Actress Julia Ormond is suing Disney and CAA over an alleged sexual assault by Harvey Weinstein in 1995, claiming that both Disney — which owned Weinstein’s Miramax — and CAA enabled the assault and even retaliated against her afterwards.
In taking on two of Hollywood’s most powerful companies, Julia Ormond is corroborating what fellow stars Rose McGowan and Courtney Love have long alleged — that CAA talent agents sent actresses to meet with Harvey Weinstein knowing full well that he had a history of sexual misconduct with women.
Julia Ormond, who rose to fame opposite Brad Pitt in the 1995 movie Legends of the Fall, is filing the suit under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which allows for sexual assault victims to sue if they over 18 years old at the time of the alleged offense, with no time limit on when the abuse took place.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed the act into law last year, providing potential plaintiffs with a one-year time period in which to file their complaints.
Ormond alleges Harvey Weinstein forced himself upon her after a 1995 business dinner by luring her into giving him a massage, climbing on top of her, masturbating, and forcing her to give him oral sex, according to a copy of the complaint first reported by Variety.
Ormond claims she later informed CAA agents Bryan Lourd and Kevin Huvane about the incident, alleging they cautioned her from speaking out, even telling her that a potential $100,000 settlement from Weinstein wasn’t worth the lost professional opportunities.
The suit alleges that CAA later “lost interest in representing her” and pushed her to a less experienced agent, resulting in damage to her career.
She also claimed Disney retaliated against her by cancelling her development deal with Miramax.
“The damage to Ormond’s career because of Weinstein’s assault and the aftermath was catastrophic both personally and professionally,” the lawsuit reportedly states, noting that she has “nearly disappeared from the public eye.”
Ormond followed Legends of the Fall with First Knight, starring Richard Gere, and Sabrina, with Harrison Ford. But her Hollywood career soon fizzled out by the late 90s, and she has since worked mostly in Europe.
“There’s no way that Harvey did this without people knowing,” the suit alleges. “If people knew, they were either too afraid to step up, or they allowed the profit that they were making from their relationship with him to justify a cover-up.”
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