Julia Ormond files lawsuit against Harvey Weinstein, Disney and Miramax over alleged sexual assault
Actor Julia Ormond has filed a lawsuit accusing disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein of sexually assaulting her and then hindering her career.
The Sabrina star is also seeking damages from Disney, Miramax and her former agents for negligence. She suggests they knew Weinstein was a problem but did nothing about it.
Weinstein is currently serving a 23 year prison sentence.
Ormond alleges that in December 1995, she and Weinstein met for a business dinner but she claims he said he “would only discuss the project back at the apartment Miramax had provided for Ormond as part of their first-look deal with her.”
Once at the apartment, Weinstein “stripped naked and forced her to perform oral sex on him.”
Ormond, whose films include “Legends of the Fall” with Brad Pitt and “First Knight” with Sean Connery and Richard Gere, says her career didn't recover after the alleged incident.
Weinstein's attorney Imran Ansari said his client “categorically denies the allegations made against him by Julia Ormond and he is prepared to vehemently defend himself.”
The complaint also alleges that Miramax or Disney could have “properly supervised Weinstein and not retained him while knowing that he was a danger to the women he encountered at work.”
According to the filing, “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 is also suing the Creative Artists Agency (CAA), her former talent agency which she says failed to warn her about Weinstein's abuse and "suggested that if she reported Weinstein to the authorities, she would not be believed, and he would seriously damage her career".
CAA responded in a statement that the agency “takes all allegations of sexual assault and abuse seriously, and has compassion for Ms. Ormond."
The statement said the agency hired attorneys to investigate her claims when she first came to them in March, and they found only “evidence of a dynamic and engaged relationship between CAA and Ms. Ormond, and the agency’s consistent efforts to support her career.”
“Ms. Ormond’s claims against CAA are baseless, and the agency will vigorously refute them in court,” the statement said.
Ormond put her case forward in New York under a law that allows sex cases to be filed outside of the statute of limitations.
It marks the first time Ormond has publicly accused Weinstein of sexual assault.
Weinstein was convicted of rape and sexual assault in New York in 2020 and last year was also convicted of another rape in Los Angeles; he has appealed both convictions.
Dozens of women have sued Weinstein, many of them actors, but few have named such a broad list of defendants as Ormond.
ITV News has contacted Disney and Mirimax for comment.
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