Actor Vin Diesel is being sued by his former assistant, Asta Jonasson, for alleged sexual battery and wrongful termination, amongst different claims, referring to a 2010 incident, in line with a grievance filed Thursday in Los Angeles.
The go well with, obtained by CBS Information, additionally names Diesel’s sister, movie producer Samantha Vincent, and One Race Movies, the manufacturing firm based by Diesel and run by Vincent.
“Ms. Jonasson’s lawsuit seeks to carry Vin Diesel accountable for his sexual assaults, and her former employer accountable for its illegal termination of her employment and canopy up of the sexual assaults,” Jonasson’s legal professional, Claire-Lise Kutlay, mentioned in a press release to CBS Information.
CBS Information reached out to Diesel’s attorneys and representatives for remark and didn’t instantly hear again. Nonetheless, in a press release offered to Deadline Thursday evening, Bryan Freedman, an legal professional for the actor, mentioned “Vin Diesel categorically denies this declare in its entirety,” including that “there’s clear proof which fully refutes these outlandish allegations.”
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The civil go well with alleges that whereas Jonasson was working for Diesel in Atlanta, the place he was filming “Quick 5,” he pressured himself on her in a resort room. The grievance states that he groped her chest and kissed her as she struggled to interrupt free and continued to refuse his advances.
“Vin Diesel ignored Ms. Jonasson’s clear statements of non-consent to his sexual assaults,” the go well with says. It alleges that Diesel then tried to take away Jonasson’s underwear earlier than she screamed and tried to get to a close-by rest room.
“Ms. Jonasson was unable to flee and closed her eyes, afraid of angering Vin Diesel by rejecting him additional and attempting to dissociate, wishing the assault would finish,” reads the textual content of the grievance, including that she “was frozen in a state of shock and unable to maneuver” till he lastly launched her.
Jonasson alleges that simply hours later, Diesel’s sister known as her and terminated her employment.
Jonasson says that she remained silent for years out of concern however that she was empowered by the #MeToo motion to talk up, and was in a position to file the go well with below California’s Sexual Abuse and Cowl-Up Accountability Act. The regulation was handed in Sept. 2022 and supplies a three-year window for survivors to file a declare that might have ordinarily expired below the state’s statute of limitations.
Jonasson is searching for damages that embody a $10,000 civil penalty for every violation, plus unspecified damages for emotional misery and compensatory damages that will embody earnings she would have acquired if not for Diesel’s conduct.
“Nobody must be pressured to endure sexual assault or lose their job for resisting sexual assault. Nobody is just too well-known or highly effective to evade justice,” Kutlay mentioned. “We hope Ms. Jonasson’s brave resolution to come back ahead helps create lasting change and empowers different survivors.”
Extra from CBS Information
C Mandler
