Harvey Weinstein Wants Judge to Toss Ashley Judd Lawsuit
The legal team of disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein asked a federal court judge to dismiss Ashley Judd's civil suit against their client.
Variety revealed that Weinstein's lawyers want the judge to throw out Judd's lawsuit, which accused him of blackballing her after she refused his sexual advances, that she filed in April.
According to the lawsuit, the once-powerful Hollywood producer persuaded filmmaker Peter Jackson from casting her in "The Lord of the Rings" in 1998 as his revenge when she rebuffed him during an encounter at Beverly Hills' Peninsula Hotel.
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In her statement that was written in the lawsuit that she filed at the Los Angeles Superior Court in April, the actress stated that she lost career opportunity, money, and prestige as a direct effect of being a victim of sexual harassment and refusing the sexual harassment that Weinstein was planning during that time.
"My career opportunities, after having been defamed by Harvey Weinstein, were significantly diminished. My career was damaged because I rebuffed Mr. Weinstein's sexual advances. I know it for a fact," the actress also stated.
Judd claimed that she only found out about Weinstein's scheme after Jackson revealed in December that Miramax launched a smear campaign against her and Mora Sorvino when he was still looking for actors for his now epic movie saga. According to Jackson, he was told that both Judd and Sorvino were a "nightmare to work with." It made him decide to leave out both women from the list of actresses that he considered for the movie.
But Weinstein's lawyers Phyllis Kupferstein and Cynthia L. Zedalis claimed that even if Weinstein really described Judd as a "nightmare," he was just an opinion.
"Unlike statements that a particular actor could not remember his or her lines, would be late to set, or required many takes — all of which are susceptible to proof — describing Plaintiff as a 'nightmare' and cautioning others to 'avoid' her does not support a defamation claim," the lawyers stated based on the legal document shared by Deadline.
The lawyers also argued that Weinstein's rumored sexual conduct against Judd was not really severe since he just asked to help him pick out some clothes and asked her to watch him take a shower. "These allegations fall far short of meeting the 'pervasive or severe' required element," the legal team stated.
