LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Julia Ormond is sharing her ‘painful memories’ with the world as she sues disgraced Harvey Weinstein on sexual assault charges.
The ‘Sabrina’ actress is also seeking damages from her previous agency ‘Creative Artists Agency,’ claiming in her complaint that CAA "well knew of Weinstein’s propensity for sexually assaultive and exploitative behavior, particularly as to young actresses whom Weinstein was meeting for business purposes" when it helped her secure a film production deal with Miramax, reports People.
What did Harvey Weinstein’s representative say on fresh sexual assault allegations?
The former film executive's representative said, Harvey "categorically denies the allegations made against him by Julia Ormond and he is prepared to vehemently defend himself."
It added, "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."
Ormond said in a statement on Wednesday, September 4, “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," the 58-year-old added.
What is Julia Ormond seeking through her lawsuit?
According to her lawsuit, Ormond is seeking 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.”
The star’s attorneys Douglas H Wigdor and Effie Blassberger told their client "has suffered tremendously both personally and professionally due to the assault by Harvey Weinstein, and the failure from Disney, Miramax and CAA to prevent it and to appropriately respond when she reported what happened."
Ormond is looking for "compensatory damages, including consequential damages, lost wages, earning, and all other sums of money, together with interest on these amounts," as well as a monetary judgment "for mental pain and anguish and severe emotional distress," as well as her attorneys' fees, according to the lawsuit.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
