Actress Paz de la Huerta has added Disney CEO Bob Iger, and its former chairman Michael Eisner to a list of defendants she claims enabled Harvey Weinstein to sexually abuse her.
The Boardwalk Empire actress, 34, made the additions, including The Walt Disney Company istelf, in a 50 page sexual battery lawsuit that doubled the length of her original complaint filed against Harvey Weinstein last year.
According to the lawsuit, which was obtained by Deadline, Michael D Eisner was Chairman and CEO of Walt Disney from 1984 until 2005.
It added: ‘Between the acquisition of Miramax in 1993 and the separation of Harvey Weinstein and Robert Weinstein from their positions as executives of Miramax in 2005, Eisner made a series of decisions that allowed a range of actions by Harvey Weinstein that unacceptably harmed certain employees of Miramax.’
Actress Paz de la Huerta has added Disney CEO Bob Iger, and its former chairman Michael Eisner to a list of defendants she claims enabled Harvey Weinstein to sexually abuse her
The lawsuit states that Bog Iger, (left), and Michael Eisner, (right), ‘made a series of decisions that allowed a range of actions by Harvey Weinstein that unacceptably harmed certain employees of Miramax’
The lawsuit also stated that Bob Iger served as President and CEO of The Walt Disney Company from 2000 until now.
Similarly it states that Iger ‘made a series of decisions that allowed a range of actions by Harvey Weinstein that unacceptably harmed certain employees of Miramax.’
It states that Iger made no effort to identify or remediate harms by Harvey Weinstein to current or former employees of Disney-Miramax following his departure from Miramax in 2005.
In a statement, Disney said that it intended to fight the allegations. In a statement issued to Fox Business the company said: ‘The Weinsteins operated and managed their business with virtual autonomy.
‘There is absolutely no legal basis for claims against the company and we will defend against them vigorously.’
The lawsuit stems from Weinstein’s alleged predatory behavior towards the actress following their meeting during the filming of The Cider House Rules.
Paz de la Huerta starred in the film produced by Miramax which was run by Weinstein but owned by Disney at the time. Eisner was then the chairman of Disney.
De La Huerta’s lawsuit against Harvey Weinstein in November relates to her allegation that he raped her twice in her New York apartment in 2010.
The suit also speculates that Weinstein used his influence to get de la Huerta fired from her job on Boardwalk Empire in 2012. Her character Lucy Danziger did not appear after the show’s second season.
De La Huerta’s claims against Iger and Eisner, as well as former Miramax chairman Bob Weinstein, are negligent supervision and intentional infliction of emotional distress, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Her claims against Disney are negligent supervision and violation of federal sex trafficking statutes.
The lawsuit against Harvey Weinstein claims assault, sexual battery and emotional distress was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, De La Huerta’s attorney Aaron G. Filler told DailyMail.com earlier this year.
De La Huerta’s lawsuit against Harvey Weinstein, (pictured), in November relates to her allegation that he raped her twice in her New York apartment in 2010
The suit also speculates that Weinstein used his influence to get de la Huerta, (pictured), fired from her job on Boardwalk Empire in 2012. Her character Lucy Danziger did not appear after the show’s second season.
The legal action seeking unspecified damages came a year after the Boardwalk Empire star gave interviews publicly accusing Weinstein of the rapes.
Weinstein, the subject of dozens of misconduct allegations, has strongly denied any claims of non-consensual sex.
Speaking to Vanity Fair on the day Weinstein was first arrested over allegations by several women in May 2018, de La Huerta claimed she ‘couldn’t stop crying.’
She told the publication: ‘I just felt extremely emotional today. I couldn’t stop crying. I don’t know why. It should be a day of celebration, but I feel melancholic about it all.’
Weinstein’s lawyer Benjamin Brafman told DailyMail.com back in November that de la Huerta’s suit is ‘the product of an unstable personality with a vivid imagination.’
In the lawsuit, de la Huerta recounts her version of events on December 7, 2010, when she and Weinstein attended a party at the Boom Boom Room on Manhattan’s High Line.
Disney said that it intended to fight the allegations as ‘there is no legal basis for claims against the company’
The actress knew Weinstein from the neighborhood in Tribeca, as well as from working on his 1999 film Cider House Rules when she was 14, and accepted when he offered her a ride home, according to the suit.
The suit says that when they arrived, Weinstein ‘insisted on coming up to De La Huerta’s apartment to avoid discussing business and personal matters in the public lobby’.
Once in the actress’ apartment, the lawsuit claims that Weinstein warned de la Huerta ‘about harm to her career if she did not submit to sex’ and then forced himself upon her and raped her.
For weeks afterwards, Weinstein and his employees persistently called de la Huerta’s phone, and would even show up unannounced to hang out outside her building or in her lobby, according to the suit.
The actress said she ducked the calls and avoided going home.
The complaint claims that Weinstein had a ‘protective program for his assaults’ which included having his photo taken with alleged victims soon after any attack, and noted that Weinstein and the actress were photographed together at a screening on December 13, 2010, six days after the alleged rape.
De la Huerta claims that she was raped again on December 23, 2010, when Weinstein called her and told her he would be waiting at her apartment until she got home.
The actress says that she decided to confront Weinstein, but on the ride home consumed ‘a very large quantity of alcohol out of fear and depression, thereby rendering herself unable to consent to any disputed sexual encounter.’
The lawsuit also contained allegations about a January 15, 2011 encounter de la Huerta says she had with Weinstein at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills.