, 55, shared the news in a video posted to Instagram Wednesday to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
In the video, Bruni used sign cards to reveal her diagnosis and shared a statement in both French and English. Read More
