Axl Rose and more
That’s why complaints about sexual harassment are currently piling up
Jamie Foxx (from left), Cuba Gooding Jr. and Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose are some of the prominent men against whom lawsuits have been filed in New York.
© Featureflash Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com / 2022 Featureflash Photo Agency/Shutterstock.com / A.PAES/Shutterstock.com
There are currently a striking number of sexual harassment lawsuits against US stars. This comes at the end of an important deadline.
Numerous US stars have been sued for sexual assault in recent days. Many women (and sometimes men too) still take advantage of a special New York law that expires on Thursday at midnight (local time). Through the so-called Adult Survivors Act, civil rights were granted for a year Lawsuits for sexual misconduct can be filed even after the statute of limitations expires. In the United States, abuse usually becomes statute-barred after a few years when victims reach adulthood.
“Compensation for damage suffered”
Actors Jamie Foxx (55) and Cuba Gooding Jr. (55), musician Axl Rose (61) and music producer Jimmy Iovine (70), for example, were sued before the deadline on Wednesday. The lawsuits were filed in New York Supreme Court under the Adult Survivors Act. On Tuesday, Bill Cosby (86), who had already been convicted of sexual abuse, was accused by a woman in another lawsuit. She claims she was drugged and sexually abused by the actor in the 1980s. Lawsuits were also filed this month against rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs, music mogul LA Reid (67) and former Grammys CEO Neil Portnow (75).
“The passage of the Adult Survivors Acts has given victims the opportunity to come forward despite the time that has passed and seek redress for the harm they have suffered,” attorney Douglas Wigdor said loudly a report from “The Hollywood Reporter”. He represents the woman who accuses music mogul Iovine of multiple sexual assaults in 2007. Andrew Wyatt, a spokesman for Bill Cosby, criticized the New York law: “I will urge the public to contact their legislators and demand that they close these look-back windows because they are being abused to achieve success “to hunt down wealthy men like Diddy, Steven Tyler and LA Reid,” he said in a statement. “When will it stop and who will be the next man to fall victim to these look-back windows?”
Further allegations against Cuba Gooding Jr.
On Wednesday, Broadway legend William Ivey Long (76) was also sued by a costume designer. He emphasizes in the documents that he was “subjected to sexual harassment and eventual rape by Long, with the assistance of Long’s associates.” Everyone worked together to systematically commit and cover up the abuse. Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr. was sued by two women. The actor allegedly groped her in separate incidents in New York City in 2018 and 2019. Gooding Jr. has been accused of sexual abuse by several women. Just in June, he reached an out-of-court settlement with a woman who accused him of raping her a decade ago. In doing so, he avoided legal proceedings. In spring 2022, he pleaded guilty to kissing a waitress without consent in 2018.