Three More Women Come Forward to Accuse Paul Haggis of Raping, Sexually Harassing Them
At least three women came forward last week to accuse renowned film director Paul Haggis of sexually abusing them. However, Haggis, through his lawyer, was quick to deny all the claims.
On Friday last week, an Associated Press report detailed the new allegations of the three women against Haggis, following a December lawsuit filed by another woman who accused the director of raping her sometime in 2013. Haggis was quick to deny the first accusation and counter-sued, saying that the woman who filed the suit, publicist Haleigh Breest, was only trying to milk $9 million worth of ransom from him.
In a statement, Haggis' lawyer said, "In a society where one of a person's fundamental rights is the ability to confront an accuser, that right has now been eviscerated when it comes to anyone being charged in the press with any sort of sexual misconduct."
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One of the new accusers is a 28-year-old publicist who allegedly worked with Haggis on a television show in 1996. According to her, the director forced her to perform oral sex on him before ultimately raping her. In her suit, she said that she did not come forward for fear that Haggis might end her career and that no one would believe her, considering how powerful Haggis is in the industry. "The power, the anger, the financial resources, you feel like you are not really a match for that," she said.
Another accuser claims that while pitching Haggis an idea for a TV show, the Oscar-winning director told her that he's allowed to sleep with other women despite being married, and then kissed her. The last accuser says that Haggis kissed her against her will before following her into a taxi.
Haggis is the latest high-profile TV and film personality to face sexual harassment/assault charges following last year's wave of exposes of alleged sexual misconduct involving Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Russell Simmons, and a lot more.
