OTTAWA - A Canadian actress sued disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein Wednesday for two alleged sexual assaults in Toronto in 2000, her lawyer said.
The woman, identified only as “Jane Doe” in documents filed with the Ontario Superior Court and cited by the daily Toronto Star, is also suing Miramax, The Walt Disney Company and Barbara Schneeweiss, who worked for Weinstein and is accused of “facilitating” the assaults. The plaintiff is seeking a total of Can$14 million (US$11 million). In the court documents, Doe says she was in her early 20s and working on her first movie in Toronto when Weinstein approached her on set and said she looked like a famous movie star. Weinstein’s assistant later called to invite her to his hotel “to discuss her career.” Once alone with Doe, Weinstein allegedly asked if she liked massages, to which she replied yes but added that the subject was “not an appropriate one for a business meeting.” There was an “uncomfortable silence” while Weinstein “stared intently at her for several seconds,” she said in the court filings. But in the hours that followed, Doe said Weinstein left several messages asking her to return to the hotel so that he could apologize to her in private. “Fearful that her movie career, which had barely begun, could be destroyed if she did not return to the hotel and give Weinstein a chance to apologize,” she went back. More than 80 women including stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie and Mira Sorvino have accused 65-year-old Weinstein of sexual abuse and harassment, although he denies forcing himself on anyone.