Julia Ormond sues CAA, Disney, Harvey Weinstein over sexual assault

NEW YORK: English actress Julia Ormond, known for her roles in 90s movies such as Legends of the Fall First Knight and Smilla’s Sense of Snow, has filed a lawsuit against Harvey Weinstein for sexual battery.

According to Variety, in addition to Weinstein, Ormond is also suing Creative Artists Agency (CAA), The Walt Disney Company, and Miramax.

Weinstein has faced multiple sexual assault lawsuits since allegations against him were exposed in 2017. However, it is unusual for business partners who profited from Weinstein’s work to be named as defendants for enabling his alleged behavior.

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According to media reports, Ormond’s lawsuit, filed in New York Supreme Court, alleges that Weinstein sexually assaulted her in 1995 after a business dinner. The lawsuit claims that Weinstein lured her into giving him a massage, then masturbated and forced her to perform oral sex.

According to the lawsuit, Ormond informed her agents, Bryan Lourd and Kevin Huvane, about the incident, but they cautioned her against speaking out and did not protect her. Ormond is suing CAA for negligence and breach of fiduciary duty.

Meanwhile, the company co-founded by Weinstein and his brother Bob Miramax, and The Walt Disney Company, which owned Miramax in the 90s, are being sued for negligent supervision and retention.

The lawsuit mentions several former Miramax and Disney executives, including Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg, although they are not defendants.

The lawsuit claims that “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.”

However, CAA, Disney, and Miramax have not yet responded to the lawsuit.

Meanwhile, Weinstein, who has been convicted of rape in two jurisdictions and accused by more than 100 women over decades, denies Ormond’s allegations.

Ormond is filing her suit under the Adult Survivors Act, which creates a look-back window outside the statute of limitations. She hopes that by sharing her story, she can contribute to corporate transparency regarding reporting structures and the use of non-disclosure agreements.

Ormond emphasises the importance of holding enablers accountable, stating, “If you think about it, if there had been best practices and Harvey Weinstein had been called out at the start after his first sexual harassment or his first sexual assault, he could have learned different behaviors, and potentially all of the people that followed wouldn’t have been harmed.”

After her call to CAA following the alleged assault, Miramax terminated its contract with Ormond. She says she faced retaliation for rejecting Weinstein and trying to hold him accountable.

Ormond’s lawsuit sheds light on the alleged complicity of business partners in Weinstein’s misconduct, highlighting the need for accountability beyond individual perpetrators.

In response to the lawsuit, Ormond’s lawyers express her commitment to holding accountable those who enabled Weinstein’s behavior and betrayed her safety and well-being.