Harvey Weinstein’s lawyers are calling on a US judge to dismiss a lawsuit from actress Ashley Judd – who accuses the disgraced mogul of torpedoing her career – on the grounds that she had made a sexual “deal” with him.
In a motion filed Tuesday in a Los Angeles court, Weinstein’s defense team insisted Judd had struck a “deal” with Weinstein allowing him to touch her if she “won an Academy Award in one of his films.”
Weinstein’s attorneys claim the ex-movie mogul then “attempted to live up to his part of the bargain” by working to cast Judd in “as many roles as possible” – including opposite Matt Damon in “Good Will Hunting,” a role for which Minnie Driver ultimately won an Oscar nomination.
His action “reflects his motivation to advance her career, not ruin it” and undermines Judd’s “defamation claim (as well as her retaliation claim) in its entirety,” the court documents say.
In a statement responding to the filing, a spokesperson for Judd said: “Mr. Weinstein’s arguments seeking to escape the consequences of his despicable misconduct are not only baseless, they are offensive.”
“We look forward to opposing his flawed motion, moving forward with discovery into his outrageous behavior, and proving to a jury that Mr. Weinstein maliciously damaged Ms. Judd’s career because she resisted his sexual advances.”
Judd says Weinstein told “Lord Of The Rings” director Peter Jackson she was a “nightmare.”
The New Zealand filmmaker said he had no direct knowledge of sexual misconduct allegations against Weinstein, but that the producer pressured him not to hire Judd or Mira Sorvino.
“I recall Miramax telling us they were a nightmare to work with and we should avoid them at all costs. This was probably in 1998,” Jackson was quoted as telling Fairfax New Zealand. (AFP)
