Weinstein Sexual Harassment Suit Is Revived

• Author: Josephine M. Bahn
• Pages: 4-5

ctress Ash ley Judd’s sexual haras sment claim against

movie mogul Har vey Weinstein was reinstated after

an appellate court held t hat a recently amend-

ed sexual harassment law “plainly encompassed

Judd and Weinstein’s relationship” when the ha-

rassment occur red. The U.S. Court of Appe als

for the Ninth Circ uit explained that “their relationsh ip con-

sisted of an inherent p ower imbalance wherein Weinstein was

uniquely situated to exercis e coercion or leverage over Judd by

virtue of hi s professional position and inuence as a top pro -

ducer in Hollywood.” ABA Section of L itigation leaders predict

that the court ’s concern about power imbala nces in professional

relationships wil l be mirrored in decisions and laws a round the

country as judici al systems and legislative bodie s grapple with

how to protect individual s from sexual harassment.

Aspiring Act ress Accepts Meeting w ith a Producer

Sometime in l ate 1996 or early 1997, Ashley Judd allege dly

met Harvey Weinstei n at a Beverly Hills hotel. At the time ,

Judd was a young, aspiring ac tress just starting in t he enter-

tainment indu stry. She had recently landed a role in a lm

produced by Weinstein’s media company, and Weinstein a sked

Judd to attend a breakfas t meeting. Judd accepted the invita-

tion hoping that she mig ht land new roles as a result.

Judd claimed that when she a rrived, she was escorted to a

private hotel room where Weinstein opene d the door wearing

only a bathrobe. Af ter a short conversation, Judd alleged that

Weinstein tried coe rcing her into massaging him and watc hing

him shower. Declini ng, Judd promptly left and later told her

friends she feared Wein stein would attack her.

After thi s incident, Judd claimed that Weinstein por trayed

her as difc ult to work with and advised his producer coun-

terparts to avoid hir ing her. The director and producer of The

Lord of the Rings was appar ently so swayed by Weinstein’s

comments he refus ed to hire Judd as an actress for the movie

series. In 2017, that director gave a public i nterview explain-

ing that Weinstein’s comments about Judd h ad caused him not

to cast her in the seri es.

Judd Files Suit Against Weinstein

Judd led a lawsuit agai nst Weinstein the following year based

on the director ’s new disclosures in t he 2017 interview. Judd

sued Weinstein for sexua l harassment, defamation, inten -

tional interferenc e with prospective economic advant age,

and unfair comp etition, stating that her refusa l in his hotel

By Josephine M. B ahn, Litigation News

Associate Editor

© Photo illustrat ion by Elmarie C. Jar a / Getty Images

Weinstein Sexual

Harassment Suit

Is Revived