Weinstein Asks Judge to Toss Ashley Judd Lawsuit

His lawyers say alleged harassment wasn't 'pervasive'
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 19, 2018 2:25 AM CDT
Weinstein Asks Judge to Toss Ashley Judd Lawsuit
In this March 4, 2018 photo, Ashley Judd arrives at the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.   (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

Harvey Weinstein's lawyers asked a judge Wednesday to dismiss Ashley Judd's lawsuit against him, saying allegations that he tried to hurt her career after she rejected him sexually are baseless and were filed far too late, the AP reports. In the federal court filing in Los Angeles, the attorneys discuss Judd's comment that she would only let Weinstein touch her after she won an Academy Award in one of his films. Judd said in her lawsuit that the statement was just a "mock bargain" she made in order to leave after he asked in a Beverly Hills hotel room 22 years ago if he could give her a massage or she could watch him shower. Judd said Weinstein "lorded" the comment over her many times in the future.

Weinstein's lawyers say it meant Judd acknowledged that Weinstein would try to get her movie roles. "According to plaintiff, Weinstein then attempted to live up to his part of the bargain by trying to cast plaintiff in as many roles as possible that could earn her an Academy Award," the filing states. The filing says Judd's sexual harassment allegations, even if true, fall far short of being "unwelcome and pervasive or severe," as the law requires for a finding on her behalf. Judd's attorney Theodore Boutrous Jr. said in response that Weinstein's "arguments seeking to escape the consequences of his despicable misconduct are not only baseless, they are offensive."

(More Ashley Judd stories.)

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